Sand?

[Angry_Platy]

Lately I have been thinking about converting to sand.....looks awesome and seems easy maintenance.

A few questions though....

1. If the fish like to dig will it stir the sand up too much?
2. Will the algae grow as sheets on the surface of the sand?
3. If the bottom gets disturbed does the sand go flying around the tank?
4. What kind of maintenance is needed?
5. Is it really easier than gravel?
6. If you have converted to sand do you have any regrets?
7. Is the conversion to sand hard?
8. During the conversion do the fish need to be out of the tank for the whole time the tank is cloudy (as can get when you add sand.....from the reading I have done here)
9. What is the best sand to use? Is coloured (i.e. black) sand OK?

Thats all for now

Thanks for the help

 

[The-Wolf]

1. If the fish like to dig will it stir the sand up too much?
2. Will the algae grow as sheets on the surface of the sand?
3. If the bottom gets disturbed does the sand go flying around the tank?
4. What kind of maintenance is needed?
5. Is it really easier than gravel?
6. If you have converted to sand do you have any regrets?
7. Is the conversion to sand hard?
8. During the conversion do the fish need to be out of the tank for the whole time the tank is cloudy (as can get when you add sand.....from the reading I have done here)
9. What is the best sand to use? Is coloured (i.e. black) sand OK?

1. Nope.
2. It can do.
3. Nope, it settles very quickly.
4. same as gravel, only less so.
5. Yes.
6. none what so ever.
7. no.
8. no, you can put the fish back in as soon as you've stopped messing about.
9. pt1; thats a matter of personal choice, IMO playsand is great! Pt2 if thats what you want go for it.

 

[Angry_Platy]

I am having visions of all the crap that would normally setlle into the gravel, sitting on top of the sand like debris....

Is this easily removed with a gravel vac?

How do I stop the gravel vas sucking up the sand? (I have a python)

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I am having visions of all the crap that would normally setlle into the gravel, sitting on top of the sand like debris....

Is this easily removed with a gravel vac?

How do I stop the gravel vas sucking up the sand? (I have a python)

The poo does sit on the top but it's very easy to get rid of with a gravel vac. Just hover a little about the sand and it's lighter than the sand so will go up the tube leaving your sand pristine. Or, you can woosh a net a little about it and catch it in the net.

I have had problems in my planted cube with algae on the sand btw. I should take a picture to show you.

 

[rvm]

I have an algae problem in my small tank with sand, but nothing too major, and it's easily cleaned by stirring the sand a little.
My big tank has black sand and that is constantly being turned over by the 3 eartheaters in there and the Oscar who has this thing for trying to bury himself in the sand (dumb oscar thinks he's a Banjo cat!!!) so it gets kicked up all over the place, but it settles really quickly and I never have a cloudiness problem!!

 

[clutterydrawer]

1. no
2. it might. I'm not sure cos i don't have any algae.
3. no a bit will float around for a couple of seconds but it settles really fast.
4. vaccing, and stirring round every month or so to prevent anaerobic pockets
5. yes.
6. nope. except sometimes I wish I'd chosen black not sand-coloured.
7. I found it a lot of work esp. lifting buckets and the catching of the fish i found quite stressful. not too bad though, took me bout 7 hours for my 15g tank not including washing the sand.
8. as soon as I had changed my substrate and set up the tank again I replaced the fish. I didn't get any cloudiness.
9. any that ISN'T coral sand/marine sand/anything else that might affect your water chemistry. black is nice cos it makes the fish stand out and look more colourful but it's more expensive.

 

[Da_Oz]

convert to sand

Hope this helps

 

[Elisabeth83]

1. If the fish like to dig will it stir the sand up too much?
A. I have corys and they dig in the sand but it doesn't stir up

2. Will the algae grow as sheets on the surface of the sand?
A. I've seen this at a store once but I haven't had a problem with it

3. If the bottom gets disturbed does the sand go flying around the tank?
A. It stirs around a bit but after a few seconds it falls to the bottom again

4. What kind of maintenance is needed?
A. I just vac once a week

5. Is it really easier than gravel?
A. I think it is...all the poop, plant matter stays on top of the sand and it's a lot easier to suck it up with the vac

6. If you have converted to sand do you have any regrets?
A. I have ZERO regrets!! It looks so much nicer and is so much easier to clean!!

7. Is the conversion to sand hard?
A. In two of my tanks I had gravel so I had to switch but I thought about it and thought catching the fish (some are fast like my siamese algae eaters) they would be more stressed so I just left the fish in the tank and tried to be very quiet and slow and they didn't seem too bothered.

8. During the conversion do the fish need to be out of the tank for the whole time the tank is cloudy (as can get when you add sand.....from the reading I have done here)
A. I used sand I bought from my lfs and only rinsed it about 5 times and it wasn't cloudy at all. I guess it depends on what sand you use. As I said before I kept my fish in the tank the whole time I switched to sand.

9. What is the best sand to use? Is coloured (i.e. black) sand OK?
A. I used natural colored sand but that is just what I prefer. I have live amazon sword plants and natural silk plants as well as pieces of bogwood/driftwood and I just wanted a really natural look to my tanks.


I hope this helps

 

[RYO]

Hehehehe you know you want to
1- not realy
2- not seen it myself but ive got jcb corys
3- not much
4- lot less than gravel, just run a chop stick through it now and then.
5- oh yea
6- none whatsoever
7- no
8- i took mine out but thats up to you. As for the cloudyness a good wash sorts it out
9- personal taste realy- but i like black too


sooooo you realy realy want toooooo dont you shhhhhh hear that sand calling