Questions About Sand

[Shaucid]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to be getting a new aquarium that I will keep shrimp in. I have heard that shrimp like fine sand, but I have never used sand in an aquarium before and I have some questions.

How do I clean sand? Do I just use a gravel cleaner?

What kinds of live plants can I keep in sand?

How do I keep it from compacting?

-Thanks

 

[leighton_87]

For the cleaning I assume you are talking about once it's in the tank? If so then yes use a gravel cleaner/vacuum to pick the mess off the surface. If anything it's easier as stuff does not fall between the gravel.

You should also clean the sand in small batches in buckets before you put it in the tank to stop it clouding.

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

Plants grow the same in Gravel or sand

 

[Shaucid]

Thanks for the help guys, I feel more confident about using sand as a substrate now. Very much appreciated.

I did some research and I learned that agitating the sand with a spoon will help keep it from compacting.

 

[snazy]

Get a bigger grain size sand and it won't compact, also won't float.

 

[sputnick]

i Just (litterally last night) put sand in my aquarium. I dumped it into a bucket and ran a hose over it and stirred it. Then dumped out the cloudy water. I didn't do this as much as i probly should have but it was fine. I then took out at all the water from my tank and dumped the sand in. I filled it up and it was pretty cloudy so i did a 75% water change and waited about a half hour for the coudyness to go down and then i put my fish back in. When i woke up this morning it was almost completly clear. Just a few particals here and there. As for cleaning with a gravel vac, just hover it over the sand by a few inches or so and it picks up the waist pretty easily. So far i love it compaired to gravel! Also i read somewhere (i think it was on here) that just sticking a fork into the sand every so often helps release the gas that build up inside the sand.