help with sand please

9 posts

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


seankh
 
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:42 pm

help with sand please

by seankh

I have a 55 gallon cihlid tank and i wanna switch the ugly blue gravel to sand. I only want to spend between 20 and 50 for the sand. Heres my questions. What sand is the best for my price range? How much would i need? Can i use my ugf with the sand? and finally my tank is already up and running with 14 africans 55 pounds of lace rock and gravel do i have to drain all the water and recycle the tank?


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

search the fourms fo post on sand there are many of them......


Snowboss4492
 
Posts: 2098
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm

by Snowboss4492

Serial32 uses play sand from Lowes - -50 lb bag is about 10 bucks - - -he has 2 bags in a 29 gallon tank.....by the time you get done cleaning it, it's about 30 lbs

only thing you need to do is cut your filter intake shorter , he destoyed the pump in his filter in about 2 days with sand getting into it - - -looks really good though - - -check out his profile, Good Luck

Boss


jweb1369
 
Posts: 547
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am

by jweb1369

I hear that UGF and sand don't mix well at all. the sand will fall into the bottom. If you still want the UGF I would go with a large grain sand. The sand I use was $40 for a 30lb bag I think or maybe 50lb. It is aragonite reef sand.


Snowboss4492
 
Posts: 2098
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:24 pm

by Snowboss4492

i imagine sand would mess up an undergravel filter....but then again thats why they don't call it an under sand filter eh???? lol


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

no undergravel filter with sand...


you could get common grey play sand at homedepot or lowes... i used a 50lb bag and a half on my 60g... so 75lbs of sand for a 4' tank...


also... wash it, wash it, wash it, WASH IT, WASH IT!!!!!...


just make sure that the water starts running out of the bucket clear... well as clear as you can... even after it's in the tank it's still going to get clouded for a day or two...





also... make sure the sand you put in the tank is the same temperature as the tank water... it will make a huge difference... and take out the gravel first, a little bit at a time... maybe go bare bottom for a couple of days to stabalize the tank moar...



good luck, and... well... good luck... lol...


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

I'd start by removing as much water as you need to buckets/etc to hold your rock and decor in. then as gumbii said go bare bottom but re-add the rock and decor for a few days.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend adding the sand with fish in though I've seen it done....you can wash sand to your hearts content (I spent 3 hours washing sand just for a 16gal) but its still gonna cloud the water and your fish probably won't like it as it settles, at all.

When you're ready to add the sand you could probably again use more water change water in another holding bucket or w/e with a heater and small filter for a few hours to keep your fish happy while the largest portions of fine sand particulates settle to the bottom.


faile486
 
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:20 pm

by faile486

If you want darker colored sand, the cheapest you can get is 3M ColorQuartz - http://www.vbpstore.com/50-lb-bag-of-3m ... uartz.html

$25 for a 50lb bag, free shipping in the continental US. You don't lose nearly as much weight by washing it as you do with PFS. It comes in a bunch of colors.

For sand on the cheap, PFS is certainly the way to go, though. I've got the color quartz in my 20g (only needed half a bag) and I'm putting PFS in my 120g., just enough to cover my UGJ system.

A UGF will not work with sand.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

but there's a huge difference in PFS and the 3M stuff... if you get "T" grade it's just like PFS... but it's heavier... and that's a good thing... it doesn't go all over the place like other sands... it settles down very VERY fast... and it doesn't let gasses build up in the sand either... that's a huge plus...

help with sand please

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