Sand maintenance.

Stillness

Medium Fish
Feb 21, 2009
87
0
0
#1
Well hello, I'm planning on picking up a 5 gallon for my room. I'd really like a Dwarf Puffer, and I'm thinking that a sand substrate would look amazing. Maybe black and heavily planted.. anyway I'm just curious as to the basic maintenance and up-keep on the sand. I've done a little reading and am aware that if the sand is not stirred, bubbles can be released that are poisonous. So here are my questions:
  • How much stirring is too much?
  • Could all the sand particles floating around be ingested by the fish and subsuquently harmful?
  • Gravel vacuumming is easy, mearly bury the siphion and let it suck up the junk, I'd assume it's not so easy with the sand. How does one siphon up the wastes without siphoning up the sand too?
Thanks for the help. =]
Mike
 

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bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#2
Siphoning sand is the same as siphoning gravel. The sand is heavy enough that it won't get sucked up by the siphon. I have sand in almost all my tanks and love it. It's actually easier to keep clean than gravel because the food particles and poop don't sink down into the substrate like they do in gravel. I keep MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) in my sand substrate tanks, so I don't have to stir the gravel. They burrow into the sand and keep it from harboring the gas bubbles. I think I've read that if you just stir the sand a little bit as you would gravel while you're vaccing it, it'll release those bubbles.
 

Jwoody

Medium Fish
May 14, 2010
77
0
0
#3
i have to agree with bassbonediva, sand is easy to take care of and it looks awesome, just make sure that you rinse it really well before you put it in, i made that mistake and it was like pouring mud in my tank. but vacuuming it is fairly easy you may need a gentle siphon.
 

achase

Large Fish
Feb 1, 2010
765
0
0
British Columbia, Canada
#4
In my 5 gallon Dwarf Puffer tank I have eco-complete which I got mostly for my plants (because it was recommended to me for my plants) plus I like dark substrates. But I think Sand would be very cool!! Like Bassbonediva I also have Trumpet Snails in my tanks.

Side question for Bassbonediva.....what brand of sand do you use?
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#5
I just used the cheap Walmart play sand. It's like $2.68 for a half a cubic yard and it only took half a bag to do a 1.5" layer in my 46gal bowfront. For my 29gal that I just redid, I used black aquarium sand that I got at the LFS ($7.99 per 10# bag) and Flourite Red plant substrate.
 

Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#6
I use Mosser Lee Desert Sand (Lowes at $3.00 a bag). It's wonderful and much more colourful than play sand. You simply swish the siphon in little circles above the sand to stir up the poo and dirt. It's easier than it looks. I've heard of bettas having trouble with very fine sand, like pool filter sand, but my betta and other fish have had no problem whatsoever with the desert sand.
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#7
I've heard the same thing, littletank, but none of my bettas have had problems with the sand. I think they only have problems if you let them pick food off the sand (by overfeeding them and not taking the leftovers out of the tank, so they snack off the substrate).