New to aquascaping- sand bubbles every time I stir it up?

[Ruth Ann]

Well I just signed up since I couldn't really find any threads about this. Maybe I'm just that new at this, that it has been over discussed? I went totally DIY with this tank. I bought a 55 gallon on craigslist with fish included for 50 bucks. After utilizing the dirty bright blue and pink gravel to get my new water cycled, I threw it out and added some sand. This stuff is from my backyard. I have sandy soil, so I rinsed it about a thousand times until I had pure sand. It's super fine, much like play sand, probably. I assumed it would be a big deal to comb the sand, realizing that it can build up toxic gasses if unattended for too long. I comb it every week or so now, but every time I do, there are little bubbles that come up all over the place! Is this the dreaded toxic gas in the sand???

And, after planting a few things and arranging some driftwood, I am finding it quite a pain to comb underneath this stuff. What do people do? Surely people don't undo the setup just to agitate the gravel. I looked into getting some trumpet snails, but the people at the pet store are saying they don't burrow?? I thought they were useful for sand. Anyone have experience with sand? Or should I just bite the bullet and pay for a few bags of eco complete? I don't want to go with fluorite. I have two 8 inch plecos and I hear that stuff is sharp.

 

[Rivercats]

You don't normally have gas issues with sand unless you make the substrate too thick but in your case you got it from the yard so even tho you rinsed the heck out of it there is still dirt and who knows what other types of organic matter in it. So when you put that in a tank in first few weeks the organics will be breaking down which will form methane gas. The bubbles work their up through the substrate to the surface. This happens when we dirt our tanks with organic soil and cap them. When I newly dirt a tank I use some type of poker, usually a long pronged BBQ meat fork, and poke around the substrate a few times a day to release some of the gas. So you can try this or change out your substrate.
I would be more worried about what chemicals you might have introduced to your tank since various types of chemicals are used in most yards. Also if your substrate is over 3 inches thick it's too deep. Malaysian Trumpet Snails live in the substrate during the day helping to aerate the substrate and come out at night. I like them in my planted tanks but many don't since if you overfeed they can grow in numbers quickly.

I use Eco complete in all my tanks and personally I like it for planted tanks.

 

[Mordachai]

One caveat of eco complete (which I have in my 55g), is that it has a fair bit of iron (good for the plants) which will get caught up in a magnetic glass cleaner brush, and can then scrape the glass.

I sadly have had to throw out one such brush, and be very careful to stay a good ways away from the bottom when using the new one, for fear of attracting more sharp bits into the brush.

 

[Rivercats]

Actually any smaller substrate that gets under a magnetic algae/glass cleaner can scratch glass. The larger the grains the more noticeable a scratch would probably be. Also Eco now makes a fine grade which is almost the same as sand. I used it in my 24g tank that has Blue Cobalt Gobies since they are diggers.

 

[keithjfuller]

i have sand and eco-complete in my tank. it's a pain in the @ss to clean, but well worth it for looks. i have plecos and cories, so they have the option to forage in whatever they want. they tend to prefer the sand, but not by much.

as for the bubbles, i get those when i add the sand that i've cleaned. i think it's just trapped air building up. i wouldn't be surprised if sand is very porous at the microscopic level. that might mean when exposed to air it holds a lot, then it gathers up over time when underwater and bubbles a little when you move it.

 

[Rivercats]

I've been in the hobby over 30 years and find Eco no harder to clean than any other substrate. Most of the time unless a tank is very lightly planted and has large open area's of substrate gravel vacuuming isn't done. I've run planted tanks up to 5 years without ever having done a gravel vac. My 220g is 100% planted and been running 2 years without a gravel vac, I do 50% weekly WC's, and my nitrates run at 10ppm and that tank has a high bio-load with heavy feeding.

 

[keithjfuller]

I've been in the hobby over 30 years and find Eco no harder to clean than any other substrate. Most of the time unless a tank is very lightly planted and has large open area's of substrate gravel vacuuming isn't done. I've run planted tanks up to 5 years without ever having done a gravel vac. My 220g is 100% planted and been running 2 years without a gravel vac, I do 50% weekly WC's, and my nitrates run at 10ppm and that tank has a high bio-load with heavy feeding.

not sure if that was a reply to me in terms of cleaning, but i don't mean that either is hard to clean. i just meant that it's hard to clean because the sand spills into the eco parts, and the eco spills into the sand parts (my sand is white, so you REALLY notice).

