Under gravel jets with Sand

[Qozux]

Hey, so I plan on doing a pretty big tank in the next few months. I want a 5' 90G or bigger.
My intention is to build a nice under gravel jet system to keep the waste from settling under the substrate. I also want to use either pool filter sand or blasting sand so my fish can dig.
Does anyone have any experience with this combination? I'm afraid the jets would stir up the sand so much that the tank is mucky, or that the water wouldn't pass through the sand well, or that the sand would just be pushed away from the jets and look like butt butt.

Thanks!

 

[Wy Renegade]

No experience with this particular set-up per-say. But like yourself I can see a lot of potential issues with the combination. Have you looked into a river type system, were the powerheads are at one end of the tank, PVC pipe passes under the substrate and the intakes are at the other end? This creates a current in the tank, which should help with sweeping debris over/off the sandbed without disturbing it.

 

[Luananeko]

Ditto what Wy said... I have one tank that uses sand and the key to keeping it look nice seems to be not to disturb it other than when cleaning it. Having jets of water under the gravel constantly sounds like it would be a bad idea for all the potential issues you listed.

The riverbed setup that is recommended for hillstream loaches and the like is the only scenario I could see the sand constantly staying clean without either looking bad or getting way too stirred up. You may have to keep a sponge over the intake and clean it regularly as well as rake the sand back every so often as the current will tend to make the sand pile up by the intake end over time.

 

[Qozux]

OK, that makes a lot of sense. Would the river system be ok for SA and CA cichlids? I'm looking into JDs and GTs mainly and I don't know how they feel about current.

 

[Wy Renegade]

OK, that makes a lot of sense. Would the river system be ok for SA and CA cichlids? I'm looking into JDs and GTs mainly and I don't know how they feel about current.

A quick google search shows that both species are endemic to river systems, although generally slow moving ones, so some current shouldn't be an issue. You may have to adjust the size of your powerheads to insure that the current isn't too much. I would suggest starting small and working your way up rather than starting big and having to adjust down.

 

[Qozux]

Just got google owned. I submit to your superior internetting hahaha.
Thank you for your help. I should have looked before asking that one :}

 

[Wy Renegade]

Just got google owned. I submit to your superior internetting hahaha.
Thank you for your help. I should have looked before asking that one :}

LOL, no not really. It was a legitimate question and I didn't know the answer and I had the time, so I googled it. Someone else may have known the answer without having to look. Tis why we come here and ask questions - so we can help each other out, and not have to relie totally on google.

Besides, talking to others and getting their input is always a lot more fun than just googling the answer.

 

[Mebbid]

What you are looking for is called a closed loop system. There are plenty of articles to be found on google to start one. They are almost exclusively used food salt water tanks but I don't see an issue in using one here. I would post a link but I'm on my phone atm.