Sand

[killifish1]

i want to basiclky re-do my tank,get sand in etc.how do you clean sand, i know theres something,how does it work and is it available at most pet shops?

 

[fishwatcher]

Put a little in a bucket or pitcher, fill it with water and stir it up with your hand. Then pour off the dirt and junk. Rinse each little bit that way until the water is clear. Then add it to the tank. It may still cloud the tank a bit for a day or so, but once it settles it looks really good. Unless you want colored sand you can buy it for about $5/ 50-lb bag from the local hardware store. It's just play sand like they use in sand boxes.

 

[killifish1]

but how do you clean it.

 

[Ava_Banana]

Yup........as was said above.......in a bucket is great.


I clean my sand with a constantly running hose......get bucket 3/4 full of sand (use a big bucket).....stick hose in.....just keep it running ....poke it round and round...every little corner....empty out water......keep hose running, keep turning the sand over and over in the bucket (I do it with the force of the water from the hose).

...sand is lovely and clean....very quickly!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I just swirl a fine net above the sand, the waste gets stirred up into the net but the sand doesn't as its too heavy- this method has worked great for me for over a year and a half now, i used to take the sand out when i had smaller tanks but i started using this method once i got my big tanks as its much less hassle to do .
I think you can buy a syphon or something for cleaning sand, but its expensive and to be honest there are plenty of other just as efficient but much cheaper ways you can clean your sand .

 

[Ava_Banana]

ooooohhh..sorry....you mean, how do you clean it once it is in the tank......

.......wot Tokis said then.....^^^

 

[killifish1]

so when its in the tank i just siv me net above it all.how much is a syphon.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

so when its in the tank i just siv me net above it all.how much is a syphon.

At my lfs they only had the battery powered ones for around £15's. I'm not sure what the average prices are like though for different types of syphons, personally i don't bother with them as the net method works fine for me.
All you do is swish the fine net above past the poop (or whatever you want to remove from the surface of the sand) to make it rise into the water, and then you just bring your net around once more to catch it while its off the substrate in the water .

 

[kniesh]

If yiour tank is suitable a group of Cories would do the trick perfectly. They keep the dirt moving around the tank, never settling on the bottom and eventually finding its way to ur filter. This depends on ur tank tho.

 

[killifish1]

ok well if i do ill get 2 cories

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

ok well if i do ill get 2 cories

A minimum of 3-4 of the same type is much better as they are sociable fish. Although they will help keep the substrate a bit cleaner, if the substrate is very dirty at the moment you shouldn't buy them purely because of that as they are prone to getting bacterial infections in their barbels/whiskers from eating off dirty substrate (they also can't shift poop from large fish like large plecos so you still need to clean that up yourself). You will also still need to clean the substrate on a once weekly basis, it just might no be as dirty by the end of the week if you have corys in the tank- shrimp like amano shrimp are also another option for helping keep the tank a little bit tidier, they'll do the same job as the corys and more (like focusing more on the cleaning of algae) .

 

[kniesh]

Yeah, sorry I always tell half a story. As Tokis says dont just throw Corys into a dirty substrate as it may harm them. Although once you have cleaned it before you put them in they really do cut down maintenance. Groups are really neccessary also.

 

[Torrean]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=141592

sand pins