Does anyone have sand instead of gravel in their tank?

[amskater]

if you do or have had it in the past what would your advice be for cleaning the tank and taking care of the tank?

 

[nitrous]

i just gravel vac like normal just take it up when you put it in there dont leave it in there or you will suck up the sand

 

[amskater]

so your saying when I use a gravel vac dont go near the sand with it and it I dont go near the sand will it still vacumm out the fish waste?

 

[nitrous]

no u can put it in the sand, just pull it out quickly and dont let it stay there in the sand

 

[amskater]

oh ok I see what you mean how long have you had the sand in your tank and have you had any problems with it?

 

[PsiPro]

Just run the vac over the sand to the point you see the debris moving and not the sand.

Only problem with the sand is that you need to stir it once and a while, but you can get snails to do it as well.

 

[IceH2O]

I've pulled the gravel vac off and just use the hose. Just hold it close enough to pull the junk off the sand, it'll take a while to get used to it to where you don't grab any sand.

I use MTS to keep the sand stirred and every week I take a coat hanger that I straighted out and run it through half the sand to release any built up gas. this was taught to me by someone on another site. It disturbs the gas pockets but doesn't kick the sand up as it would if you stuck your hand in there to stir it.

 

[ct67_72]

i have allways used sand. the stuff doesnt settle in likt with gravel so if you hover it over enough to pick up the waste and whatever is onthe bottom I think your ok. thats what I do anyway

 

[amskater]

thanks for all the good advice everyone

 

[amskater]

should I get some snails if I should what ones would you recomend me to get and how many?

 

[Skyrmir]

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are the ones i hear suggested most for stirring sand. Running sand in 2/3 tanks right now. I have to say it's a LOT cleaner way to go. The gunk that gets down in the rock bed in my 10 gallon is just scary.

 

[amskater]

I have never had snails in my tank before are they pretty simple to take care of and how many should I get