Sand

[russrimm]

We just sucked all our gravel out and put play sand in. I washed the sand pretty well first, and we preserved 50-60% of our 65 gal tank water. Our cichlids are all in a 5 gal bucket right now with their tank water.

The water is still very cloudy. We can't even see the HOB intakes or the back of the aquarium its so cloudy. Is it ok to put the fish in anyway? We have a battery powered bubbler in the bucket with them. Should we wait a couple more hours til it clears up, or are they used to that kinda stuff?

Lastly, do I need to leave the pantyhose on my penguin and aqua clear intakes permanently or is that only during sand settlement?

 

[russrimm]

OK, couldn't wait any longer. We put the fish in, they seem OK, and more active than normal. Some are washed out in color due to stress of being in a bucket. Our upside-down catfish was almost white.

Now, I guess we need some snails or something to keep from getting anoxic pockets of air in the sand? How many or what type of sand dwellers are good for a 65 gal with african cichlids to keep the pockets broken up?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Your tank will be cloudy for a while. Ours took a couple days to completly settle. Try going to the lfs and seeing what they have or can order you for sand dwellers. We don't have anything in our tank, I guess that's something that we need to look into.

Regarding your intake tube, you need to have something around your intake tube permanetly. Your fish will kick up sand and it may end up being sucked into your filtration unit. It's a safety precaution so the unit doesn't burn up.

 

[SerLunchbox]

You can get MTS that burrow down into your sand. It is great form some cichlids cause of their hard shells ... it keeps their teeth dulled slightly. secondly, the sand will settle. I actually helped a friend move his african cichlids from a 30 gal to a 90 gal after doing the whole sand thing. Cloudy as hell BUT it will settle and won't really affect them at all. The color loss is due to stress, but that will come back really fast once they realize that the sand is there for them to play in (and they will play/dig very soon if they haven't already).

 

[Lance M.]

Go to your lfs and ask them for some MTS from their planted tank (the tank they keep their plants in for selling). I did that and the owner gave me as many as I want for free. The store will probably give them to you.

 

[russrimm]

What's good to put around the intake tube permanently to keep the sand out? We had nylon stocking over it, but it kept getting plugged up and we had to keep wiping it off to keep the pump from running dry.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

There really isn't a specific cover to put over the intake tube. Try going to the lfs and seeing what they have in their tanks. We have a Canister Sponge on our intake and then a disposable media filter bag around it to keep the fish away. Filter floss also works great.

 

[russrimm]

I just called my LFS and asked them for MTS and they said "You actually want them? We usually have people calling to ask how to get rid of them." I told them the cichlids would keep the population under control, and he said only certain kinds of cichlids will eat them, and once you have them they will overrun your tank. Now what?! He said the 1" of sand we have isnt enough to need snails. He said just stir the sand before we do our bi-weekly water changes and we'll be fine.??????

 

[TankGirl]

Yes, that is true. 1" of sand is not very deep at all, and you don't need to worry about anaerobic pockets. Cichlids themselves are fabulous diggers, so they will keep the sand stirred up - no prob.

I use an Aquaclear "mini" sponge filter, cut an "X" into it and shove it over the intake tube instead of the strainer. This does need to be removed and rinsed, as it becomes a prefilter, but it does not slow the flow quite as much as pantyhose will.