Sand Quantity

[Marto666]

Hi all

How many Kg's of sand do you think will be required for a tank base measuring 122cmX51cm? (Would 15Kg do it?).

How many cm's deep should the sand be?

How do you clean sand using a bucket and hose pipe?

Sorry for my ignorance, many thanks.

 

[matt_storey]

2 bags you'll only use about a bag and a half but its always to have some spare my sand is about 2" deep, and the way i clean it is put the hose in the bottom of the bucket, fill with sand, turn on water and stir well to remove all silt.

hope this helps

 

[Marto666]

Yes that does help; I had no idea where to start with the cleaning.

The bags I have seen were 15Kg and was going to buy just one but will defo get 2 now so you have saved me rushing out to the shop again!

Many thanks Matt.

 

[Tizer]

I washed mine in a bucket in the sink with warm water, but only because it was dark and bloody cold outside this winter!

 

[Marto666]

LOL - don't blame you for that! Don’t think I will have any excuses to be doing it inside with the fantastic weather this weekend.

 

[fluttermoth]

LOL - don't blame you for that! Don’t think I will have any excuses to be doing it inside with the fantastic weather this weekend.

Could it be a weekend where washing substrate is actually fun?!!!

 

[Marto666]

LOL - don't blame you for that! Don’t think I will have any excuses to be doing it inside with the fantastic weather this weekend.

Could it be a weekend where washing substrate is actually fun?!!!

I’ve yet to experience the delights of washing substrate so am hoping its one of the highlights of fishkeeping!

 

[ballyclover]

i was thinking of adding sand rather than the gravel, so if no one minds, gonna hijack this thread with a question also. Its it not practicle for me to remove the fish as most are hiding, the ones i can see i will rehome for an hour or so. Is it ok to change the gravel with fish still in and water say 25%. I have a 125lt tank.Also someone mentioned play sand from argos can i use this?

last thing, i use a syphen to clean the gravel how do you clean the sand?


Thanks

 

[Shaddex]

i was thinking of adding sand rather than the gravel, so if no one minds, gonna hijack this thread with a question also. Its it not practicle for me to remove the fish as most are hiding, the ones i can see i will rehome for an hour or so. Is it ok to change the gravel with fish still in and water say 25%. I have a 125lt tank.Also someone mentioned play sand from argos can i use this?

last thing, i use a syphen to clean the gravel how do you clean the sand?


Thanks

Its ok to put sand in whilst the fish are in there. Just make sure its clean sand and dont drop it in from a great height.

Play sand from Argos is very good (and extremely cheap).
Just make sure you rinse thoroughly.

I take the sand out to clean it. I use a Cat litter tray Scoop to get it out (Not the scoop with holes in though )

 

[ballyclover]

thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

i was thinking of adding sand rather than the gravel, so if no one minds, gonna hijack this thread with a question also. Its it not practicle for me to remove the fish as most are hiding, the ones i can see i will rehome for an hour or so. Is it ok to change the gravel with fish still in and water say 25%. I have a 125lt tank.Also someone mentioned play sand from argos can i use this?

last thing, i use a syphen to clean the gravel how do you clean the sand?


Thanks

I've got Argos playsand in one of my tanks and it's really nice. Don't put too deep a layer (an inch or two is plenty).
I use a gravel syphon/cleaner on mine; keep your finger or thumb over the out end of the tube, use the gravel cleaner to stir up the sand in one spot. Then lift the gravel cleaner up a bit and take your finger off the end, syphon up the mulm and move onto the next patch Sounds more complicated that it is, I promise!
You will syphon a bit of sand out; I chuck it in a bucket in the garden. When I'm missing a lot of sand from the tank, I wash it and put it back in.