Sand in freshwater tank?

[Knereim]

I have a 65 freshwater with 1large pleco, 1 marble molly, 3 sword tails, 2 rosie barbs, a diamond tetra and a rainbow shark, could I do.sand in half my tank and rock in the other or would they not lile it

 

[mudraker]

Either is fine with those fish.

I would choose one or the other though, as it is very tough to keep the two substrates seperated.

 

[Knereim]

Oh OK I would rather the sand. Kind of a dumb question but would I need to quarentine my fish while doing the change

 

[mudraker]

What kind of sand are you planning to use and where is it coming from?

 

[Knereim]

I wasn't sure what type any suggestions? I was just going to get it from petco as the aquarium store closed near me

 

[meloyelo]

Get you some pool filter sand, then wash...wash...wash. Put it in your tank and enjoy the view. I got a 50 lb bag at home depot for just under 6 bucks and it worked like a dream.

 

[mudraker]

PFS is a lot cheaper, but be sure to rinse the heck out of it. Several times.

There wil be no need to qt the fish.

 

[Knereim]

Okay cool but one more question what would be the best way of rinsing sand

 

[Vespagirl]

Sand in freshwater tank

I bought black sand at Petco, washed it really well and let it filter for a week before I put 2 Dwarf Gouramis in. They seem to like it and their colors stand out nicely. It also makes it easy to see debris sitting on it.

 

[meloyelo]

Okay cool but one more question what would be the best way of rinsing sand

Get you a 5 gal. bucket. Put a bit of sand in and then fill about 1/2 up with water. Mix the sand around in the water and let settle for 30 seconds or so and then slowly pour off the water. Some debris will go with it. Keep doing that until you get pretty much clear water and see that the sand is settling out quicker and quicker. I actually used two buckets to speed things up and it still took roughly an hour to wash a 50 lb bag.

 

[Knereim]

OK cool lots of help thanks!

 

[Vespagirl]

Cut corners at top of bag, put garden hose in one corner, fill to top with water and let water out other corner and keep doing this until water is clear.

 

[Coursair]

PFS for white
Black Diamond blasting sand for black

Or any aquarium sand ( NOT Live Sand that's SW only !! )

I use Black Diamond with Tahitian Moon Sand on top. TMS is very pretty black sand

As long as you use 3" or less you should be fine.

Plants do well in sand, just use root tabs.

 

[Knereim]

Sweet ill check em out. I just wasn't sure how my large Pleco would like it

 

[Coursair]

Sweet ill check em out. I just wasn't sure how my large Pleco would like it

Just put a sponge over your intake to keep sand out if he throws it around. Most Plecos and Catfish LOVE sand.

 

[smomus]

Just put a sponge over your intake to keep sand out if he throws it around. Most Plecos and Catfish LOVE sand.

I recently changed to sand and my pleco will hover about a quarter of an inch above it and do this weird shaking thing and kick the sand up on top of him lol. So fun to watch. He has been way more active since changing from gravel!

 

[Knereim]

Sweet can't wait to do the change tommorrow now he just will swim about and go from wall to wall