Hi All Newbie Here

[Drew1901]

Hi everyone, long time reader first time poster.
I have had a 106 litre (roughly 28 us gallon) juwel tank for about two years now
sand substrate, lightly planted but more plants on their way as i type
currently home to
1 rainbow/ruby shark  (hate to say i have a favourite but. . . .)
1 bristlenosed plec
5 rummy nose tetras
6 black neon tetras
6 glowlight tetras
and a handfull of cherry shrimp
 
decided to join up to share my hobby with other like minded folks
 
pics soon  

 

[Blondielovesfish]

to the forum.
 
Can't wait for the pics!

 

[FriendlyFriendlyFish]

Welcome! I am new to TFF and so far I love it 

 
I have gravel right now......Do you like having sand substrate? How do you clean it?
 
Can't wait to see pics!

 

[Drew1901]

Ty for the welcomes
 

 
Do you like having sand substrate? How do you clean it?

 
Yes i like having sand substrate, we decided during the planning stage we wanted it to look as natural as possible and after hearing that the ruby shark and plec would appreciate sand as they suck it up and filter it through their gills that sealed it, with hindsight i would have gone for black sand as i think it would show the colours off more but maybe il change that one day.
 
Cleaning is easy once you get the hang of it, unlike gravel the sand is tightly packed so waste sits on top of the sand instead of falling between gravel, so all it takes is a normal syphon tube about an inch above the sand and a small circular motion to create a vortex that lifts the muck up, i also use a smaller tube to pick up heavy waste.
An important part of cleaning sand is to regularly turn the sand over using a thin item some run their fingers through it, this releases harmfull gas pockets that build as the sand is heavily compacted,
 
Hope that helps you