Setting up a sand aquarium

[GodFan]

Dude you want pool filter sand and it will work great. It can look dirty if you accidently mix dirt from plnt roots in (oops) or if you have exceptionally dirty fish. As for the light I would say just buy the CFLs to put in it. Is it exposed to the high humiodity of the tank?

 

[DragonFish71]

Do put down sand then flora base, then sand again? 1/2" or 1" per layer?

I like mine deep so I do about 2 inches sand/layer of Flora Base/2 inches sand. Of course, my tanks are 115g and 120g. For a 10 I'd suggest 1/2 inch sand/layer Flora Base/1 inch sand.

As for lighting, if your lid has the screw in bulbs, get the 6500k CFls. They're really cheap at places like Walmart.
These are the bulbs I'm talking about:
http://www.greenoptions.com/products/ge-fle15ht32d-cfl

 

[Cornstar]

As for the sand, I was looking for input from people who have had success with sand bottoms and who can lead me in the right direction.

Just switched to sand a few weeks ago and I'm loving it. I used pool filter sand I bought from Home Depot. 5 bucks for a 50 lb bag. It's not white, but it is a really light, natural color. No live plants yet, but I'm planning on trying it soon.
I too was worried about changing to sand, but I've heard from several people on here that haven't had any issues with toxic gas bubbles.

Rinse, rinse, rinse!

Here's a pic, like I said, it's not white, but it is a really light color.[/QUOTE]

In going to home depot today, they said they only has play sand. How did you manage to get pfs?

 

[Reygan2]

Just switched to sand a few weeks ago and I'm loving it. I used pool filter sand I bought from Home Depot. 5 bucks for a 50 lb bag. It's not white, but it is a really light, natural color. No live plants yet, but I'm planning on trying it soon.
I too was worried about changing to sand, but I've heard from several people on here that haven't had any issues with toxic gas bubbles.

Rinse, rinse, rinse!

Here's a pic, like I said, it's not white, but it is a really light color.

In going to home depot today, they said they only has play sand. How did you manage to get pfs?[/QUOTE]

They had it outside in the fenced in area. The associate that helped me thought it would be in the pool supplies section, but we couldn't find it there. So she asked the manager and it was against the fence outside, nowhere near the pool supplies. Be sure to ask someone that knows the store.

 

[Cornstar]

In going to home depot today, they said they only has play sand. How did you manage to get pfs?

They had it outside in the fenced in area. The associate that helped me thought it would be in the pool supplies section, but we couldn't find it there. So she asked the manager and it was against the fence outside, nowhere near the pool supplies. Be sure to ask someone that knows the store.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! Do you know whether pfs is better than play sand? If so, how so? In terms of material, buffering, water chemistry and what not.

 

[Ceej]

I like mine deep so I do about 2 inches sand/layer of Flora Base/2 inches sand. Of course, my tanks are 115g and 120g. For a 10 I'd suggest 1/2 inch sand/layer Flora Base/1 inch sand.

As for lighting, if your lid has the screw in bulbs, get the 6500k CFls. They're really cheap at places like Walmart.
These are the bulbs I'm talking about:
http://www.greenoptions.com/products/ge-fle15ht32d-cfl

I bought 2 of the aqueon color max fluorescent 6" ten watt bulbs. $10 each.

 

[Ceej]

No pfs around here Had to but the $18 twenty pound bag at Petco.

 

[Viperchaos]

Yeah with white sands it can mucky up quite quickly, especially with peat base substrate.

Cleaning is nigh possible with such fine grains as every time you do water change you get a bucket/sink full of sand.

Good points i suppose are that it opens up breeding opportunites with some cichilids that bury eggs + sand is considerably easier to plant in .

 

[GodFan]

You should probably turn off your filter until the sand settles. Sand can kill your filter.

 

[Ceej]

Okay, so this is what I have for my soon to be dwarf puffer planted tank...

10g tank
Lighting
http://m.petsmart.com/mt/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11740166
Floramax
White Petco sand
AC20 filter
Heater, etc...

I want to get the cycle started tonight as I have pure ammonia left from my 29g Rasbora and Cherry Barb tank.

How do I set the substrate up? I've read threads on here with mixed opinions. Can I put plants in now while the cycle is starting or wait a day or week or when its established?

 

[WBAC88]

I did PFS for my 65g planted tank and so far all of my low lights plant have really liked it. They've all grown a lot and begun rooting all over the place. Having fish in there will increase the fertility of the sand, too, with the waste. I haven't had any problem with the sand damaging my filter yet.

 

[Cornstar]

Hi! Recently I added 50lbs of sand to my tank after rinsing it thoroughly with a pillow case.

After I added the sand in the tank slowly, it began to become very cloudy with the sand in the top roaming.

I was just wondering what is the best way to get the sand to settle down, currently my emperor 400 is off so the sand will not clog and break the impeller. Should I turn my air pump on? Suggestions please.

 

[medic747]

Yes I would definitely turn your air pump on the clouded water will become clear soon

 

[medic747]

Yes I would recommend turning your air pump on and the water should become clear soon

 

[Cornstar]

Yes I would recommend turning your air pump on and the water should become clear soon

Thanks! I waited two days and my water is still a bit cloudy. Did a 50% pwc and still a bit cloudy. So I decided to turn on my filter but wrapped it in stockings to prevent the sand from destroying my impellers clearing up pretty fast!

 

[xander]

Not sure if anyone mentioned but malaysian trumpet snails or assassin snails or a few other sorts of snails can stir the sand so gas pockets don't form. Cheap fast breeding burrowing snails would be a good snack for your puffer too.

 

[Cornstar]

Not sure if anyone mentioned but malaysian trumpet snails or assassin snails or a few other sorts of snails can stir the sand so gas pockets don't form. Cheap fast breeding burrowing snails would be a good snack for your puffer too.

I purchased 14 MTS for a $1 hoping they'll breed soon so I don't need to buy more. I see a few the same spot where I left them two days ago. I hope the rest is sifting my sand!