sand?

[ellehcim]

I was curious, can you use sand for your substrate in any tank setup or is it used for only certain types?

[OrionGirl]

Like most substrates, there are goods and bads about it. For example, in a tank with a fish that digs a lot, sand will get spread all over, burying ornaments and such. If you intend to use a UGF, sand won't work. Certain depths of sand promote the low oxygen bacteria--when disturbed, this can cause serious problems in the tank.

So, if you know what kind of filtration, fish, and maintenance you're going to have, sand may work, or may not. I have 2 FW tanks with sand right now. One has killi fish, a few plants, some snails. The other has 3 dwarf gourami, 5 kuhli loaches, plants and snails. I haven't had a problem with either setup. Also have sand in 3 SW systems, but that's a different story entirely.

[ellehcim]

i know i wont be using an UGF, and im not sure yet on what fish yet, I am more or less getting info and ideas for a 55g im planning on setting up. I currently have a 30g and a 10g FW with pea gravel and i have a SW with a 4in of sand and LS. I like the look of the sand and i am thinking of using a few plants. I just more or less wasnt sure if sand would be agood idea in just any FW tank.:) ... and i guess in a FW tank you cant get away with not having to clean your sand like you can with LS:D

[SirJeepALot]

Originally posted by OrionGirl
Like most substrates, there are goods and bads about it. For example, in a tank with a fish that digs a lot, sand will get spread all over, burying ornaments and such. If you intend to use a UGF, sand won't work. Certain depths of sand promote the low oxygen bacteria--when disturbed, this can cause serious problems in the tank.

So, if you know what kind of filtration, fish, and maintenance you're going to have, sand may work, or may not. I have 2 FW tanks with sand right now. One has killi fish, a few plants, some snails. The other has 3 dwarf gourami, 5 kuhli loaches, plants and snails. I haven't had a problem with either setup. Also have sand in 3 SW systems, but that's a different story entirely.

I'm thinking of using sand myself. What other concerns should I consider? Also, what types of fish dig. I want ot make sure that won't be a problem. TIA!

[Slappy*McFish]

If you buy ordinary sand, go with pool filter sand, and not sand-blasting sand...pool filter sand is a smoother, rounded grain....suitable for bottom feeders. The sand-blasting kind is much sharper and coarse and may contain harmful substances.

[ellehcim]

do you think tropical play sand would be ok?

[Decz]

I have used sand sucessfully for a couple of years now.
My catfish (spotted raphael) digs it up, and about once a week, I have to level things back out, but that works for me, because sand needs to be stirred up to avoid the "poison pockets" from forming.

I use "play-sand", it's messy to get started, but looks great when finished. If you can afford to use pool-sand or aquarium sand, I would suggest you do that, only because of the time consuming mess to get it all together. I also have lake sand, right from Cultus Lake, here in BC, and I just boiled it for a few hours, and kept stirring it up in the pot... as well, I scooped all the "foam" (bacterial content) off the top of the pot - be sure to do that!

If you intend to use sand that requires cleaning, use the pillow case method, it works well if you don't overstuff it!

The only real problem that I've had with sand is when it comes to moving. I treated it just like gravel, and kept it wet in a bucket for the move. I placed it back in the tank and went about things as normal... welllllll, big mistake!

Apparently I had a mini-cycle with my sand. I was told (here at AC) that it was because the sand was stirred up in the move.

The suggestions to avoid this, and avoid spiking the water or worse, killing fish? Rinse the sand out really well before you put it back in the tank.

Some people say this isn't neccessary, and that it is possible to move sand without issue. But, IMO, I won't take that risk again. I've moved 4-5 tanks in the last 2 years that are sand, and the only time I didn't have a mini-cycle was when I rinsed the sand out. Go figure........

Sand is work, and is ALWAYS work, there is no such thing as "putting it in there and walking away". It requires much more time than gravel, but, IMO, is well worth the effort. I probably won't use gravel again. I just love the look of things!

HTH.

_Decz. :)

[ellehcim]

Thanks for all the replys, Im not 100% sure if i will go with sand in the end but thanks all the same:)

[SirJeepALot]

Ditto! I think I might go w/ sand despite the extra work to maintain it. It looks like it will be a really nice effect! Anybody have any good links to detailed writeups on sand maintenance?

Thanks,

[thom336]

i have tanks with gravel, and tanks with sand. the ones with sand look best by far, and i would reccommend it to anyone. i use silver sand, which is the main sand sold for aquaria over here in the UK, and i have it in tanks with fast moving tiger barbs, and in tanks with slow moving guppies, and neither disturb the sand. i wouild personally pick sand over gravel any day, and think you would regret it if you didnt.

[OrionGirl]

Your primary digging concerns will be some of the cichlids--which I know little about, so won't comment. Other digging fish, such as kuhli loaches and eels, will love the sand, but won't cause a problem.

Instead of rinsing and rinsing and rinsing, put the sand in dry, straight from the bag. Put a plate in the tank and pour the water onto the plate so that it overflows the plate and wets the sand without splashing. I did this on both of my tanks, with medium grain play sand, and haven't had any problems with clouding. Never rinsed any of it. I planted immediately after filling the tanks, and it didn't cloud then either. I don't know if I got dust free sand somehow, or if this really works, but it certainly has worked for me--this is how we put the sand in the SW system as well (and that was about 150 lbs of sand!)

[pinballqueen]

I tried a method similar to what OG is suggesting, and it didn't work at all for me. I had suspended dust, sand that wanted to float, air bubbles from nowhere for weeks, and a filter with a burned-out motor from getting sand particles in the impeller.

I may have just had overly-dusty sand, but I won't be going that route again. Love the sand though! Definitely a nice look in the tank.

[Slappy*McFish]

I was thinking about getting some black/onyx sand to put in my 10gal tank....mix it in with my flourite to darken it up some...I think it would look much better with my neons and glow-lites...I also have some red shale rockwork in there, and think it would look nice with the darker, black substrate.

[Faramir]

I got some dark sand (by 'eck it's expensive over here - 2.15 per bag, each bag about 3lb I think). But I was able to cut it 50/50 with silver sand and still had a good dark mix. A little darkness seems to go a long way.

[thom336]

Faramir, i get my sand from Animal House, which i dont think is too far from you, and if it is then never fear, they are the UK's largest aquatic mail order company.

i buy it from there at £8.99 for 12.5KG, or £10.99 for 25KG...i dunno maybe that is where you get it from, but i buy it bulk from there through their mail order, which makes it turn out cheaper.

i personally prefer the light colouration of just the silver sand, but i guess certain lightnesses and darknesses look best in certain contexts.