Anthony Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 does anyone use normal beach sand in there tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 I use builders sand from Mitre10 Mega. Just the coarse stuff, 25ltrs for $6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 The fine stuff is a nightmare - ended up trying to cover it with gravel, but it is now all stuck in between the extender bits of my gravel siphon and it is stuck in place :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 ohh no i couldnt decide between the fine and the course so i got the fine!! ive washed it and its now sitting in my empty tank. should i remove it and go for the course stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Perhaps don't gravel vac it. @ Zev, the fine stuff from Mitre10 mega? I'm needing some new sand soon and I don't gravel vac, how fine is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 It was from the beach! And it was really fine, like salt. What are you planning to put in the tank? If you are going to plant it, it may be fine, may also depend if you have digging fish, corys seem to like zooming around in sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 I know of people who have used our local beach sand. You have to get it from high above the tide line though as it has a lot of shell in it, which alters the pH. This may not be the case at your local beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytawnykitten Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 I had silica sand in my last cichlid tank and it looked great. It was very fine and it's impossible to clean the same way you would clean gravel, but it can be done. Here is a great video showing you how... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/cleaning_sand.php Every few water changes, before I changed the water, I stirred up the sand by hand to remove gunk that had worked its way under the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 I have beach sand from Eastbourne in one of my tanks. It's good. No noticable amount of PH changing from shells, none noticable in it. Doesn't clog the filters or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 ira how did you get the sand clean enough that it didnt cloud up the tank? thats what im having trouble with right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Some plants prefer a higher pH that comes from using sand with a small amount of shell in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 ira how did you get the sand clean enough that it didnt cloud up the tank? thats what im having trouble with right now It was an extremely difficult and involved process... Step 1: Put sand in a bucket Step 2: Put water in the bucket Step 3: Stir sand in bucket Step 4: Pour water out Step 5: Repeat 3-4 times :lol: It's not that big of a deal, especially if afterwards you put the sand into the tank before filling it with water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 i done that for about 3 hours yesterday and put it in the tank and filled it up and the waters brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 i done that for about 3 hours yesterday and put it in the tank and filled it up and the waters brown I had a similar thing happen once with some fine sand that I was using. I just attached two hoses to the tank (using two clamps and a big rubber band between them). One hose was attached to the tap with water flowing into the tank and the other hose was siphoning water out of the tank at the same rate as the water flowed in. I attached a mesh stocking to the end of the siphon and stirred like mad. Beautiful sparkling water in no time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 thats a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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