sand in FW?

[shadow1345]

is it good to put sand into a fw tank? what are the pros and cons? how would cleaning work?

[tel0004]

Sure, lots of people like it.

Disadvanges is that it often shows fish poop, where gravel doesnt, you don't want intake for your filter too low, esp. if your fish dig as sand can break them, and toxic gases can build up, if you don't stir up the sand enough. Luckily my convicts were aware of this fact and they spent all day playing in the sand. I would also imagine it would be easier to scratch acrylic with sand, since it would be pretty easy to get sand particles caught between whatever you are cleaning the acrylic with, and the acrylic.

One huge advantage, esp on large tanks is that its cheap. At the lowes by me, broken bags of sand are 50 cents, so I filled up a 90 gallon tank for 1.50. Even paying full price, it would only be around 12.00. Some fish, esp. some cichlids, love digging, and prefer sand. If your gravel is too big, they may not be able to dig at all. And the last benefit, I just think it looks better.

Cleaning it is easy. I actually take the nozzle of my gravel vac, and use just the tube, but its not necessary.

Heres a video.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/cleaning_sand.php

[nycsicktank]

great video

[shadow1345]

so it id good to have sand in the tank but the only problem is to stir up the sand every once in a while? is it good for fish to dig in it? is it safe to use lowe's sand? when i stir up the sand will it stay cloudy?

[tel0004]

Yes, I stir mine up every other time I change the water, (so I stir it every other week). This also helps to keep algee from growing on the sand. I buy the medium sand, and not the play sand, but its just because I though it looked better.

The fish will be fine in the sand, and the tank won't get too cloudy when you stir it up. When I switched to sand, I just dumped it in, and it took a day to
settle (no fish in the tank), but if you were careful, it shouldnt cloud up at all.

The sand I use is medium sand by quickrete. I don't have a tank right now, but I used it for about 2 years with no problems, and my friends have been using it for about a year. When I set my tank up again (hopefully this week), it will probably be what I use.

I'm pretty sure this is what I use.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=19178-286-196251&lpage=none

Heres an article you may want to read.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php

[shadow1345]

dont you mix quikete to make concreate?

[wataugachicken]

quikrete brand sells concrete mixes, but also sells plain sand.

[captaincaveman9]

I hear that pool filter sand is the best kind to use, although it is a little more expensive.

[Sploke]

I got pool filter sand for $6 for a 50lb bag, its a lot less dusty than play sand or even the quikcrete stuff so you don't have to rinse it as much.

[Mexican Racoon]

I have used play sand and pool filter sand in the past. I used an old pillowcase to help clean the sand(just fill it up and rinse till the water comes out clear).

However, I wasn't happy with it. One darting fish can stir up sand particles which can end up grinding away in your filter. Not good.

If you do try it, I would recommend those little trumpet snails to help stir the sand and free trapped gases.

[shadow1345]

where can i buy trumpet snails and so which sand is good and what filter should i use?

[echoofformless]

I got pool filter sand for $6 for a 50lb bag, its a lot less dusty than play sand or even the quikcrete stuff so you don't have to rinse it as much.

Quikrete medium sand is already washed, screened and kiln sterilized. You can put it right in your tank without even rinsing it if you really want to.

[shadow1345]

also is it good to put real plants into sand?

[wataugachicken]

Quikrete medium sand is already washed, screened and kiln sterilized. You can put it right in your tank without even rinsing it if you really want to.

you must have gotten some fantastic sand. i have used Quikrete sand from two batches, which were quite different. Both of them needed to be rinsed extensively before use. with the first one, i actually believed that advice and put the sand into a new tank. i thought it would be okay, esp, since it was january and i didn't want to go outside and freeze to death rinsing it out. that mistake cost me a couple of weeks and 12-15 full water changes (on a 55g) to get rid of the cloudiness. thankfully the first batch was a perfectly white, coarse sand, and the heavier sand did not get sucked up the python, only the dust. the second bag, which was very fine and golden colored, required about 15-20 minutes of intense rinsing per 5lbs. throwing it into the tank without at least checking the dust content from a small sample would be a big mistake.

[Star_Rider]

also is it good to put real plants into sand?
yes you can plant live(real) plants in sand.
some dont like it but many are fine. the sand is pretty inert (not much if any nutritional value) so some plants like amazon sword plants may not get much in terms of fertilizers unless you have a plug you can use in the substrate.

plants that feed from the water column will be fine.

as for MTS(malaysian trumpet) I got mine when I added plants..I now have lots of them.
they turned out to be one of the species that don't need a 'partner'.

