Sand substrate?

[Rachel0001]

I have sand substrate in my 100 gallon Malawi, 30 gallon QT, 30 gallon tropical, 5 gallon and 2.5 gallon tanks. I've read about the danger of dead zones in the sand and it worries me. I was going to get Malaysian Trumpet Snails to aerate the sand but I've seen the tanks at my lfs...they're covered in them and I don't want that. I've had zero luck with kuhli loaches, all the ones I've gotten have had fungus show up in a matter of days.

I'm mainly worried about the amount of sand in my large tank, I realize have way too much in there. I know my Africans dig around in it but they don't get every inch and either can I when I vacuum each week. I'm going to get rid of a bunch next time I do a PWC.

Has anyone experienced dead spots with sand? is this something I need to worry about to the point of changing out my substrate? I have PetCo's "aquarium sand" which I think is an expensive version of pool sand but it's not super fine so it doesn't get caught up in my filters.

 

[5x5]

I've never had a problem with the "dead spot" theory. The most experienced aquarists I know have all told me this concern is completely fabricated. I don't worry about it.

 

[Jnthn932]

What are dead spots? I've had sand in all of my tanks my entire life and I have never heard of dead spots nor have I ever had a problem.

 

[Rachel0001]

What are dead spots? I've had sand in all of my tanks my entire life and I have never heard of dead spots nor have I ever had a problem.

I keep reading that if the sand isn't stirred frequently you can get pockets that end up with anaerobic bacteria (or gas?) that when finally disrupted can be poisonous to the fish. It seems to be worse in saltwater tanks but it comes up in freshwater discussions too. The sand in my big tank is pretty deep in some spots, it gets around 3 inches in places when the fish are digging around.

 

[Terrance]

The concern is for deep sand beds imo. Theoretically it makes sense and make you want to stir the sand. It doesnt hurt, right? Is your sand easily siphoned out during pwc? IME when i do my weekly pwc, i stir all of my sand while only losing a pinch of sand and no clouding. IMO i have the best sand in the world!

 

[Matt68005]

i had this problem recently, i no longer am giving my guppies whole cubes of brine shrimp, it turns out, cory catfish like to bury stuff, and they buried a cube of brine shrimp in the sand and turned the whole tank brown, had to take it down and clean it and set it back up again.

 

[tmfish]

Try some freshwater golden clams. They love sifting through the sand to find food. That's all they do. Pm me if you are interested. I have some.

 

[Rachel0001]

The concern is for deep sand beds imo. Theoretically it makes sense and make you want to stir the sand. It doesnt hurt, right? Is your sand easily siphoned out during pwc? IME when i do my weekly pwc, i stir all of my sand while only losing a pinch of sand and no clouding. IMO i have the best sand in the world!

Nope, it goes up the vacuum a few inches (I use a python) but then falls back down. If I try getting down in the deep spots it can get stuck though. No clouding though - and of course I turn my filters off when I clean anyway so I don't worry about it. I actually have the intakes around 4" from the sand and still haven't had a problem (maybe I should knock on wood).

 

[Rachel0001]

Try some freshwater golden clams. They love sifting through the sand to find food. That's all they do. Pm me if you are interested. I have some.

I'd like to try the clams but I worry they'd starve. If I dropped food for them it would never make it since my other fish eat everything that goes in the tank. And if they're filter feeders, wouldn't they do best in an aquarium with green water and lots of organisms floating around. Between my Rena and my Fluval in the 100G and the doubled up Aquaclears in the others, my water stays clear. How would they eat?

I do like the idea though, it seems like they'd do a great job stirring things up.

 

[Rachel0001]

i had this problem recently, i no longer am giving my guppies whole cubes of brine shrimp, it turns out, cory catfish like to bury stuff, and they buried a cube of brine shrimp in the sand and turned the whole tank brown, had to take it down and clean it and set it back up again.

What a mess!