SAND SAND SAND HELP ME!!!

[Kem]

Hi everyone is worrying me about sand. I didnt want to have gravel in my tank because i thought it would make it look like a typical tank. I bought my sand from my LFS (Local Fish Shop) will it damage my internal filter i have a Fluval 3 Plus my tank is 100 litres (sorry for the metric). Another question i have is people have been telling me that air pockets in my sand can create anorobic bacteria which can kill my fish is this true? I came up with an idea of adding additional tubing to my air pump and running it under my sand? Has anyone tried this coz i think it would look good.

Thanks

 

[mrV]

It will not damage your internalt filter, if you don't put that filter in sand. Or pour sand inside it...

And yes, bottom may become blocked - whether or no you have sand or gravel. You can buy these little snails (malaysian trumbet snail few):

because they live mostly in bottom and keep your sand porous - so it won't go blocked. Those snails breed quickly so you need only few of them. they don't eat plants either so they are not harmful - sometimes they can taste them, but not normally.

 

[The-Wolf]

there have been lots of post on this subject latley (do a search on here for sand)
yes gasses can build up if your sand is over 3"deep but if you stir the sand, weekly, with a chopstick or similar then it will dissipate, and not be a problem.

The sand will cause a prob with the filter only if you have the filter directly sucking fronm the botton keep it about 2" from the sand and you should be fine.

adding air tubing, or an airstone for that matter under the sand will just send clouds of sand up in thw water and it will never settle.
I have sand in 2 of my tanks and both have a small area at the back with gravel sso the airstone is under that. i used slate and rocks to keep the gravel seperatd from the sand.
HTH

 

[Kem]

Thanks guys that helped alot. One more question on the sand issue i want to grow plants is there anything i can put under the sand i aint crazy but i heard that you can put a certain soil underneath the sand or flurine based substances

 

[The-Wolf]

Thanks guys that helped alot. One more question on the sand issue i want to grow plants is there anything i can put under the sand i aint crazy but i heard that you can put a certain soil underneath the sand or flurine based substances

fullers earth(clay cat litter, make sure it 100% natural) is good as a underneath sand layer.

 

[blakwidoe]

Wow great info here thank you I am considering sand for all my tanks but was uncomfortable about it until now. Again thank you

 

[Kem]

Hiya, this is a brilliant forum! fullers earth i cant seem to find that on the net any idea where i could buy it, wont the clay increase the alkanli in the water? What is the thing to put under the sand to stop it becoming stagnent, help my plants grow and where do i get it

)

no one is in the chat rooms

Thanks

 

[daisycat]

We don't have anything under the sand in our tank and our plants are growing just fine...they are very rampant in fact!

I wouldn't personally use fuller's earth but if you want to get it then it will be with the range of cat litter in a pet shop - you can buy huge bags very cheap. (I also have cats!).

 

[blakwidoe]

anyone use laterite with their sand?

 

[mrV]

Laterite or/and clay is good. When you buy it from hobbyshop, be sure it's only pure clay from soil - not containing any other stuff! I wrote earlier on plant section about making clay-pellets at home, put the post disappeared (something to do with forum problems).

Mixing clay and little bit turf is excellent choice when fertilizing plants.

Some have put clay on bottom and above it sand:

 

[The-Wolf]

Laterite or/and clay is good. When you buy it from hobbyshop, be sure it's only pure clay from soil - not containing any other stuff! I wrote earlier on plant section about making clay-pellets at home, put the post disappeared (something to do with forum problems).

Mixing clay and little bit turf is excellent choice when fertilizing plants.

Some have put clay on bottom and above it sand:

I love that drawing.

 

[clutterydrawer]

I wouldn't personally use fuller's earth

why not?

 

[Dubby]

I use a combination of clay and vermiculite as the base layer with sand on top and that seems to help the plants a lot more than when I had only sand as the substrate.

 

[mrV]

Vermiculite? What's that?

 

[daisycat]

I wouldn't personally use fuller's earth

why not?

Because it's what my cats poo in! I like my fish and cats to have different pooing media!!!

Honestly, no real good reason other than it didn't seem necessary to complicate the substrate issue by having anything other than pure sand!