Pros & Cons of Sand Substrate

[NODAK1979]

We put a 50 pound bag of pool filter sand in a 60 gallon, and it ended up with roughly 2 inches of coverage on average. Since it's 4 feet long by 1 foot deep, that's 4 square feet.

So my math tells me that 50 pounds covers 4 square feet at 2 inches deep....so you can do your math as to how much sand you need.

 

[jinkel]

Thanks again for the feedback, guys!

I checked the closest Home Depot and Lowes to me, and Home Depot does not sell PFS. Lowes does, but it's Sand Filter PLUS by Aquachem. Shop Aqua Chem 25 Lbs. Filter Sand Plus at Lowes.com Does this sound like something I can use in the tank? I will check to see if there are any pool supply places around me with basic, straightforward PFS (the "plus" always makes me a bit nervous). Maybe I'll get lucky...

 

[meegosh]

I would be a little skeptical of it too. It should saying something like, "Completely naturual" or something similar. You want completely inert sand. I will post some pictures of the tank swap I did last night shortly (I'm eating lunch now! )

 

[jinkel]

Thanks for your input, Steve. Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to try a Home Depot or Lowes further away next week, or bite the bullet and pay a pool supply store's prices for the standard, inert sand tomorrow. Knowing me - and my complete lack of patience in any capacity - I'll probably go to a pool supply store tomorrow and pay whatever they want me to pay.

Looking forward to seeing your photos - have a nice lunch!

 

[Viper]

I just wanted to back up meegosh's method of pillow case and dinner plate. I did exactly that and my avatar picture was taken a minute after I filled the tank.

 

[meegosh]

I bought some at Pool City for a buddy and it was $7.99 for 50lbs. The bag had a tear in it so the guy gave it to him for $4.99. It really shouldn't be more than $10 for 50lbs.

 

[meegosh]

Before:

After:

Close up of substrate/kuhliis:

Hope this helped you decide!

 

[jinkel]

Steve - Oh, man. I'm sold. I totally love it!!! LOVE the texture of the PFS. Your tank looks fab - the live plants (they're live, no?) look so pretty. And I'm dying for your loaches. They're gorgeous. And they look way happy.

I'm definitely sold on the PFS. The search is on, tomorrow! (good to know that I shouldn't expect to pay more than $10/bag. That's totally doable.)

Thanks again for your advice - and sharing the photos with me. That helps, TONS.

 

[jinkel]

A small change of subject. In the future, I might get brave and do some live plants, but since I'm getting the hang of it, I'm okay with a more minimalist appearance for now. However, because of that, I'm kinda stuck with the intake tube and heater being right "out there" for all to see, I think.

But any suggestions for the tubing that goes to my air stone? Is there a better way to run it into my tank? Maybe down the corner, or something? If so, how would I make it "stick" to the corner?

 

[jinkel]

I just wanted to back up meegosh's method of pillow case and dinner plate. I did exactly that and my avatar picture was taken a minute after I filled the tank.

Wow, that looks crystal clear! I really can't wait to put sand in my tank.

 

[meegosh]

Yes, they are all unhappy live plants. They have perked up a little already since being ripped out of the old tank.

As far as hiding your equipment... Try a black background. Your heater, intake and tubing will all blend in with it. It will also hide the power cords running down the back. It also makes your fish and decor stick out more. You can use a black garbage bag to just see what it looks like.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I was going to say the same thing. A black background would DEFINITELY improve the looks. You'd be amazed at what a couple dollars will do (either a can of spray paint or just a solid black tape on background). Here's a picture of my 40 breeder with pool filter sand and a black background... just to back up Steves pictures (mine's definitely not a high quality picture lol)...

BTW, you can see how much of a difference the background makes from this photo about 3 weeks ago when I had just set this tank up...

 

[Fbonneville]

Wow, the black background make a huge improvement. Looks awesome!

 

[jinkel]

Steve and Jonathan - Once again, thank you! Your guidance has been priceless for me.

Jonathan, your tank is BEAUTIFUL. The difference between the "before" and "after" is unbelievable!

I think a black background (especially with sand) is such a gorgeous combo! I know my current background is not the most aesthetically pleasing background in the world. . The only reason I put the split bamboo behind my tank is because before, when I had one of those cheap fakey fake "ocean" backgrounds, it was so dark, I would have to search for a while to find Hammer (my Black Moor). So now, with the light background, it's so easy to see what kind of trouble he's getting himself into. I swear, these goldies remind me of puppies - all hyper, wagging their tails and begging all the time. They are SO much fun!

