Sand as substrate?

[swanandmokashi]

I would like to use sand as a substrate in my 15 gallon tall aquarium. Question is which sand -I keep hearing about some playsand or pool filter sand from home depot. Also how much sand do I need ? How do I clean it ?

Is this ok for some hardy plants like Aponogotens ?

 

[tetrin]

pool filter sand requires somewhat less initial cleaning than play sand. also its grain size is larger (possibly) than play sand.
for the amount, there's a calculator on AA -
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/calcs2.php?type=sanddepth

here's an excellent article on sand -
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php

plants do prettty well in sand. i think a depth of 1-2 inches is enough.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Some plants do not do well in sand. I know that when I planted crypts in my sanded tank they were looking pretty bad. Then I moved them to my 5 gal with gravel and they flourished.

Just make sure you stir around the sand in the tank from time to time. I do it at every water change.

 

[Felf]

lol last night i spent 5 hours taken every last speck of sand out of my 20g so i could replace it with a flourite/florabase mix. if you're gonna have an unplanted tank then go with sand but if you want plants i suggest getting a nutrient rich substrate. you can use pool filter sand, play sand, or sand blasting sand but seachem makes onyx sand which is black/gray and nutrient rich. your plants should do at least ok if you dose ferts regularly but they'll do even better with both ferts and a good substrate.

 

[frenchpea2002]

personally, for Aponogotens, I have had great success with them in playsand in my 29g and 10g. I have a grove of them in the back right side and they are completely to the surface, and I started with bubls... I do occasionally use flurish brand ferts.

 

[swanandmokashi]

any particular brand of play sand recommended?

 

[Acer]

how do you prepare the sand before putting it in the tank? i was thinking of going with Pool Filter Sand for my new 75 gal..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Fill a 5 gal bucket about 1/3 full of sand. Stick a garden hose in the bucket and swish the sand around. let the water overflow the top of the bucket. Keep swishing the sand around with the hose until the water that is coming out of the top of the bucket is clear. It will be cloudy for the first few minutes but will start to clear up. Some brands it took me about 15 minutes to clear up whereas others only took about 5. It all depends on how dirty the sand is.

 

[Ali1]

to siphon sand... simple. Put the siphonabout an inch away from the sand and siphon the top.... Once in a while, you have to stir the sand, because unlike gravel... sand compacts gases, if u don't stir the sand for a long time... it traps the oxygen for ur fish... and when you finally let it out... the gases that are ebing released will become poisonous to the fish and trap oxygen

 

[Kornchild]

hmmm its not trapped oxygen..... its trapped gases from anarobic bacteria that break down elements in the water..... I am guessing its got sulfur in it because it smells quite nasty.

 

[travis simonson]

Introducing Malaysian Trumpet Snails to a sand-based substrate will also do wonders for its aeration. They're great for preventing the build-up of possibly toxic gasses and for providing oxygen to plant roots.