SAND HELP!!!Today! Who uses it?

[Christmasfish]

I am switching some of the tanks to a sand substrate..but I think I got the wrong kind?

I bought oldcastle playsand from homedepot.
It is more like river silt. Is this variety just too fine?
I stirred and rinseed it about 30-35 times now.
I have the water clean enough to drink now but all I have to do is stir my hand around and its dust devil city. No more yellow or bits o stuff.
And it turns to a heavy mat at the bottomafter a moment...
Should have made a trip to the beach?

Am I too critical and it has a different definition of "clean " than gravel?

Before I finish the 20 gallon today I neeed to know..It's residents are pining away in the QT tanks (well looking unhappy anyway...).
I don't want a problem since this is my sons Chocolate gourami tank

 

[TankGirl]

Playsand is extremely fine, and it will tend to cloud up. I think it should settle down but it might take a day or two to happen. I prefer to use pool filter sand, which is much coarser (more like beach sand) and clouds up less.

Sorry for the dilemma - I don't know what I would do in your shoes, start over or try to work with it....

 

[Christmasfish]

The hardest thing is that I actually have to avoid the popular argonite sands for my softwater tanks like this one. I already use peat to lower the pH a couple notches. It settles pretty fast now..it is just if I stir it it becomes a great cloud and makes me leery if it is clean or if sand just acts that way.

 

[Allivymar]

Sand doesn't act that way unless its really fine. I suggest finding a coarser grain sand; there may be issues with anaerobic pockets unless the tank is well planted, or your willing to have a cloudy tank once a week or so when you disturb it to get oxygenated water into it.

Mind you, I've got that Onyx sand in one of my planted tanks, and while its certainly not dense, it clouds if you look at it funny (and thats with rinsing AND diatom filtering the tank!).

 

[Fruitbat]

Ahhh....the old 'sand dilemma'. I've used various types of sand substrates over the years but I keep coming back to plain old aquarium gravel. In this case I'd say that Tankgirl and Allivymar are right on the mark...what is normally sold as 'play sand' is often too fine to use as an aquarium substrate, especially if you have any bottom-grubbing fish. (They'll keep it constantly stirred up.)

I've heard good things about something called Jungle Play Sand or something to that effect that is supposedly available at Home Depot. It is coarser-grained than 'play sand' and should be a bit easier to use.

As for the substrate affecting the pH of your tank....you're certainly right to avoid 'agagonite'. Onyx sand, Laeterite-based gravels and stuff like that won't be a problem...in fact they have been known to lower pH a bit. The drawback with those substrates is that they're expensive!!!

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Allivymar]

Heh actually Batty, Onyx doesn't lower pH; it buffers really well tho. The tank with the Onyx remains at 7.0 while the others run from 6.4 - 6.0 pH.

 

[Christmasfish]

Well...done
I rinsed until I had only half the volume, the silt is separated, I guess I will put it the garden
I think maybe it is just how sand behaves that was spooking me. After the next 20 rinses it settles really fast and only dust up where being disturbed.
I went ahead and committed..it is an ugly grey but natural color. It sticks to the bottom like a back bay sand bar catches your skiff. When I rake with my fingers it just dusts up at the site of disturbance and lays quickly. So, anyway I set up the tank got some used media and the goodies set in place.
It was the Oldcastle Tropical Playsand.....yet Mfg locally. VERY locally..hmmm.(OR and WA) No wonder it looks like silt from the sound. I can't see it being shipped from elsewhere. It even has a website...


OT: Has anyone had trouble with being logged off the site while posting something about this size or larger(I did it in text time #2)

 

[William]

Sand will dust up VERY easily.

That is, until all that yummy good bacteria invades the sand, that weighs the sand down so it won't move.


Trust me, my sand tanks used to stir up real bad, but after a few weeks with that bacteria in there holding everything together like superglue or cement, It stays right where its supposed to be, while remaining light and fluffy.

 

[Christmasfish]

Ah, William ..that helps another notch away from panic....
Well; It looks nice anyway

 

[Menagerie]

I bought Target play sand up here and like it a lot. TG didn't mention a 'prefilter'--I am using a sponge over the intake pipe of the filter--to keep sand out. In my tank, the shellies move the sand around and I want my filter to last!

 

[lreilly]

I had to rinse the sand I bought for two days before I was able to but it in my planted tank and it still stirred up some what. Then last night I move every thing to a larger tank and it was not nearly as bad. Now it does not move unless some one is digging in it then is goes right back. Over all I am very happy with how it has turned out.

 

[TankGirl]

TG didn't mention a 'prefilter'--I am using a sponge over the intake pipe of the filter--to keep sand out.

Yeah, I usually put that in as part of my sand "mantra" don't I! How could I leave it out! I think (hope) I mentioned it in my PM to Christmasfish.

 

[Christmasfish]

Yeah.. You did.
I have sponge with net over my hob filters anyway.. to prevent any fish accidents.

 

[William]

I don't run sponges on my intakes. :-\

 

[Allivymar]

I throw sponges over my intake tubes when I have fry in the tank; they make great new tank starters when the fry are large enough to avoid the intake tube *grin*

I tend not to do it as a regular thing tho; I want the larger bits of detritus to wind up in the filter and not stuck on the sponge in the tank.

 

[shawmutt]

I bought oldcastle playsand from homedepot.

The hardest thing is that I actually have to avoid the popular argonite sands for my softwater tanks like this one.

Oldcastle play sand is argonite sand.

The more acidic your water gets the more buffers will be released from your sand and frustrate your attempt at getting soft water.

The problem with argonite is that all size particles are present in a bag of play sand. Rinsing gets rid of the clay and silt size particles, and yes, it does take a while. The prepackaged sand in a lfs is expensive, but you will not need to do so much rinsing.

 

[sumphead]

FWIW, Oldcastle playand (bluebag with a kid on it?) is aragonite sand. of couse I am lurking from the saltwater side as this is the preferred sand to use in a SW tank. Unless I read wrong you don't want aragonite right? Do the vinegar test, but I am 100% the Oldcastle I use IS aragonite. I was just going to post what willaim said about the bacteria. Reefers don't even rinse the stuff because the finer particles add to the biological filtering capacity. Just thought I'd chime in. BTW, I used to live in Oly. Miss the great northwest.

 

[Jdills1347]

Is getting sand from the beach a good idea? Going to Myrtle Beach in a month and it would be nice to get some free sand heh heh!

 

[Sparky]

I seen mention of "pool" sand. Is silica pool sand any good? I have bags of it just laying around that I use for my pool steps. It has a little coarser ganule that the play sand. Would I be making a mistake in trying to use this?

Mike

 

[Christmasfish]

What is vinegar supposed to do?
Poured some unwashed sand in a cup pf vinegar. Other than the light stuff floating and the sand getting really clean..It is supposed to have a couple bubbles float up? Or like "fizz"?
lik e5 bubbles came up as I waited and the light stuff was up top. And the silt turned it to tea..but not soda. I know the sand is local..I don't think there is argonite even in our ocean beaches in any quantity.