 

[siva]

I used play sand once and it was a nightmare. Rinsed the holy heck outta the stuff and the water was still horribly cloudy for a week. Then the filter broke pretty quickly. I then read pool sand was better (funny how I never found that tidbit until after already using the play sand) but I didn't really feel like hunting it down. Instead I went with half rock (on the filter side of tank) and half sand, so since I didn't need as much I went ahead and bought the expensive stuff. I got the Nature's Ocean white sand and the stuff is sooo awesome..I love it. Super easy to work with and never clouds the water, I wouldn't be afraid to use it on the filter side. If you've got fancy goldies I'm assuming you have a large tank so this may be too spendy. I always just rinse in buckets. Fill, stir, let it settle a bit, poor off, repeat. Someone asked about snails and sand..I keep nerites and MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) in sand with no probs. MTS are good for sand because they burrow which helps keep it moving around and prevents toxic air pockets.

 

[Viper]

I used play sand once and it was a nightmare. Rinsed the holy heck outta the stuff and the water was still horribly cloudy for a week. Then the filter broke pretty quickly. I then read pool sand was better (funny how I never found that tidbit until after already using the play sand) but I didn't really feel like hunting it down. Instead I went with half rock (on the filter side of tank) and half sand, so since I didn't need as much I went ahead and bought the expensive stuff. I got the Nature's Ocean white sand and the stuff is sooo awesome..I love it. Super easy to work with and never clouds the water, I wouldn't be afraid to use it on the filter side. If you've got fancy goldies I'm assuming you have a large tank so this may be too spendy. I always just rinse in buckets. Fill, stir, let it settle a bit, poor off, repeat. Someone asked about snails and sand..I keep nerites and MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) in sand with no probs. MTS are good for sand because they burrow which helps keep it moving around and prevents toxic air pockets.

I would have to disagree about play sand being a nightmare as far as water cloudiness as that is what I used and had no problems with it clouding the water. I will however totally agree that it can wreak havoc on your filter. I had to replace the impeller on my AC70 cause the sand completely destroyed it. The magnet had deep grooves all around it and cause the impeller to not be balanced which made it move all around while it was spinning. It constantly got stock and was noisy as you know what when it did work.

Suffice it to say, I will definitely be using PFS in my next setup.

For those of you with the knowledge, would I be correct in assuming that PFS doesn't kick up as much as play sand does due it's larger granule size?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I would have to disagree about play sand being a nightmare as far as water cloudiness as that is what I used and had no problems with it clouding the water. I will however totally agree that it can wreak havoc on your filter. I had to replace the impeller on my AC70 cause the sand completely destroyed it. The magnet had deep grooves all around it and cause the impeller to not be balanced which made it move all around while it was spinning. It constantly got stock and was noisy as you know what when it did work.

Suffice it to say, I will definitely be using PFS in my next setup.

For those of you with the knowledge, would I be correct in assuming that PFS doesn't kick up as much as play sand does due it's larger granule size?

By no means an expert, but it's my understanding that PFS is the better choice for the reason you state. I was also told that PFS isn't as "sharp" as other sand granules so for fish that forage and might swallow it, it's harmless. One side benefit is that I can get 50 lbs of PFS for 10 bucks, instead of 10 lbs of gravel or sand at petco at twice the price.

One other thing I heard is that gasses (methane?) can build up in sand. Ever hear of, deal with this?

Can't wait to make the big change .

Sent from my Epic 4G

 

[meegosh]

I actually think the opposite about the sharp edges. My play sand was smooth grains, no bigger than a grain of salt. My pfs is larger but has a few sharp edges. I'm keeping an eye on my kuhliis to see if they get scraped or hurt by it. For planted tanks, pfs is the way to go-on the cheap.

Sent from my Droid using Aquarium Advice app

 

[Viper]

By no means an expert, but it's my understanding that PFS is the better choice for the reason you state. I was also told that PFS isn't as "sharp" as other sand granules so for fish that forage and might swallow it, it's harmless. One side benefit is that I can get 50 lbs of PFS for 10 bucks, instead of 10 lbs of gravel or sand at petco at twice the price.

One other thing I heard is that gasses (methane?) can build up in sand. Ever hear of, deal with this?

Can't wait to make the big change .

Sent from my Epic 4G

Yes, gasses that are toxic to the fish can build up in the sand if the sand isn't moved around every now and then. There are multiple ways to do it such as using your hand or something else to manually shift the sound around in the tank during water changes. An automatic way to do it is to get some MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) as they will burrow under the sand during the day and move around, thus aerating it. Although that second option seems to be a commitment that you must make.

I've heard that once you have them, they are nearly impossible to get rid of. You pretty much have to empty your tank and even THEN, they can still live in your hair and in your clothes and in your bedsheets...

I may or may not have made those last few things up

EDIT: This build up of gases is something that all of us with sand has undoubtedly heard of. Although I can't recall ever hearing of fish dying as a direct result of the release of these gases, I'm prescribed to the "better safe than sorry" outfit.

 

[siva]

Hmm I want my MTS to reproduce but I've had them for several months and never any babies. Weird. Maybe it takes a long time? They seem to sell like hotcakes on ebay and aquabid