Converting to sand

nerdyguy83

nerdyguy83

AC Members
May 11, 2006
418
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Erie, PA, US
Just wondering how sand works as a substrate. I think it would be a nice look, and it would give a place for my trumpet snails to burrow. I wouldn't do this until next summer, but I would set up my spare 10 gallon with sand, cycle it, and then move everything over. (I'd probably do it planted as well) How does it work? Do the bacteria just grow on the sand like they would the gravel? Anything else I would need to know?
 
What seems to be working well in my planted tank with sand is that I actually put about an inch or so of Flourish substrate under tha sand to provide nourishment to the plant roots. My plants all seem to be happy so far. I am not sure what else you shoudl watch out for as I am still getting used to the sand in my tank and haven't quite gotten the knack for vacuuming it yet (it seems to be a learned skill). I love the look of sand and if you go with play sand from the hardware store, you certainly can't argue about the price. :)
 
a lady on dwarfpuffers.com has an ingenious method for siphoning sand. She attached a chopstick to the end of her gravel vacuum. She vacuums just the surface of the sand (to avoid disrupting roots of her live plants), but the chopstick stirs up the substrate to prevent anaerobic pockets! I thought it was a great idea.

the link
http://dwarfpuffers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4273&highlight=cleaning+sand
 
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I usually just use my plant planter (the little plastic fork to plant plants) to jab at the sand periodically. That seems to work too, but the chopstick is a great idea. If I didn't have multiple tanks (sand and gravel) I would look into doing it too!
 
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