Sand substrate

[leannaby]

Hi.. Looking for opinions or pros and cons about using sand in aquarium.

What sand is best to use?
How to clean it?
Anything that I need to know before changing to sand ?
How to install sand ?

Thanks

 

[davidberger]

I bought "white play sand" From my local home improvement store.

My Cory cats love it And I like the look.

I just put my vacuum above the sand about and inch and it sucks most debris/waste out. I do not stick my vacuum into the sand

 

[anteatergoanna]

I am currently thinking about changing to sand myself, I love live plants and am a concerned how well they can anchor in the sand....any tips anyone...thanks

 

[davidberger]

Tie them with fishing line or support with a little pebble/ rock

 

[anteatergoanna]

Thanks davidberger, good idea. Would tying a fishing sinker be okay do you think? It wouldn't affect the ph?

 

[venymae]

Not pH...but it's lead. Lead. Right???? I have my plants in dirt/playsand cap and it works great. The baby plants are a little hard, but a small rock is all it takes to keep them down until they root.

 

[anteatergoanna]

LOL...yes you are right, didn't think of it being lead, tho the plant weights that they sell at the FS are lead strips...but a rock will be fine....thanks

 

[Coursair]

My plants root just fine in sand.
http://youtu.be/2dxCfQK6jBg

I use Black CaribSea sand.


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[anteatergoanna]

thanks corsair, where would you get the black caribsea sand? I would like to have black, it looks great

 

[gilpi]

Looks like you're set on black sand, if you decide white, I used pool filter sand which you can get at any pool store for about 12 bucks for a 50 pound bag.
I've been using it for years, just rinse a few times in a bucket, add to the tank and it's ready.
With most sands you might get a bit of cloudy water for a day or so then it clears right up.

 

[cmw9787]

I really like the look of black sand, but I can only find it at Menards. They sell it as blasting sand (for sandblasters). It requires a bit of cleaning but worth it

 

[venymae]

I really like the look of black sand, but I can only find it at Menards. They sell it as blasting sand (for sandblasters). It requires a bit of cleaning but worth it

+1 to this. It runs $9 for 50lbs in my neck of the woods (tractor supply co.) Beautiful too.

 

[anteatergoanna]

I have found some of the caribsea black subtrate here in australia, it's about $44au for 9.2 kgs. Black looks so nice, but white also is very good. How do you go about cleaning it when u do the wc's? Do you did around in it or just run along the top?

 

[cmw9787]

just run along the top. nice thing about sand is debris can't get caught in it, it all just sits on top. And, for me at least, it's so cheap i don't mind if some of it gets sucked up. for $8 or $9 I can get another 50 pound bag.

 

[venymae]

I skim the top of my sand. TO wash it you just swish it round in a bucket, dumping off the cloudy water, till the water comes out clear.

 

[anteatergoanna]

Thanks for that, i think that will be the way to go, as you say it's inexpensive and looks good too....bonus!!

 

[venymae]

post pictures when you get it all up and running!

 

[gilpi]

I really like the look of black sand, but I can only find it at Menards. They sell it as blasting sand (for sandblasters). It requires a bit of cleaning but worth it

Sand blasting sand can be very fine almost like powder.

 

[anteatergoanna]

Yep, sure will....I'm really looking forward to it, I'm sure the fish would prefer sand rather than gravel!!

 

[cmw9787]

The stuff i found was just like normal sand.... but black. If you get black blasting sand to use as substrate, CLEAN it before you put it in your tank!!! Fill a 5 gallon bucket halfway with sand and rinse it with a hose while stirring. Once you think it's clean, keep cleaning it for a bit longer. There's a bunch of fine dust in blasting sand that will cloud your water unless you remove it all. It takes a bit of work but was definitely worth it.