I decided to use sand instead of gravel in my tropical tank. I use an on the side biowheel filter. Compared to my tank in which I use gravel, the sand is rather murky...of course, the sand is being stirred around by the water dropping in from the filter. Any suggestions? I love the sand look and with the corys I think they like that better than rough gravel. I bought the sand that is commonly available at pet stores.
Sand as substrate
- Thread starter gmcb
- Start date
Eventually floaters will get filtered out, but may kill your pump... I would do many water changes until it clears up, and depending on your sand you might want to put something hard (driftwood or a rock) under the filter discharge to redirect it before it hits the sand.
Why not simply turn off the pumps for a few days and do partial water changes during that time? The particles that are not removed by changing water will settle to the bottom.
I had the same problem- wrap a good quality paper towel around the intake. (attach with rubber/elastic band)- paper towel acts like a prefilter... protects your HOB- and removes some of the particles).
Change every 12 hours or so- or as it collects sand to saturation point.
^---- This helped me quite a bit- but I still had some cloudyness.
I did not wash my sand well enough before hand!
I ordered a sponge and an air pump- to help aerate the aquarium; helps filter the aquarium AND- if I need a hospital/fry/quarantine tank... voila- something to help me cycle.
The sponge had the most magical affect... where as paper over the filter intake visibly made a difference- the sponge cleared up all that was left in under 24 hrs.
There are also chemicals to bind small particles together so they can be filtered out easier... but this won't be as effective as just putting a sponge in.
Change every 12 hours or so- or as it collects sand to saturation point.
^---- This helped me quite a bit- but I still had some cloudyness.
I did not wash my sand well enough before hand!
I ordered a sponge and an air pump- to help aerate the aquarium; helps filter the aquarium AND- if I need a hospital/fry/quarantine tank... voila- something to help me cycle.
The sponge had the most magical affect... where as paper over the filter intake visibly made a difference- the sponge cleared up all that was left in under 24 hrs.
There are also chemicals to bind small particles together so they can be filtered out easier... but this won't be as effective as just putting a sponge in.
That is a really good idea. Sponge filters are cheap, and won't be damaged by the sand at all. Get a sponge filter, turn off your main filter, or put the paper towel over the intake to protect it, and do waterchanges.
I had to use a sponge prefilter back when I kept tanks with sand substrates. Before the sponge prefilter, the banjo catfish would dig up the sand and somehow get it in the filter intake. It ground down one of the impeller's metal shafts to the point where it was about to break, and I had to replace it when it got too noisy.
If you do a Google search for "Filter-Max prefilter" you can see the ones I used. They still sell them. They come (or came, 6 or so years ago) with various adapters to size them down to fit most filter uptake tubes. They fit my HOB Aquarium Systems Millennium 2000 and 3000 filters just fine.
By the way, my Millennium 2000 and 3000 filters are working proof that these filters can go 7 or more years running straight. When one gets damaged, like with the impeller shaft that was ground down on one end, I call them up, and they send me a free replacement part. They prime themselves after the power has been off and restart fine without my intervention (the Emperors w/biowheels that were all the rage back in the day that I have on my 75-gal in the basement can't do that - grind, grind, grind when the power's been off). Millennium filters are highly recommended.
If you do a Google search for "Filter-Max prefilter" you can see the ones I used. They still sell them. They come (or came, 6 or so years ago) with various adapters to size them down to fit most filter uptake tubes. They fit my HOB Aquarium Systems Millennium 2000 and 3000 filters just fine.
By the way, my Millennium 2000 and 3000 filters are working proof that these filters can go 7 or more years running straight. When one gets damaged, like with the impeller shaft that was ground down on one end, I call them up, and they send me a free replacement part. They prime themselves after the power has been off and restart fine without my intervention (the Emperors w/biowheels that were all the rage back in the day that I have on my 75-gal in the basement can't do that - grind, grind, grind when the power's been off). Millennium filters are highly recommended.
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What type of sand are you using? If it's too fine, every time it'll get stirred up (by a fish or the filter outflow) it'll be suspended in the water for some time.
I'd suggest using a coarser grain sand, like pool filter sand, silica/blasting sand, which come in a variety of grain sizes. I've just picked up a 50lb bag of pool filter sand, which is a little course (feels like sugar) and it doesn't stay suspended in the water at all, plus there's virtually no clean up, just rinse it once and it's good to go.
I'd suggest using a coarser grain sand, like pool filter sand, silica/blasting sand, which come in a variety of grain sizes. I've just picked up a 50lb bag of pool filter sand, which is a little course (feels like sugar) and it doesn't stay suspended in the water at all, plus there's virtually no clean up, just rinse it once and it's good to go.
pool filter sand is what i use and no problems, not sure why your sand is so light, i wash any sand before i use it to get all the light weight particles out.
I agree with last 2 posts... next time, use pool filter sand. That's what I have in most of my sand tanks and it takes 4 -5 rinses in a bucket, and once set up in aquarium, it takes about 1/2 day to settle and water to be clear. Then I run my filters.