 

[Rivercats]

not sure if that was a reply to me in terms of cleaning, but i don't mean that either is hard to clean. i just meant that it's hard to clean because the sand spills into the eco parts, and the eco spills into the sand parts (my sand is white, so you REALLY notice).

When using sand in conjunction with another substrate to form paths or just sand areas for certain types of fish and the tank is planted there really isn't a need to gravel vac it. Many people cleverly use stiff place mats cut into dividers to separate the two. Rocks and even small plants that grow low and hedge like are used as a divider to keep substrates separated. Crypt Parva and if there is enough light Mini Alternanthera Reineckii both work great for this.

 

[Ruth Ann]

So maybe I'll ditch the sand. I like the idea of having both because the main reason I have the sand in the first place is because I have a sand clearing on one side that looks awesome. Besides that, I don't care what is under the plants. Do you divide the sand and eco complete with plastic dividers? Is any food-grade plastic safe? Sorry, I know I know... I'm such a newbie.

 

[Mordachai]

Suggested b4: cheap placemats from walmart or K mart or the like. Just cut em up. I doubt the plastic makes much difference - assuming it wasn't used in some chemical / industrial setting where it would get crud on it.

 

[Ruth Ann]

So I wonder. What might also work is to put sand in the clearing and put down eco complete in the planted areas (mostly, the rest of the tank), and cover it with river rock? I have a ton of 1-2 inch diameter pebbles I could use. If I covered up the eco complete with the pebbles, and let the plants fill in, then in theory the only thing I'd ever have to clean is the sand clearing, correct?

 

[Ruth Ann]

Placemats, huh? Thanks for the tip. It's going to take some planning if I do it at all. My plecos are 6 inches and 8 inches and love to fan the sand around with their tails every now and then.

 

[Rivercats]

So maybe I'll ditch the sand. I like the idea of having both because the main reason I have the sand in the first place is because I have a sand clearing on one side that looks awesome. Besides that, I don't care what is under the plants. Do you divide the sand and eco complete with plastic dividers? Is any food-grade plastic safe? Sorry, I know I know... I'm such a newbie.

PM Brian_Nano12g and ask him about the placemats he bought at Target then cut and used.

 

[Rivercats]

So I wonder. What might also work is to put sand in the clearing and put down eco complete in the planted areas (mostly, the rest of the tank), and cover it with river rock? I have a ton of 1-2 inch diameter pebbles I could use. If I covered up the eco complete with the pebbles, and let the plants fill in, then in theory the only thing I'd ever have to clean is the sand clearing, correct?

I wouldn't use gravel over the Eco as the reason for using Eco in a planted tank is because it has a high CEC. CEC is cation exchange capacity which means it can absorb nutrients from detris and the water and hold them for use by plants. Sand and gravel are inert, meaning the have no CEC. If the gravel is small grained you can just use it for your other substrate. I'm not a fan of gravel for plants but if the grain size is small enough it can be used. Or you can get the Eco "fine" which is sand like and be done with it so you don't need to worry about keeping substrates separated.

 

[AtoZ Cichlids]

never ever get sand from outside. I cant remember what it consist of but it has ab enormous amount of something ( sorry i cant quiet remember what it is ) that can be lethal... so playground or beach, etc sand is generaly a big no no

 

[Ruth Ann]

Ok, I was totally unaware of the danger of backyard sand. But, this means I have an excuse to put the fish in my 20 gallon hotel and rearrange again. My poor husband is not as crazy about this hobby as I am and may not be appreciative of having takeout night (takeout week? lol) so I can spend more time messing with my tank. I figured that as long as I washed the sand very thoroughly, it wouldn't cause any harm beyond raising the ph a little by adding minerals. I live right on the Chesapeake Bay and this area must have been under water once because you can't dig past the grass without hitting shells. I picked the visible ones out but I'm sure there are many broken up that have combined with the sand and sediment. Looks like I have a bit more research to do about this. I do have access to beach sand.