Sand Prep?

[daveip]

Hi
I've just bought myself a Rio125 as a second tank as my Rekord 60 has just become too small for the amount of fish I want to stock.

I'm using pea gravel at the moment in my tank but I want to change to sand.

Is silver sand suitable for corys? I've just read that its not but could someone elaborate as to why?
Also, would i need to "wash" the sand as I did with the gravel?

Also any other tips would be much appreciated

Thanks!

 

[nukeonekitty]

I don't know if that sand is okay, but I do know you need to rinse sand before you put it in. Put it in a bucket then rinse and lets all the "silt" and particles rinse over; leaving you with clean sand. It will still cloud the water a little.

 

[timmystood]

Silver sand should be fine and will be much more welcomed by the cories! Preparation of sand is frustrating because no matter how well you rinse it, it will always cause a 'fog' in the tank for a day or two. I always rinse the sand (in a bucket) 3 times, just to remove the finer silt. However, like I say, this will still cloud the aquarium but don't worry, it won't harm the fish and should clear within 24 hours. You may just need to clean the filter out within the next week as chances are some of the silt will end up there.

Hope that helps
TIM