cichlid sand

[stone1269]

Was gonna buy sum cichlid sand to replace my old gravel n my 150g was wondering about how many lbs I'm gonna need. any ideas?

 

[Jmedic25]

Here is a good substrate calc. Just do the LXW in inches for your tank. then figure your desired depth. I think about 1.5 in is good for sand. Given your large tank I would recomend black blasting sand. Its about 8 buck for 50lbs. IF you want black that is...Pool filter sand is a good light color cheap option. If you get the black sand you need to wash it really well. Youtube has some good sand washing videos.

 

[Mrc8858]

Here is a good substrate calc. Just do the LXW in inches for your tank. then figure your desired depth. I think about 1.5 in is good for sand. Given your large tank I would recomend black blasting sand. Its about 8 buck for 50lbs. IF you want black that is...Pool filter sand is a good light color cheap option. If you get the black sand you need to wash it really well. Youtube has some good sand washing videos.

Little off subject but just had to say something...do you realize how boring that sounds "youtube has some good sand washing videos" lol no offense though, you'd catch me watching too haha

 

[Alyxx]

Hah, better than "paint drying videos" I guess...

 

[Jmedic25]

Little off subject but just had to say something...do you realize how boring that sounds "youtube has some good sand washing videos" lol no offense though, you'd catch me watching too haha

LMAO!! Its only boring if your not into fish!!

 

[stone1269]

So i don't have to have a certain sand just for cichlids?

 

[Jmedic25]

Nah..you can buffer with other stuff

 

[stone1269]

Is there a larger size sand I can use so I can still do my gravel vac

 

[Jmedic25]

You can still vac sand...You just cant touch the sand...You have to hover over the substrate. With sand poo sits on top so you dont need to get down in the sand anyway. Just give it a stir every month or so to release and gas that might build up. Or throw in some Trumpet snails...They will sift it for you. Cichlids like to dig and create mounds so its a huge change for the better over gravel.

 

[stone1269]

That sounds great I'm not sure bout the snails tho lol I had a bad experience with snails before and all I can say is thank god for my yoyo Boris he really saved the day lol

 

[stone1269]

Botia*

 

[joel618]

I use caribsea black and white cichlid sand. I like it and the fish seem to enjoy it aswell. You can use pool filter sand and some others. I initially got caribsea as a present and im glad I did. The buffering aspect us nice as well.

 

[stone1269]

Thanx I will check it out

 

[Malawi Freak]

Since you have a large tank like me you will appreciate this advice. You dont really need a ton of substrate to buffer. What I did was 120ish lbs of lighthouse pool filter sand and about 20 lbs of crushed coral. I bought a 40lb bag of it but I felt there was enough for the look as I started mixing it in across the top. My ph is a steady 8.4 while using h2oquatics cichlid salt. By choosing this route it cost me around $50 for all my substrate whereas buying 150 lbs of cichlid sand would have cost over $100

 

[stone1269]

Thanx I believe u just saved me sum$ lol

 

[toddnbecka]

I use chunks of coral in the tanks or handfuls of crushed coral in in the hob filters to buffer my water. Pool filter sand is much better/easier to work with than playsand or builders sand, but may be difficult to find outside of a swimming pool supply place. If you want a dark substrate Black Diamond blasting grit (Tractor Supply, $8/50 lbs) is a good option. It won't buffer the water either, but looks great IMO, and you can't beat the price.

 

[Lady_Alia]

You can still vac sand...You just cant touch the sand...You have to hover over the substrate. With sand poo sits on top so you dont need to get down in the sand anyway. Just give it a stir every month or so to release and gas that might build up. Or throw in some Trumpet snails...They will sift it for you. Cichlids like to dig and create mounds so its a huge change for the better over gravel.

Actually, you can vac the sand. I vac mine just like its gravel. I suck it up in the tube and it tumbles around and falls out, just like gravel. Sometimes if I fill the tube with too much sand I might lose some but nothing worth worrying about. And I do it weekly. I use pfs, so it's nothing special.

 

[stone1269]

Just wanna thank everyone for the advice