Tsarmina Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 what are the pros and cons of having sand on the bottom of a tank? i am considering using it for may guppy tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 pros: easier to plant plants, looks nicer (in my opinion), plants grow better in it, easier for fish to move it (if necessary for breeding) but i guess not in ur guppy tank cons: small, may get sucked up in vac, but i doubt it if it were up to me i'd say go sand, but hey it's your tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 I think sand is much better for growing plant but other than that it is what you think looks best. I use greywacke sand which is pretty inert, some of the fancy gravels may change the chemisty of the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 the sand i have is a bacteria free dune sand. is this ok to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 I use quite corse sand in most of my tanks (Collect it either from the Hutt River or down on the South Coast - but you can get good stuff at Wainui Beach too) If you get it from the coast you need to wash it well to get all of the salt etc out, but make sure it doesn't contain much shell (the darker it is the less shell it contains) as shells with riase the pH - unless of course you want a higher pH which guppies would like... either way test the pH to be safe but I would highly recomend corse sand and you can even use a gravel vac on it as long as you control the flow (by partly blocking the pipe!) Good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kookie Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 We have just started collecting sand from Wainui beach. Some of it is quite fine, but we collected the courser stuff. It's nice and dark , so very little shell (if any) in it. Am just going to soak it for a few days to remove any particles etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 If you get it from the coast you need to wash it well to get all of the salt etc out, but make sure it doesn't contain much shell (the darker it is the less shell it contains) as shells with riase the pH i don't think i have ever seen a shell on the wainui beach thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 also if you have it really thick it can get dead spots as there very little water flow/oxygen getting down there to the bacteria, easy to combat though- heavily plant so the roots break everything up or run ya fingers/fork through it each water change. looks great IMO and with a few stones mixed in here and there and a few larger rocks looks really natural Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 River sand is best for plant growth if you leave the silt in with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 at the moment, i don't think i want to be taking anything out of the rivers around here and putting it in my tank. with all the stories floating arould that this is in that river and that is in this river, i wouldn't know which one to trust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 ok, now when i put it in, i'm gonna have to take the fish aren't I? the question is how deep do i make it to get the best possible effect? also, about how long does it take for the sand to settle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 id take the fish out, small sand particles could irritate gills. depending on how well you washed it first anywhere from a couple of hours to a few days but cloudyness can be nailed with water changes i got my sand (very dark grey) from benchmark, its plasterers sand and its had no effect at all on my water or my axies (only have it in axolotl tank right now). deep as you want in, mines a couple of cm at most but i like to make little mountains cause it looks more natural. i think there would be specific depths for plants though so look into that if you want it planted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 It can try your patience but I buy river sand from the local nursery and put it through a kitchen seive. Carefully wash the fine gravel you collect and place the unwashed fine stuff and micronutrients in the tank with the washed fine gravel over the top to hold the silt down. I have only done this in a new setup as it would make an existing tank very murky. Minimum depth about 50mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 Alanmin, which nursery do you buy it from in Chch? I too am about to setup my tank and would like to get some sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I know its been mentioned on here in another thread but I ( and some others on here) use "Daltons Propogating Sand" . I have currently got a small 2ft goldfish tank set up with it as the substrate. The GF's seem to be doing OK as are the plants. I washed all the small stuff out using a kitchen seive as Alan suggests, only difference being that I didnt keep any of the finer particles. I supose you could always add some nutrient base under the sand if you want better plant growth. Check out Freshwests comments about increasing top layer thickness to stop leaching. And at about $10 for a 20 odd kg bag I dont think i would ever use anything else. Looks good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I get it from the nursery next to the pet shop on the corner of Smith St and Ferry Rd. I think it was 8 or 9 bucks a bag. Called river sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 Ohh, thanks for that info. I'll check them out when I have the time. But I've heard reports that sand isnt a good base because it could clog up the filters. I'm using a underwater filter, will it be fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I'm using a underwater filter, will it be fine? I think we all use underwater filters.... Just kidding. Sand is bad for undergravel filters. Falls through the holes and clogs up the works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 I think we all use underwater filters.... Just kidding. Sand is bad for undergravel filters. Falls through the holes and clogs up the works. Sorry, I think I'm not being clear enough. I'm not using an undergravel filter, I'm using one of those box filters that you leave submerged underwater with an air pump pumping air into it. Think that will be fine with sand? Else I did use pure gravel. I was hoping to mix some sand and gravel but whatever doesnt clog the filter will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 HI SB, I had one of those corner box filters that I wasnt using so i gave it away. I would suggest that you could put the sand in and let the bulk of the particulates settle to the bottom, THEN, put in the air driven box filter to take out any remaining cloudyness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 If you seperate the courser sand and wash it thoroughly, add the fine sand and silt along with micronutrients and put the course washed sand on top. Then put a dinner plate with a jug on top over the sand and fill the water into the jug you should not need a filter. I use a small electric sponge filter in 4ft tanks to stop temperature layering and a minimum of 50mm 0f sand (up to 200mm in one tank) with no problems. You need to plant the tank well with hungry plants and allow them to become established before loading the tank with too many fish. If you don't get the "clean/clean" bug and allow some krud to build up in the sand and filter the tank will harbour good microorganisms and start cycling for you. As the food builds so will the good bugs and also your ability to add more fish and therefore more food for your plants. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Thanks for the replies guys. Greatly appreciate it. So basically, assuming I have an empty tank, this is the order of how it should go: 1. Fine sand 2. Coarse sand 3. Dinner plate 4. Jug 5. Fill water into jug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Add micronutrient to fine sand and fill the jug slowly so it gently spills over on to the plate and does not stir up sand. Any slight cloudiness will clear in a day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverBlade86 Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Ahh ok. That clears things up. On a side note, is there any places in Chch where I could grab some sand and gravel and possibly a piece of driftwood? If not I did just buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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