Getting another tank have ???

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Aquarium Advice Freak
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I am going to add a 20 gal tank.
I want sand az a substrait. What kind and where at can I purchase.
I live near Lowes and Home Depot.
Gonna have Swordtails, plattys, and Cory Cats:D
 
alot of people recommend PFS(pool filter sand) which i believe you can get at home depot..there are also sand options at the chain pet stores usually as well
 
Do you have to clean the sand first?
If so, How?
 
PFS is also available at swimming pool supply places if Lowe's or HD don't have any, check your yellow pages. I rinse new sand in a 5 gallon bucket, scoop out a couple pints at a time and use the hose to flush it out until the water is clear.
 
When I used sand in established tanks, I put the sand in buckets and rinsed it again and again with a hose. With my new tank, I put the sand in the tank, rinsed and rinsed, sucked water out with python, rinsed and rinsed again, sucked water out with python. I think I ended up doing 3 water changes.

Do NOT use play sand. This stuff is horrible, I've found. It raised my pH, it's really muddy and still gives me clouds of blech whenever it's disturbed. The tanks where I have pool filter sand are clean and you can sift through the sand.
 
I would recommend PFS myself. It looks great and cleans easily plus its a lot cheaper than aquarium sand
 
I really like the black sand that you can get at Petco. It's their own brand but it looks nice and has a great size. It's also smooth so it would be cory friendly. $17 for a 20 pound bad. Not the cheapest but for a 20 gallon tank one bag should be all you need. Tahitian Moon is good stuff too.

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If it's a 20H it's really not big enough for swords. I wouldn't stock them in anything shorter than a 20L/29. I'm not sure if you've seen them full grown, but they can easily get to 3-4" long and have quite a large bio-load at that size, and of course need swimming space. Same for many of the larger species of cory cats. I would stick with something small that does not exceed 2" such has julii or panda, and avoid the larger like albino and emerald.
 
Its gonna be for 1 male Sword
3 male Plattys
in my 75 gal all the females can be freed of stress.
I am also gonna put about 6 Cory Cats
 
Nubster said:
I really like the black sand that you can get at Petco. It's their own brand but it looks nice and has a great size. It's also smooth so it would be cory friendly. $17 for a 20 pound bad. Not the cheapest but for a 20 gallon tank one bag should be all you need. Tahitian Moon is good stuff too.

Can u clean the sand just like gravel?
 
Nubster said:
I really like the black sand that you can get at Petco. It's their own brand but it looks nice and has a great size. It's also smooth so it would be cory friendly. $17 for a 20 pound bad. Not the cheapest but for a 20 gallon tank one bag should be all you need. Tahitian Moon is good stuff too.

Well pfs is only 5$ for 50 pounds
 
Sand is best cleaned by swishing the syphon around in a circular motion just above the sand, creating a whirlpool where the muck lifts off the sand, then suck it out quick with the syphon.
 
Just wnt to the pool and spa store a couple blocks from me $10 for 50lbs. The granuals look big enough not to turn to mud and not to swirl around and cloud up the tank.
Am I right?
 
That's the idea, also if u wash it Thoroughly you can get rid of the smaller bits that cloud the water.
 
Got my 25 Gal up and going:D
I used pfs and took water from my 75 Gal and filled the 25 and pwc the 75.
Im still going to let it filter untill tomorrow.
 
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