There are black sand called "Tahitian Moon" which is aquarium safe. Some LFS sells them or you can order them online.
Sand
- Thread starter BELLUM
- Start date
patoloco
De seguro no sabes lo que dice aqu
Sand can be used. It only requires a little more atention.
The parasite's breeding ground can be a direct consequence of poorly
maintained subtrate.
Every substrate, if not cleaned regularly, may become infested. Even if you keep rocks as subtrate, it will easily become home for nasty stuff if not properly cared for.
I had a badly attended gravel bottomed tank full of worms in a 20 gallon tank.
Recently, I upgraded to a 50 gl tank, and used the same gravel. I just boiled it in batches and the worms were floatin' bodies after a while.
The parasite's breeding ground can be a direct consequence of poorly
maintained subtrate.
Every substrate, if not cleaned regularly, may become infested. Even if you keep rocks as subtrate, it will easily become home for nasty stuff if not properly cared for.
I had a badly attended gravel bottomed tank full of worms in a 20 gallon tank.
Recently, I upgraded to a 50 gl tank, and used the same gravel. I just boiled it in batches and the worms were floatin' bodies after a while.
The black sand I have in my 30 is Tahitian Moon sand. I got it at the LFS but
the stuff was pretty expensive. To hopefully avoid the outbreak of parasites
Every 3 or 4 water changes I turn off the filters and stir the sand before I start vacuming. I have had some worms in my tank but never a huge outbreak.
the stuff was pretty expensive. To hopefully avoid the outbreak of parasites
Every 3 or 4 water changes I turn off the filters and stir the sand before I start vacuming. I have had some worms in my tank but never a huge outbreak.
Is that black sand fine-grained or large. There are a couple of places around this area where I can buy crushed coal slag. It's been around for years but I was always too chicken to try it. Those fragment edges look sharp. The grainsize I see is about like blasting sand. That makes sense. I think it's used for sandblasting. Does it sound like the Tahitin stuff? Ever use the stuff I described? I would really like to know if anyone's tried this stuff. Thanks guys.
Mark
Mark
patoloco
De seguro no sabes lo que dice aqu
My sand if fine grounded. You can take it in your hand and won't fell any sharp edges. havong those will br dangerous for fish that lie on the bottom or even like to go under, like loaches.
chefkeith, do you have any links to support this? i would like to read them. i hvae a 75% sand, 25% gravel substrate. my angels have internal parasites for which i just completed the treatment cycle. so, as you can see, i am at a need to know level. :read:
Parasites cannot breed without a host, which is part of being a parasite, so the concept does not hold water. Many folks believe (incorrectly) that nematodes, flatworms, various 'pods, snails, and such that develop significant numbers in tanks with high-organic substrates (as untended substrates are prone to go) are parasites. They are not. But it is a case of too little information and unfounded conclusions.
Certainly large numbers of unintended inverts developing in a tank is not desirable, but correcting the situation which allowed the beasties to develop is just a matter of improved upkeep and water quality. And certainly fish in such a tank may be more succeptable to parasites (due to water quality issues), but the parasites were not generated in the substrate. Spontaneous generation is a non-starter, as is multiplication of parasites without hosts.
Certainly large numbers of unintended inverts developing in a tank is not desirable, but correcting the situation which allowed the beasties to develop is just a matter of improved upkeep and water quality. And certainly fish in such a tank may be more succeptable to parasites (due to water quality issues), but the parasites were not generated in the substrate. Spontaneous generation is a non-starter, as is multiplication of parasites without hosts.
