Sand?

[electropunk06]

I have just bought some play-sand for my new 90L. i am currently washing it in a bucket by filling it up with water moving the sand around abit and then draining the water i have done this 3 times and there is no more foam stuff gathering on the surface. i am going to do it a couple more times and then will it be ok to put in my tank?
can any plants be used in sand or do specialist ones need to be used?
is there any fish which cannot go into a tank with a sand substrate?
thanks

 

[jameshunter63]

just keep washing until the water is draining off clear. Plants love sand, i think prefer so there shouldnt be any problems with the plants, just make sure the lfs dont sell semi aquatic plants as they did to me
I also find that my fish have actually looked healthier since the introduction of sand and they sift through it!! great to watch. also no fish i can think of dont like sand but many really do require it to be happy. Such as cory cats, many loaches, rams and other cichlids and really needed if you have khulli loaches.
james

 

[CrystalClear16]

i would be surprised if play sand only took three washes. I bought proper aquarium sand because I couldn't be bothered to spend hours cleaning it - and that still took about half an hour's rinsing. I definatly did it more than 3 times.

 

[electropunk06]

thanks for the help =)
its in the tank now but water has gone a little bit cloudy i did ten washes of the sand (3 defiantly wasn't enough) but its only been in 10 mins hopefully the filter should clear it all pretty soon.
im going to have corys in there so hopefully they will like it they are currently in my 60L with gravel.
i might get some dwarf cichlids so it should be good for them as well.
do you guys have any tips on cleaning the sand?
thankyou very much,
lloyd

 

[jameshunter63]

thanks for the help =)
its in the tank now but water has gone a little bit cloudy i did ten washes of the sand (3 defiantly wasn't enough) but its only been in 10 mins hopefully the filter should clear it all pretty soon.
im going to have corys in there so hopefully they will like it they are currently in my 60L with gravel.
i might get some dwarf cichlids so it should be good for them as well.
do you guys have any tips on cleaning the sand?
thankyou very much,
lloyd

hmm, hard thing to do, only had the sand a couple of months so still getting the hang of it. bassically i find using the smallest siphon i have for the best suckshon, swirl it in a circle to get the poo and debris up and let it suck it up. Im still getting sand with it though which is annoying but its coming on. Also you will want to stir the sand every couple of months to let the gasses out.
james

 

[kevinjames]

use a hose pipe cut to the right length, seems to just suck up poo and debris off the sand surface but if you have any small fish be careful not to suck any up lol

 

[electropunk06]

cheers, i bought a small vaccuum thhis morning thought it would be better than my current on. its similar diameter to a large hose pipe.
will fish (corys) not mix up the sand enough to let gasses out?
lloyd

 

[ChrisCook]

will fish (corys) not mix up the sand enough to let gasses out?
lloyd

No - cories only filter through the very top layer of the sand but the gases build up much deeper in the substrate

 

[electropunk06]

will fish (corys) not mix up the sand enough to let gasses out?
lloyd

No - cories only filter through the very top layer of the sand but the gases build up much deeper in the substrate

ok thankyou just checking.