25Kg Aquarium Sand In A 200L Tank

[webbo87]

Evening all
 
Just wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction, this afternoon ive washed and cleaned 25kg of aquarium sand and placed it in my Fluval 200l tank can anyone tell me is this a ok amount or do i need more, im wanting to keep just a few plants and only really starter ones at that is 25kg fine for these to grow ? Thanks in advance

 

[fluttermoth]

How deep is the sand? You want two or three inches for planting.

 

[webbo87]

Ahh looks like i need a bit more if thats the case i would say its more like 1.6" maybe bit more !! LFS sell smaller bags of sand another 5kg be enough you think ? or get 2x 5kg ? Thanks by the way

 

[mike455555]

you can use argos play sand long if you wash it, cheaper option

 

[Sophie]

At what depth does sand become anaerobic?

 

[fluttermoth]

Sand turning anaerobic is not really to do with depth; it's how much it's disturbed; even a thin layer of sand can turn anaerobic, if it's under a rock or something.
 
Having said that, anaerobic sand isn't a problem; any gas produced oxydises as soon as it hits the water.
 
I was 'stealing' some sand from one of my tanks over the weekend, and I found a really nasty spot that stank to high heaven, but all the fish in that tank are perfectly healthy, still

 

[Sophie]

Sand turning anaerobic is not really to do with depth; it's how much it's disturbed; even a thin layer of sand can turn anaerobic, if it's under a rock or something.
 
Having said that, anaerobic sand isn't a problem; any gas produced oxydises as soon as it hits the water.
 
I was 'stealing' some sand from one of my tanks over the weekend, and I found a really nasty spot that stank to high heaven, but all the fish in that tank are perfectly healthy, still

 
 
Yummy!
 
Oh I see.. So having something that likes to bury itself into the sand, for example an eel would disturb it enough? Cory's just brushing through the surface does the job also?

 

[fluttermoth]

Well, if you had a tank suitable for an eel, yes!
 
Cories will do a thin layer of sand; I just keep Malaysian trumpet snails (and assassins to keep the MTS under control!) in my sand tanks; that particular tank used to have zebra loach in it, so it doesn't have MTS any more

 

[mike455555]

i used a deep bed of sand with assassin snails as well, did the job fine =]

 

[ReddSamurai]

i have 4 pakistani loaches which do an awesome job at disturbing the substrate...even if they do occasionally pull a plant out 

 

[webbo87]

Regarding the sand substrate anyone know how far above it should you place your intake hose from a external filter ?

 

[fluttermoth]

A couple of inches should be fine.

 

[webbo87]

thank you