Decided On Argos Sand.... But....

[Gavin3171]

currently we have large gravel

Would it be better to reduce the size of the gravel. I would like to go for a more natural look or even black. But i also read that sand is better for my loaches and corys.

 

[phoenixgsd]

yes sand is prefered by loaches and corys, they are much happier, my corys nuzzle the sand , i think ive read that gravel can damage thier barbles too, but someone more experienced will give a better answer

 

[Gavin3171]

I have read that sand is the best for corys.

Would smaller gravel be easier for cleaning?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I actually find that sand is way easier to clean than gravel because all of the poop and stuff just sits on top of the sand instead of falling down between the peices of gravel, preventing a buildup of nasty stuff down where you can't see it. You can just use your normal syphon to clean it, the only difference is that you just hover the end of the syphon just above the sand and kind of gently swirl/wiggle it around and the poo gets sucked up but leaves the sand. You'll probably suck up a little sand by accident at first but you can just rinse it off and put it back in

 

[Gavin3171]

ok next up then.... where to get cheap sand???

and how much for 60L??

 

[fluttermoth]

A lot of us use playsand. The ones from Argos (that's what I have), Tesco or Asda have all been used with no problems. You must rinse it out really well before you add it to the tank though.

 

[Gavin3171]

ok thanks. Will look into it

This one???

http/www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3650574/Trail/searchtext%3EPLAY+SAND.htm

seems quite clumpy.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

If you want black sand go for caribsea tahitian moon or the unipac limpopo

 

[dbanner]

Black Unipac Limpopo is lovely ok that might only be my opinion as that's what I have haha

Seriously though I do find it a lot nicer than the normal play sand I used to use and it doesnt gather bacteria as play sand does. I paid roughly £35 for 35kgs of Limpopo to fill my 5 foot tank. IMO its well worth the money

 

[Gavin3171]

So what are the cons of using play sand as i am going to be getting some in the morning. I have just been to wickes to get buckets. 15kg should be more than enough for my 63L shouldnt it?

 

[dbanner]

Only thing I didn't like about play sand is that it always looks dirty and I always felt the need to do a sand vac lol and after a while I used to get a bacteria forming underneath. I then read somewhere that you need to swirl the sand around often to prevent this??

15kgs should be plenty. My tank is 450 litre and only took 35kgs. The sand is around an inch deep

 

[Gavin3171]

Im hoping the corys will be on serious clean duty! But the loaches and rams should stirr the sand about.

 

[dbanner]

I had 8 peppered corys which didn't really use to do much cleaning lol although they did love the sand, they used to swim up the tank and dive back down into it Rehomed them now because they would be attacked and possibly eaten by the fish i have now.

Yeah you shouldn't have much bacteria building up if the sand is say half an inch deep. Although if you do then you will need to swirl it around with your hand a bit as play sand gets very dense when in water so the fish won't be able to move it much

Also what loaches is it you have? Please don't say clowns lol

 

[Gavin3171]

Two pakistani loaches..... And two clowns! Got the clowns this week. LFS said when they get too big i can take them back. Lol.

So does the play sand clog up when in the tank?

 

[dbanner]

Ah that's not too bad but even when small clowns are meant to be in groups of around 6. They will grow to be a foot in length. Only problem would be knowing the right time to take them back to your lfs before they get stunted...

Well when I was using play sand because it's so dense you get next to no oxygen getting between it so I had lines of black bacteria building so I had to swirl it around every week or so and do a good sand vac and get right down into the sand.

Don't let this put you off as it is still IMO better than gravel and is good for the price.