Sand in my FW tank?

[LiveSquid]

I'm pretty much a newbie and have a 20gal heavily planted tank with semi-aggressive tropicals. I have river rocks as my substrate now, but have been thinking about using sand instead. Reading on the site, I see its a really good idea for water quality, fish health, and overall cleanliness reasons. If someone could answer a few questions for me I would appreciate it.

I have a few gourami, a few tiger barbs, an albino cat and a plecostomus. Will the sand bother them? Would they like it? Would I need to get sand with small enough grain to pass through the gills, or sand with a large enough grain to not get picked up?

About how much sand would I need per square foot of tank bottom to have approx 3" bed?

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[SerLunchbox]

Will the sand bother them?

Your fish will mostly love it actually.

Would I need to get sand with small enough grain to pass through the gills, or sand with a large enough grain to not get picked up?

If you go to Home Depot and get sandbox sand it should be great just get some burrowing snails to turn the sand and keep it moving so that it doesn't cause any problems.

for a 20 gallon you would probably get away with a 25kg bag (that runs about $4 canadian currency). Just a word of warning, be sure to make sure that the sand is rinsed very well and that you slowly add it to your tank. Also, be careful when buying your sand to make sure there is no harsh chemicals or products used on teh sand that could be potentially harmful to the fish.

 

[LiveSquid]

Thanks for the quck reply. Im gonna start looking at snails, then. Thanks for the info too,

 

[oscarbreeder]

I used Home Depot sandbox sand in my 180gal and It looks nice and is so easy to vac.

Sand will work well with your fish.
Good Luck and post a pic if you can.

 

[LiveSquid]

Great. Thats the ticket then. Hopefully its available year round and not just seasonally.

Now to find them damn snails locally... Does anyone know where to get them online? The pet stores here have very limited selections and many dont have snails at all; and there are virtually no aquatic-only stores that arent SW specialty shops. That I know of, anyway.

Thanks for the help. I'll post a pic as soon as I get the sand installed.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Cool.
Can't wait to see the pics.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Try special ordering from your lfs for the snails. Most will do this and it will give you a chance to look through their ordering book at other fish that you may want to add to your tank.

I also have a sand bottom and we used sand that was purchased at the lfs. It may be a bit more pricey, but we are confident that it doesn't have anything in it that will harm the fish. The sand is a small grain and looks VERY nice. It's white and beige layered, and at the top we sprinkled black. The black helps to camouflage the fish poop. Your fish will love the sand bottom and don't worry about the pleco. He will learn that he can't eat off of it. Ours has actually begun to play in the sand, flipping it around with his tail.
Good Luck!

 

[LiveSquid]

Hey, thanks, everybody! Its nice to be on a forum where people help people instead of flaming and moaning about this guy or that guy...

This sand is pretty while settling. I can see milk-white clouds of it wafting in the current. How neat. When I need to adust my plants and stuff, will I kick up another big cloud?

No doubt my friends are dying to get back in, they hate the big rubbermaid.

I will make the call to see who can special order the snails for me. Do you guys have any suggestions for other burrowing snails? Or any other critters to help stir the sand?

Sorry for so many questions, but this is my best source for new info.

 

[youronlysin]

The sand should be available year round as it is also used in construction. Just make sure to use quartz sand...Like the typical playground sand. However, if you look in the section near the bagged concrete and cement, you should also find the playground sand in addition to regular construction sand. Should be pretty well the same stuff.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We have two spiny eels that love to burrow and move around the sand. With the help of our cichlids they have rearranged our tank. Spiny eels aren't for every tank, but it's just an option.

 

[LiveSquid]

Spiny eels, huh.. hmmm, sounds cool. Man, every question thats answered, I have three more.

Umm, hey, folks, the sand isnt settling, or at least in the last four hours I cant see any noticable difference. What the dillyo?

 

[SerLunchbox]

it will settle. It will take more then 4 hours for it to settle if the sand is somewhat more fine. The finer the sand the longer it will take to settle. It shouldn't take more then 3 days, but it has happened to some people i know in the past. It doesn't look clear yet but it will be .. trust us. It will all work out in the end!

 

[LiveSquid]

When can I put my fishes back in the tank? How clear does it need to be? Thats really my main concern. Thanks for the morale boost, too.

 

[SerLunchbox]

Yup .. put em in. They are all set to go in. it may be cloudy to us but it is perfectly safe for them to swim around in.

 

[LiveSquid]

Cool. Theyre in and frolicking. Ive never seen my barbs so tightly schooled. I wish they would stay that way.

Thanks for the advice, I wouldve tried to keep them out of the tank until it was clear.

 

[SerLunchbox]

np ... hope it all goes well for you. Get liek 12 barbs ... that should school them nicely if you have the tank size

 

[LiveSquid]

Settling nicely. The fish seem happy enough.

 

[LiveSquid]

oops.. how can I remove a photo from my posts, but not from my gallery?

 

[BASSNMAN]

Not all snails burrow in the sand. The ones you want are conical in shape. You definately don't want the round ones you find on plants. I believe they are called malaysian trumpet snails, but someone out there should know for sure. You can also just run your finger through the sand about once a month to eliminate and anerobic pockets.