I want to do a sand substrate..ADVICE

8 posts

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


FishMane25
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 1:58 pm

I want to do a sand substrate..ADVICE

by FishMane25

i want to know how much of a pain its going to be to do sand...please tell me the do's and dont's. thanx!


esparzar1
 
Posts: 164
Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:31 pm

by esparzar1

pool fiter sand IME/IMO is the best option. It's cheap and makes the tank look great. You can go to any pool store or even home depot/lowes to find it. It runs roughly $10-15 per 50lb bag. Here's a good link on how to clean the sand before you add to your tank.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cleaning_sand.php

Here is a good article on switching to sand and the various types
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php
I honsetly don't think there really is any downside to getting pool filter sand. However, I've never had anything but sand so it's all I know...lol


marc89
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 4:53 pm

by marc89

hi i looked for ages on this topic in the end i bought kilne dried silica sand from builders merchants massive bag for 2 quid saved alot of money as its the same stuff as what u get from pet shops. its been in my tank a year now only problems i find with it is that it was getting sucked up into my external filter so i put a few pebbles underneath the suction pipe to stop it an another issue was is it goes real dirty on front of tank so once a week i just move the sand around to prevent algae building up hope this helps you pal


FishMane25
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 1:58 pm

by FishMane25

Ya I actually work at menards if u are familiar with that store. Just like lowes or home depot but better. Anyways I run a wet/dry filtration and my tank is drilled out so I'm wondering if it will mess up my filtration when gettig stirred up? I think sand is awesome in tanks, my tank looks good right now with gravel but I want deff wanna switch over.


marc89
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 4:53 pm

by marc89

i highly advice it just rinse sand very well before putting it in the tank if you stir sand slowly you find it dosent go in your filter. i also use one of them magnetic cleaners to move it aswell find that works very well


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

I turn my filters off when stirring the sand, give it a minute then turn them back on. No probs

I picked up my sand from a hardware store, its playsand, quite fine but looks awesome


marc89
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 4:53 pm

by marc89

ye play sand is meant to work very well as it goes threw a kilne


redshark1
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 12:21 pm

by redshark1

I never stir my silver sand. That's why god created catfish!

I want to do a sand substrate..ADVICE

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