Pros & Cons of Sand Substrate

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jinkel

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Feb 18, 2011
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Jersey
I need to change out my substrate, because I've got gravel that is just begging to be choked upon by my fancy goldies. (Yet another thing I neglected to research before getting them. :dope:)

I'm on the fence between large smooth river stones and sand. I think I might be leaning more toward the sand, however. It seems like my little buddies might enjoy sifting through it.

A few questions:

  • Should I expect difficulty with sand getting sucked into/clogging the intake/filter? (my intake is about 1.5" from the substrate)
  • How do you go about rinsing the sand? I mean, rocks, pebbles are easy. I do it in the bathtub. But sand...I've not wrapped my brain around this one yet.
  • Once the sand is prepared to be put in the tank, I pull my goldies out, and turn off the filter?
Okay. Those are the only questions that I've come up with so far. I'd also love to hear your opinions on the pros/cons of sand, if you're so inclined... :D
 
Why is your intake so low? If at all possible raise it up or use some type of prefilter over it. Rinsing the sand is easy, just throw it in an old pillow case and rinse it under water until the water runs clear.

Yes, pull your fish out, turn your filter off, drain your water, scoop your old gravel out and toss it. Add sand, put a plate down on the sand and pour the water onto the plate - this way it will not send sand flying through your tank.

I used the pillow case/dinner plate method last week for a buddy's tank and it was crystal clear right from the start.
 
Thank you SO much! Woohoo! This is awesome. :)

(I will adjust the intake.)

Can I ask what kind of sand you used? I read something about pool grade sand?
 
I use Quickrete's Premium playsand that I found at Home Depot for $4 per 50lb bag. I am going to try Pool Filter Sand here shortly in my new 20 high tank. I can let you know how that goes.. I am buying the sand tonight and will probably swap it tomorrow.
 
I would love to hear how that turns out, if you don't mind! I'll wait to hear your opinion on the two before I buy anything. (although it totally goes against my impetuous nature. ;)) Thanks again for your help, Steve.
 
I normally when adding sand I use silica sand think it's called pool filter sand in the states not sure though put it in a pillow case and put the shower head in the pillow case and leave it tub a while then to add to the tank all I did was create a funnel or long tube to reach the bottom of the tank and pour in and keep piling it up in one spot until you get a large mound, then you could level it off etc, this is just my experience it works for me but again everyone finds some way of making it easier for themselves and no doubt half way through putting your sand in to place you will have a eureka moment, anyway hope this helps! ####edit#### cons with sand is it's quite difficult to siphon exactly I usually end up with a lil mess left over and as it sits on the surface can at times make the tank look messy even though it isn't but even this is easily solved just requires a bit more work than gravel, I'm currently suffering with diatoms on the silica sand which I have been told will go away soon
 
We use pool sand. It never sucks into the filter. I would recommend it to anybody.

I really do love having sand. If not for the look, for the fact that fish that are sifters will appreciate it....and if you're going to have cories, you need sand.

The downside is, of course, a little more difficulty cleaning. But my guess is that you don't mind a little work if you're in this hobby.
 
Debri sits on top of sand. A little unsightly but easy to clean and prompts you to clean as needed. Just siphon it off the top.
 
I was wondering since so much bacteria is in the substrate if you'd experience some type of cycle by changing that much substrate. I'm in the same boat, I also have some fancy golds that are getting rather large. Also is a sand substrate safe for snails?
 
Thank you SO much! Woohoo! This is awesome. :)

(I will adjust the intake.)

Can I ask what kind of sand you used? I read something about pool grade sand?

I recently switched from gravel to sand. I got the Carib Sea Instant Aquarium.

The filter does not suck up any of the substrate. I was able to get black sand too so it looks fantastic.

As another poster mentions, waste sits on top of the substrate. This is a good thing though because if you have snails or bottom feeders it makes it easier for them to keep the bottom of your tank clean. It is also easier to vacuum up the waste during PWC's.

I only put one bag in which was enough at the time, but cleaning it using the vaccuum sucks up some of the substrate as well so I wish I had put more in initially. If I had it to do over again I would have put in 2 bags instead of just one.

Hope this helps.!
 
I also recently changed over from gravel to sand. I love the look of sand. I used a fine white sand I got from Petco. I have to try the pool filter sand when I upgrade my 29.
 
As far as getting a cycle crash from removing the old substrate you can put some in a mesh bag and leave it in the tank for a while to prevent a crash.
 
Thanks again, everyone! I'm so psyched to get sand in this tank!
 
I should have some before and after pictures of my tank tomorrow. Washed the pool filter sand tonight and I love it already. I attached a pic of some of each type of sand I have. The stuff to the left is Quickrete's Premium Playsand and the larger grain sand is AquaQuartz's Pool Filter Sand.

Sent from my Droid using Aquarium Advice app
 

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I tried play sand once. That didn't last very long. I had used pool sand before, loved it. Wanted to try the play sand. I think it was in my tank for a week, maybe two tops. The sand never really settled. It clouded if I even looked at the tank wrong. Pool sand is like gravel when it comes to vacuuming. I can shove my gravel vac all the way down to the bottom and it doesn't suck any up (unless i hold it there for a minute). That's just my experience and suggestion ;)
 
Woohoo! Steve, again - can't thank you enough. Jonathan, thanks for your two cents, also. How nerdy is it that I'm having difficulty sleeping tonight because I'm jonesing for some sand? :D
 
Whoops, forgot to ask. Steve, how long did it take you to rinse out all your sand tonight? Just curious how much time I'll need to set aside tomorrow...
 
I did the pillow case trick and it only took about 20 minutes to do around 30-40lbs. I did it in two separate batches and rinsed it for a good 5-10 minutes, constantly stirring the sand inside the pillow case. You could do it in a lot less time if you have a helper, or a hose you could use. I was cleaning mine in the bathtub... by myself. :) One person to hold the pillow case open and one to push a hose around in it works the best.

You could probably go with a lot less time cleaning but I wanted to be safe and not have any clouding issues. I'll keep you updated... I will be swapping my 10g for a 20g high tonight and putting the PFS in.
 
Wow! Good to know! I'm also gonna be doing this on my own (during the day when everyone's out), so I'll add at least another 30 minutes to your time - due to the fact that I'm a rookie at this, and a complete weakling (so I'll need to break it down into smaller batches). :D

So, for a 20 gallon tank, are you putting all 40lbs of sand in? (I also have a 20 gallon.)
 
I'm going for a slope look this time around (it won't last long I'm sure) so I want the back to be higher than the front to add more depth. I'm figuring I want at least 2" of sand in the front and closer to 4" in the back. I did half the 50lb bag and it didn't look like enough so I did another little batch. I'm guessing that I have 30-40lbs cleaned already. I won't know how much I need until tonight when I start planting it and setting it up.
 
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