helen2289 Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 i am wanting to put sand in our tank but im needing some help! what kind of sand should i use? how do i clean it before we put it in the tank? how do i clean it when it is in the tank? also any ideas of the cost would be good too (the tank is 1500x500) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 What fish are you sticking in the tank? Some sands alter the ph alot and the sand choice can depend on this.. To clean the sand you stick small amounts in a bucket and run the hose through it stirring it up until the water runs clear, be careful not to have too much flow and wash all the sand away. And it does take ages to clean it all, it also seems to always make the tank a little cloudy at first no matter how clean it is but this settles. You can use a gravel vac and slow the flow with a finger over the end and also just run a hose over the surface and pick up any crap sitting on top.. Some people also say you need to run a fork or something through the sand to move it around so you don't get dead spots but my fish do this for me.. Cost depends on what you want to get, I have pool filter sand in my community tanks and thats awesome and I am assuming pretty cheap? Maybe ask around pool places.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 I got sand from a local beach in wellington....... seems to be good loachs love it. went from this to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeous Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Wow, awesome tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 you can also get white riversand, I heard that riversand is neutral and would not alter your water's pH. I'm trying to get my hands on some white riversand at the moment - pretty dam hard things to track down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen2289 Posted October 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 which beach? and any idea if you can use sand from a DIY shop? i have read on the internet that you can (but not from NZ site) but do not want to try it until i know it will be ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 I don't see why you can't use it. Wash it really throughly, and test the pH before you put it in with fish. You'll obviously want to get some that has no chemicals added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 which beach? and any idea if you can use sand from a DIY shop? i have read on the internet that you can (but not from NZ site) but do not want to try it until i know it will be ok as a hint.... it actually came from the south island wellington city council just brought it over for me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 hahahaha are you talking about Oriental Parade? ALSO - Vindy500; how do you prevent the rocks from falling down in your tank? Did you need to strengthen your flooring foundations when you added those rocks into your tank? Im tempted to set up a African cichlid display but worried about al these structural probs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oeminx Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 in my tank i use white silica sand from placemakers, one bag covered my 3 foot tank at 3cm deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesejawa Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Sorry im noty much help on sand but Vindy how did u get the rocks to stay up like that? im assuming silicon but I thought it didnt work well on smooth rocks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Sorry im noty much help on sand but Vindy how did u get the rocks to stay up like that? im assuming silicon but I thought it didnt work well on smooth rocks? product from bunnings called aqua knead it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Is there anything like black or gray food coloring? I'm just thinking adding a few drops of it to each blob of aqua knead it might have made it blend in with the rocks more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spink Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 you can buy black food colouring paste which might be a bit easier to use in your case Ira - try a specialty cake shop or bakery. Also, i think Hansells bought out a new range of food colourings that includes black. Wouldn't hurt to try.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Silicone adhesive would be better than knead it - that's more for when you're attaching wood to glass. To colour silicone, you're best using a powder colourant, which doesn't affect the qualities of the adhesive (I think food colouring would)- there's a company in Auckland called TopMark which sells the colourant, it's pretty cheap, and 1 jar would do you more silicone than you'll ever use. The colorant graduals would be totally encased in the silicone, so wouldn't leach chemicals into your tank either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Is there anything like black or gray food coloring? I'm just thinking adding a few drops of it to each blob of aqua knead it might have made it blend in with the rocks more. aye thats the problem, looks like blu tac stuck em all together... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Silicone adhesive would be better than knead it - that's more for when you're attaching wood to glass. To colour silicone, you're best using a powder colourant, which doesn't affect the qualities of the adhesive (I think food colouring would)- there's a company in Auckland called TopMark which sells the colourant, it's pretty cheap, and 1 jar would do you more silicone than you'll ever use. The colorant graduals would be totally encased in the silicone, so wouldn't leach chemicals into your tank either. Aqua kneadit should work perfectly fine. It's used all the time in tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 to colour aqua kneadit as its an epoxy product u will need an epoxy tinter uthere are products availible may be hard to track down try regis or nuplex or eqquis that deal with epoxy paints Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaide Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'm getting some silica sand from my pet shop today - they don't sell it but the fish specialist says he gets his from Lake Taupo and is bringing some in for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen2289 Posted October 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 any ideas where i get silica sand from in the wellington area? placemakers can not longer get it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpk Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 i am wanting to put sand in our tank but im needing some help! what kind of sand should i use? how do i clean it before we put it in the tank? how do i clean it when it is in the tank? also any ideas of the cost would be good too (the tank is 1500x500) Hi I know that filter sand is excellent and of high quality and will not alter your ph try pool shop oh and hi to everyone this is my first visit but have had tropical freshwater on and off over the years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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