Is SAND a good substrate for FRESHWATER?????

[MiamiFishy]

Hey guys, another question for ya!

Ill be posting pictures of my finished carpentry for my 29 gal tank hopefully soon!

But another question pop up, for the new tank I would like to get a substrate that would enhance the tank and the fish, yet be fairly easy to keep clean... only thing I want there is good bacteria... so I was thinking to go with sand... is it possible to do sand for a fresh water aquarium, if so, any added benefits vs using prebless ( currently what I have ), and where and which type of sand can be used?!!!

One more thing!... Has anyone used a product called "Cycle" before, and how good is it really to cycle a tank? I got plenty of ammonia in the tank so am trying to get it under control, but wanted your opinion on it... aside from the SAND one above.. : )

I thank you all for your answers in advance.

PS. Update on my 10 gal tank: for those that had helped me before, I got a hold of the ammonia cycling problem I think. I did another PWC, this time 60%, and added some Blend of activated charcoal and ammonia extracting crystal thingy into my small power filter. The read for ammonia before the addition of the blend thing was .25 or .50 ( not very easy to tell the difference with so close shades of green yellow!!!)

 

[rich311k]

Sand is a great substrate in a FW tank. The recomended sand is pool filter sand available in fifty pound bags from any pool store. It is inexpensive, and has a larger grain size. Sand is easy to keep clean since the mulm will not work down into it as easily as in gravel.

Cycle is pretty much a waste of money. Bio-spira is the only cycling aid I have heard of that actually works.

Rich

 

[nitrous]

yes ive used pool filter sand in my tank and i love it much better than my blue pebbels and i got it for 5 dollars for 50 pounds!! and pebbles usualy run for 25 pls for like 20 dollars so its a lot more effiecent especiallt in larger tanks

 

[MiamiFishy]

Thank you guys,

So if a I go to my local Home Depot I'll be asking for POOL FILTER SAND??,!,

any special care that should be taken before adding it to the tank???

Crory cat fish will not have a problem going from prebless to sand would they???

Thanks Rich, I try looking for Bio-spira at my local Petsmart and Petco, but they had none... ill try looking for it around thou.
Thanks again.

 

[TwoHobbies]

You can get anykind of sand you like, pool sand, play sand, planting sand (they have different grain sizes) Get what you like best, they will all work fine.

If you wash it out you will have less dust in the tank and it will settle faster.

Cory's will have no problem.

Media from another tank is the fastest way to cycle. (IF you know someone)

 

[rich311k]

Yes home depot will have it. You need to rinse it well. Fill a 5 gallon bucket halfway with sand, run water through it until it runs clear. Dump in tank and repeat. Have fun.

 

[MiamiFishy]

Thank you all for your help,
I'll defenetly will have fun setting up the new 29 gal tank this weekend. I have set the new Penguin 350b filter on my going bunkers crazy 10 gal tank so some beneficial bacteria should be there already.
Ill let you guys know how everything is at!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

If Home Depot does not have it, try a local pool supply store. Mine didn't have it. Not all sands can be used though. It must be untreated. Pool filter sand is untreated.

 

[BillD]

Not all pool filter sands are the same. Some are a ghastly white, and some are very sharp, depending on the source of the base material. Many are just larger grain silica sand which tend to be sharp, while some, like Red Flint brand, http://www.redflint.com/pool_filtration_sand.htm, are a variety of stone in a range of natural colours. In nature, no freshwater environment, that I know of, has white sand.

 

[pwrflpills]

Yes home depot will have it. You need to rinse it well. Fill a 5 gallon bucket halfway with sand, run water through it until it runs clear. Dump in tank and repeat. Have fun.

Rich, I'm not understanding the method here. Where is the water that you're putting in the bucket with the sand going? Is there some sort of sieve you're not mentioning? Or are you holding it on an angle so the sand gets stirred up and the water and dust can flow out?

 

[dskidmore]

Stir the sand with your hand. The lighter particles will get stirred up in the water and wash away as you overfill the bucket. The heavier particles will sink back to the bottom and be the stuff you want to add to the tank.

 

[shawmutt]

I always recommend buying sand from a lfs if you are going to use it in a smaller tank. I've had Home Depot play sand in my 30 gallon, and decided to buy some "aquarium sand" for my 10 gallon. I noticed the difference right away, a lot less rinsing and work to prepare the sand, and it still looks great.

 

[dskidmore]

I'm currently using "leveling sand" from the hardware store. I did not rinse it well enough, and have to deal with that every time I stir up the sand. The plant roots look alot healthier than they did in gravel though, and it's alot easier to re-plant them.

 

[Andyvette]

I always recommend buying sand from a lfs if you are going to use it in a smaller tank. I've had Home Depot play sand in my 30 gallon, and decided to buy some "aquarium sand" for my 10 gallon. I noticed the difference right away, a lot less rinsing and work to prepare the sand, and it still looks great.

Play sand is MUCH different than pool filter sand. Just put sand in a bucket, and put a hose in there with it. Just stir it around slightly, and let stuff rinse out, you will know what you are doing once you start. This is the COOLEST substrate ever. It has more "life" than gravel deff.

FYI- Cories prefer sand over gravel.

 

[manoosie]

you you can get a hold of 3m color quartz, its the best.

 

[tracygh]

I've had sand in my tanks, got it from a neighbour who got it from a pool shop. My only issue with sand was that algae is more noticeable than on gravel.

As far as Cycle goes, I use it in all my tanks, and have found it to work beautifully.

Tracy

 

[swanandmokashi]

I have playsand in my 15 gallons and the 4 cories love it -- they keep digging it all the time. One problem with sand is harmful gases may get trapped in the sand and get released in the tank -- simple stir the sand a little when you do a water change. If you want to go automatic, add some Malaysian Trumpet Snails and they will keep the sand well stirred. Be aware though that MTS multiply very fast -- I am fighting with overpopulation in my tank .

Other than that, the sand is great -- especially for fish like cory cats who have delicate barbels. -- they can get hur by the sharp gravel , not so with the sand.

Hope this helps!

What kind of cories are you planning to have? What other fish are you thinking of?

 

[dskidmore]

Why fight MTS overpopulation? Are they harmful in any way? (I have some in the QT now, going into the tank next week.)

 

[swanandmokashi]

I have a feeeling the MTS like some of my plants