sand in the tank?
- Thread starter twistedimage92
- Start date
Yeah im with LongTime...I have mnbuna cichlids I put in a tank with gravel which was a too big in size really, so I put sand in the tank because I wanted to. Ppl like using sand I think because that is the subtrate in the lakes and these fish LOVE to play in sand..move it, spit it, scoop it! Which was the main reason I put sand in there and glad I did.
well i was told that i need 4 bags for my 80 gal tank... i am just going to go to a home improvement store and get pure white sand and mix it with 2 bags of the other sand he is talking about... i like the way this sand looks and i guess it will help my fish... so i just got 2 bags... like 35 bucks for 40lbs tho... funny thing is... i live 3 miles from the beach
there no reason you cant USE the sand from your beach, thats exactly what I did...just make sure you clean it good before you put it in your tank! Then you wont be spending alot of money if you dont want to. Put it in small amounts in a bucket and run the hose in it forcing the dirt out of the sand and the water will run clear.
I dumped mine into a bucket outside and used the hose to fill it up and I stirred the sand up while the water overflowed for several minutes till the water ran clear. Then I dumped the water out and did it all over again. After I added it to the tank and filled with water, it only took a couple hours for the sand to settle down and then I turned the filters on and let it run over night and put the fish back in the next morning.
Are you staring a brand new tank or are you converting an already established tank?
Are you staring a brand new tank or are you converting an already established tank?
Another good way (maybe easier, I haven't tried it myself..it was suggested to me a bit late!) to rinse your sand is to put it in a pillow case (an older one..you don't want to use the good ones!!) and then take it outside rinse thoroughly with the hose (be sure you don't use irrigation water, it could have some nasy parasites in there) a few times. It is better to rinse it more than you think is necessary because sand is dirtier than it looks. 
I hadn't given any thought to sand as substrate, but I'll be moving in a few months and I might just have to switch. I have natural colored gravel and my big boy is ALWAYS moving it around. He likes his 'cave' bare and big giant piles in the corners. It makes me wonder how much fun he might have with the sand! Plus I bet it looks great!
Dont forget its a bad idea to run filters when there are suspended sand particles in your tank...the sand can really do a number on your filter's moving parts.
Best advice is to rinse rinse rinse some more. Pillowcase works well...but dont put it ALL in the pillowcase, put a couple lbs in there and rinse that until the water runs clear, dump it into a bucket or the tank and do the next batch. It took me like 4 tank setups to realize how much you really need to rinse the sand beforehand.
You should be able to pick up a handful of sand in your tank and drop it and have it settle within a few seconds. This way when your fish are moving it around they dont stir up huge clouds and less will get into your filter. I usually rinse it as good as I think I need to, then put it all in the tank...fill up the tank about 4 inches above the sand and then reach in and stir the sand up as much as I can...and anything that doesn't settle in a minute or so...I suck out with a siphon and do it again until I'm pretty sure its rinsed well enough. Its easier to empty out 4 inches of water than to fill the tank up all the way and THEN realize that you didn't rinse it well enough lol
Best advice is to rinse rinse rinse some more. Pillowcase works well...but dont put it ALL in the pillowcase, put a couple lbs in there and rinse that until the water runs clear, dump it into a bucket or the tank and do the next batch. It took me like 4 tank setups to realize how much you really need to rinse the sand beforehand.
You should be able to pick up a handful of sand in your tank and drop it and have it settle within a few seconds. This way when your fish are moving it around they dont stir up huge clouds and less will get into your filter. I usually rinse it as good as I think I need to, then put it all in the tank...fill up the tank about 4 inches above the sand and then reach in and stir the sand up as much as I can...and anything that doesn't settle in a minute or so...I suck out with a siphon and do it again until I'm pretty sure its rinsed well enough. Its easier to empty out 4 inches of water than to fill the tank up all the way and THEN realize that you didn't rinse it well enough
lol
speaking of substrate....
i was at the fish store yesterday, and paid 1.99 for a 5 lb. bag of gravel.
I went to the home improvement store, and saw a forty pound bag of the same thing for five dollars.
Sand is 1.99 a bag.....at the fishstore, 14.99 a bag.
Hmmm.
oh--btw twisted...i think someone fed you a line of bull....saying that you need a certain type of sand...... you almost dont really 'NEED substrate sometimes. and bacterial sand...hmmm...never seen it around here.
i was at the fish store yesterday, and paid 1.99 for a 5 lb. bag of gravel.
I went to the home improvement store, and saw a forty pound bag of the same thing for five dollars.
Sand is 1.99 a bag.....at the fishstore, 14.99 a bag.
Hmmm.
oh--btw twisted...i think someone fed you a line of bull....saying that you need a certain type of sand...... you almost dont really 'NEED substrate sometimes. and bacterial sand...hmmm...never seen it around here.
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Never heard of "bacteria sand" either. Unless its a pack of sand already from some aquarium, even then i wouldn't buy it.
Sand is sand (almost). Regular Home Deopt or Lowe's Play sand will work fine. Infact i'm going to be picking up a bag (50lbs) for $5 or less soon from one of those two places.
Buy your sand from a hardware store not the LFS, they rip you big time. The only difference i've seen between the 2 is that LFS sand might be a bit lighter in color. Other than that, hardly any difference.
Fish can make breeding pits in gravel too
Sand is sand (almost). Regular Home Deopt or Lowe's Play sand will work fine. Infact i'm going to be picking up a bag (50lbs) for $5 or less soon from one of those two places.
Buy your sand from a hardware store not the LFS, they rip you big time. The only difference i've seen between the 2 is that LFS sand might be a bit lighter in color. Other than that, hardly any difference.
Fish can make breeding pits in gravel too