Thinking Of Changing Subtrate To Sand

[yorkshiretyker]

I'm thinking of changing the subtrate in Archies tanks to sand -due to him spending some of his time down on the subtrate to prevent him hurting himself and also I've heard that sand is easier to clean.

I don't have any filteration - so I would persume that it would be safe to empty the tank saving 50% of the original water and then putting washed sand in leaving Archie in a goldfish bowl until his tank has settled again.

Any suggestions?

 

[modaz]

I'm thinking of changing the subtrate in Archies tanks to sand -due to him spending some of his time down on the subtrate to prevent him hurting himself and also I've heard that sand is easier to clean.

I don't have any filteration - so I would persume that it would be safe to empty the tank saving 50% of the original water and then putting washed sand in leaving Archie in a goldfish bowl until his tank has settled again.

Any suggestions?

as sand maybe very quick at settling, it isnt easier to clean, you can swish it around to get the muck off the top but it will still be there in the sand and if you get algea then it looks awful and you would need to replace the lot, atleast with gravel you can use a gravel vac, tbh in a tank with no filteration you are best to have it bare bottomed as then you will be able to see the mess when it needs to be taken out and you can syphon it out without leaving so much in there, you could ofcourse do this with the sand but eventually the cost will increase as you need to add more sand to replace what you have taken out. he will be fine with no substrate and if you have plants then java / anubius on bogwood or coconut works very well. hope this helps

 

[newfishy]

I dont do any substrate in my betta tanks, its just so much eaiser to clean.

 

[doresy]

I have sand in both my tanks.
The Betta tank also has Cory so sand is best for them.
I have absalutely no trouble with cleaning the sand at all with a gentle swish from a small gravel vac..
In fact, unlike gravel, with sand uneaten food and c**p does not fall between the substrate to rot.
I use the stick from an old algae scraper to stir about in the sand to release any gas build-up and at the same time to dislodge any algae that may form between the sand and glass.

Anything that looks good takes extra attention (as with Mrs. D! )

 

[Phoenixbaby]

i use sand in all my tanks, and dont have a problem keeping it clean

due to the fact both males r fed a set amount, and they eat it right away, so no food falls to the bottom, n cleanin poop is easy, i use a turkey baster

in the girls tank i have a goby who eats food off the bottom, and again turkey baster for poop if it doesnt get sucked up by the fluval

 

[millym]

hi
i changed our substrate to sand in our old betta tank and then a few months later changed our bettas tank completely. both times i put bert (betta) his tankmates (khulis & amano shrimps) into a small acrylic hosp tank we have (you could use a bucket) i also put in a small heater we have and an airline off the airpump for a little bit of water agitation(but you dont need to do this esp if the weather is warm). the sand & murkiness both times took a good couple of hours to settle with the help of the little fluval 1 filter we had in the tanks. i kept 3/4 of the old tank water both times and obviously had mature filter media in the filter. had no probs at all.
i prefer the sand for the betta tank as bert often parks under a tiger lily plant leaving his fins trailing on the sand & also the khulis prefer it & the panda corys we now have in there too. i dont find cleaning a problem and as long as your gentle you dont tend to suck up much if any sand on cleaning.
we like the sand so much when we swap our 4ft tank to a 6ft we're going to replace the gravel with sand in that too
(not looking forward to that day will be a mega hassle but worth it)

 

[yorkshiretyker]

I'm seriously thinking about changing subtrate now! - I know this sounds absolutly ridiculous, but do bettas dig? a huge pit seems to have appeared Archie's tank

P.S I didn't realise tiger lillies could live benethe the water! Interesting idea for my next betta set up