Sand !

[foley69]

i have just got my mates rio 125 and i am wishing to put sand in it i have never used the stuff i was wondering if people can give some advantages and disadvantages of it ?

 

[MrWhite]

well it really does look a lot more natural and beautiful with sand IMO but the problems i have is it always looks dirty because the poop just lies on top visible when ever you walk past so im forever doing gravel vacs but i do have messy fish ( cichlids ) but i think its worth it looks a lot better mate also most fish prefer sand

 

[doresy]

Sand is and looks great! Depending on what you intend to keep but I would seriously suggest for sand a large shoal of cory 6-8 and or some goby. My group of both continually turn the sand over each night leaving it like virgin snow every morning. The poo gets disolved back into the water ending up in the filter.

Be sure to rinse new sand A LOT before using

 

[superman1]

i find sand alot more easier to clean as the crap just sits at the top so when ur vacuuming you just hover the syphon over the top of the sand bu about a 1cm. it looks alot more cooler and i think the fishes enjoy it alot more. plus it looks natural and you can buy play sand from argos for about 2.50 for 15kg.

bargain!!!

 

[Truck]

its great, if people say theres looks crap, theyre doing something wrong

 

[matchstickman47]

i was also thinking of having san iin my new 110 litre tank i think it look nicer

 

[minxfishy]

If your going for relatively clean fish, sand is ok and as said the poop sits on top so it easy enough to clean up, however, if your going for cichlids or plecs, then its a nightmare IME, as it never looks clean, I used to have sand in my tanks and it drove me insane, no sooner had I cleaned it up, then it was covered again.

What you planning to have it in?

 

[Fisses]

take a look at my thread:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=273198

i had gravel, then sand, then back to gravel again and now back to sand!!!!

 

[foley69]

well really i am just upgrading my tank from my 96 litre to a 125 with my 6 neon rainbows,keyhole and bristlenose and i am getting a couple of block head cichlids on monday

 

[Inchworm]

Hi foley69

One of the negative things that can be said about sand is that it can get sucked into your filter when it's disrupted during water changes. This is not a problem if you can remember to turn off the filter for a few minutes while the job is getting done, but it can chew up an impeller quickly if you forget.

 

[foley69]

yea i am aware of that cheers well as i have got red sand now it looks top so all i am concerned about is cleaning it if i remember correctly just hold the vacumm and inch or so above the sand to vac the dirt up them it should be fine also another question hwo should you prepare bogwood before adding it to the aquarium i was thinking of adding it to warm water and soaking it for a week and change the water in the bucket everyday will that release most of the tannings as i have picked up a wacking big peice of bogwood from work for £4.50...bargain

 

[doresy]

If your going for relatively clean fish, sand is ok and as said the poop sits on top so it easy enough to clean up, however, if your going for cichlids or plecs, then its a nightmare IME, as it never looks clean, I used to have sand in my tanks and it drove me insane, no sooner had I cleaned it up, then it was covered again.

What you planning to have it in?

Quite agree My community and betta tanks have sand which look great and my cichlid/pleco tank has black gravel (real, not painted) I was considering changing the cichlid tank over to sand too then took a closer look at all the ####e and thought again!

 

[RedeyesUK]

hwo should you prepare bogwood before adding it to the aquarium i was thinking of adding it to warm water and soaking it for a week and change the water in the bucket everyday

That should do it

You may find it takes longer than a week, though - I had a piece that I had soaking for nearly two months before it was ready. Boiling is another option, if it's small enough to fit in a pan (warning: do not use your regular cookware for this, it'll stain them! Not that I speak from experience of course... )

 

[rdd1952]

There is a solution to the messy fish problem too: black sand. I use Tahitian Moon Sand and while it is more expensive, the waste really doesn't show like it does on brownish play sand. Of course, I realize that isn't an option in most African tanks as in a lot (most) of cases, substrates such as aragonite sand must be used to keep the pH level up.