Want to do sand, can you anybody help?

[tdalessa01]

Hi all. After looking at all the pictures of nice tanks I decided I wanted to go to a planted tank with white sand. I have never had sand, always gravel so I was wondering if anyone had some advice. I know that a lot of people get it at the LHS. They have white? What grain do you recommend? My real problem is that I dont want to harm my fish. If I put them in a quarintine tank will they survive if I put them back in cloudy water? I REALLY dont want to hurt my fish no matter what so I am nervous about this. Taking my gravel out is already going to cause some dirty water, never mind cloudiness. I was thinking do a little at a time? I know it would take some patience but maybe a taking a little out everyday and the reverse for the back in? I don't like how much junk gets stuck in gravel and I absolutely love the sand look because it looks so natural. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[kooter]

I used gravel in any tank I had, until recently when I purchased a custom 125G tank. I researched and decided to put pool filter sand in, I wish I thought about the sand earlier! I love it! IMO it's easier to clean, looks better and is easier on the fish, (especially corys, loaches, etc. with whiskers). You just have to make sure that you stir up the sand once in awhile ( if it's non-planted or you don't have snails) because gases build up underneath and can become poisonous to your fish. I went with pool filter sand cuz it's way cleaner (you don't have to rinse it) so no cloudiness! :)

I didn't see any "white sand" in my search but I'm sure there must be something close.

Good luck!

[hmt321]

I would buy a 40 gal rubber made container from wal-mart (like $12.00) rinse it well then move your fish and tank water into the rubber made, run your filter off the rubber made. Keep in mind that the gravel is part of your bio-filter so test the water frequently and watch for a mini cycle, i would think if you changed 60% of the water in the rubber made every day you would be fine. If you have a large tank 55 gal + you could get 2 or even 3 rubber made tanks and connect them with siphon tubes

this way you can take your time with the tank, let the water settle out, etc.

my 2 cents

[tdalessa01]

That is a great idea. Thank You. I think I will feel a lot more combfortable not subjecting the fish to all the cloudiness...

[Chickieepooh2u]

I was thinking about adding sand also, so I want to be clear here. You need to stir the sand if you don't have snails or live plants? I have a 20 gallon, thats got no snails, but I do have some plants. 3 Apogenton, 1 lily just sprouting from the bulb and 1 floating...something I pulled from the lake. Would that be enough to not have to 'stir' the tank?

[Ray Pollett]

I've never stirred the sand in any of my tank. The poisonous gas problem killing fish I believe is myth.

[Erynn]

I've got black sand in one of my tanks and I LOVE it. The only thing about it is that you can see every particle of food, or anything lighter in colour sitting on the surface....to me, this is a good thing because it makes me clean it more often!

[TheZoo]

Is there any kind of sand you CANNOT use in an aquarium?

[MrGoodbytes]

Don't use sand that would have any residual chemicals in it or hydrocarbons, crap like that, but then most sand doesn't fall into that category. Pool sand is a good route to take, though you may get some brown algae from the silicates leached from the sand. A regular bunch of Otos or algae eaters should take care of any diatoms that might show up.

Technically, toxic gases can build up under a thick layer of sand if anything that gets down there starts to decay in anaerobic or anoxic conditions but I've personally not had a problem with toxic bubbles. Plant roots will circulate gases and fish and snails will stir up the sand so most spots under the sand should stay aerobic.

Sand is great. It looks so much better than gravel. Play sand with some coarser grains mixed in would also give an aquarium a nice natural look.

[kooter]

I was thinking about adding sand also, so I want to be clear here. You need to stir the sand if you don't have snails or live plants? I have a 20 gallon, thats got no snails, but I do have some plants. 3 Apogenton, 1 lily just sprouting from the bulb and 1 floating...something I pulled from the lake. Would that be enough to not have to 'stir' the tank?

I should of been a little clearer I guess. what I meant by gases building up is usually a result from no vaccuming (sp?) and a thicker layer of sand (more than 2") deep. If you do a regular maintenance schedule of vacumming and have a couple plants and fish that "stir" up the sand you should be fine. I would think that any gases that get "produced" in the sand would be from a very unmaintained aquarium and over an extended period of time.

[canblue5]

I have a 75gal and a 30 gal, I use silica sand,It is the same as pool sand. you can get it from any concrete supplier and its cheap.I pay $6 bucks canadian for a 50lb bag, give it a thorough rinse and bobs your uncle. It has a white appearance also Caribsea has a black sand that looks great but it is quite expensive.

[hmt321]

I think that the "dead spots" in the sand theory probably has merit, but only in very large tanks. Stirring your sand is probably a good idea, but i would not be to concerned with it in a 20 gal if you gave good water movement, 4x per hour or more.

my 2 cents

[Chickieepooh2u]

Ok thanks! Ya I'm real regular about water changes and vacuuming. At least once a week. I just got a new 10 gallon, basically for fry, and I think I'll do the pool filter sand thing in it. It looks so much better than gravel I think.

[twig]

Hey,
I changed my substrate from one to the other and I didn't register any ammonia or nitrites after the change .... :o

I didn't even do the stocking trick.