[shadow1345]

koolo thanks and can i put sw sand in the fw tank?

[wataugachicken]

not unless you are getting african cichlids or fish with similar water requirements. SW sand, calcium carbonate, will slowly leach minerals into the water, causing a rise in hardness and pH. not every fish is suitable for those conditions. play, pool filter, synthetic, and commercial-use sands are inert (won't dissolve) and do not affect the water conditions.

[IceH2O]

Quikrete medium sand is already washed, screened and kiln sterilized. You can put it right in your tank without even rinsing it if you really want to.


Mine was dirty as all get out I had to rinse for hours but I like the look. I think they get it regionally so some sand might be cleaner then others. I did pool filter sand in a small tank and while its whiter I do like it better.



also is it good to put real plants into sand?

Sure check out my tanks in my signature. The 75 gallon has Quickrete Medium grade sand.

[shadow1345]

huh?

[shadow1345]

is this it?...... http://www.u-s-silica.com/mystic.htm

but i have a whisper 60 will that work or will the sand clog it?

[shadow1345]

is this it?...... http://www.u-s-silica.com/mystic.htm

but i have a whisper 60 will that work or will the sand clog it?


also that will silica sand work cause thats what i want to buy?

[tel0004]

is this it?...... http://www.u-s-silica.com/mystic.htm

but i have a whisper 60 will that work or will the sand clog it?


also that will silica sand work cause thats what i want to buy?

That sand looks ok. I can't comment specifically, since I have never used it, but you should be fine.

A whisper 60 is fine, just turn it off when changing water, or stirring the sand up, since sand can clog it or break it. You also want to make sure the output isnt so powerful that it stirs up the sand too much.

[shadow1345]

but do i have to still stir it up if i put like 30 trumpet snails?

[OldMan1947]

I just checked the local swimming pool supply places and they both carried a 20 grit sand. The problem with 20 grit (sieve size 1/20 inch) is that it is so fine. The particles are about 1mm or less. In my area, play sand looks just as fine. I finally found some sand blasting type sand at a lfs that has a particle size of about 2mm which seems like it would cause less problems than the finer sand but would still look more natural in the tank than the typical aquarium gravel. This may just be a local problem but it seems like around here, if you ask for sand, it will be very fine grit.

[shadow1345]

what type of sand is less troubling? fine? extra fine? or what?

[OldMan1947]

My own thought is that a fine sand can be easily stirred up and end up in the filter causing damage to the pump. The coarser sand will tend to lay in the aquarium the way the gravel does. I am tring to compromise and get the look of sand without the problems of it being moved around easily by the water. Time will tell but that's what I am trying. If I were using an undergravel filter, I would be even more concerned because a fine sand could become compacted and stop most of the flow through the substrate.

[-Nemo-]

Sure, lots of people like it.

Disadvanges is that it often shows fish poop, where gravel doesnt, you don't want intake for your filter too low, esp. if your fish dig as sand can break them, and toxic gases can build up, if you don't stir up the sand enough. Luckily my convicts were aware of this fact and they spent all day playing in the sand. I would also imagine it would be easier to scratch acrylic with sand, since it would be pretty easy to get sand particles caught between whatever you are cleaning the acrylic with, and the acrylic.

One huge advantage, esp on large tanks is that its cheap. At the lowes by me, broken bags of sand are 50 cents, so I filled up a 90 gallon tank for 1.50. Even paying full price, it would only be around 12.00. Some fish, esp. some cichlids, love digging, and prefer sand. If your gravel is too big, they may not be able to dig at all. And the last benefit, I just think it looks better.

Cleaning it is easy. I actually take the nozzle of my gravel vac, and use just the tube, but its not necessary.

Heres a video.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/cleaning_sand.php

great video:headbang2:

[shadow1345]

is medium size good?

[OldMan1947]

I would think so. One of my LFS has a large display up front in their store that has a medium sand substrate fully planted and heavily populated. It is gorgeous.

[Mexican Racoon]

shadow1345 but do i have to still stir it up if i put like 30 trumpet snails?

If you put 3 trumpet snails, you'll soon have 30. My LFS gave me 6 for free with the warning they will be everywhere. They are. I only see them when I turn on the lights when it has been dark for a while, but there are tons of them.

[shadow1345]

do they reproduce?

[Mexican Racoon]

do they reproduce?

The snails?

YES!!!

they reproduce like they were getting paid for offspring.

[shadow1345]

i plan on getting 10 how many will i have after a month