What Is The Cost?

[Joemuz]

Im trying to work out how much im going to spend on sand for my 180l tank that im getting next week.
I dont know what sort of price the amount of sand i will need is going to set me back. The tank dimentions are
40", 20", 16". How much do you think the sand will cost to give about an inch thickness on the bottom?
This really is the most pathetic thread, but i cant work it out!
Thanks, Joemuz

 

[tnhowery]

I used playsand from home depot it was 3.95 for a 50 pound bag probly one and a half bag will be good i used to in my 90G and have a 2 inch layer

 

[diet]

Im trying to work out how much im going to spend on sand for my 180l tank that im getting next week.
I dont know what sort of price the amount of sand i will need is going to set me back. The tank dimentions are
40", 20", 16". How much do you think the sand will cost to give about an inch thickness on the bottom?
This really is the most pathetic thread, but i cant work it out!
Thanks, Joemuz

i believe a big band of play sand from B&Q is around a fiver and that should do it with some left over

 

[Joemuz]

This is ok for tropical tanks is it?
And what is the best way to wash it?
hope my questions arnt silly!

 

[tnhowery]

Yes its fine and i just put it in a container and ran water through it for about 20-30 minutes stirring it every couple. Just be sure to put it into an empty tank and dont disturb the sand when filling. Also let the big particles settle before turning on any filters, sand is very good at destroying the motor (experience talking ). The water will still cloud up some but should clear in 12-24 hours.

 

[Joemuz]

Yes its fine and i just put it in a container and ran water through it for about 20-30 minutes stirring it every couple. Just be sure to put it into an empty tank and dont disturb the sand when filling. Also let the big particles settle before turning on any filters, sand is very good at destroying the motor (experience talking ). The water will still cloud up some but should clear in 12-24 hours.

So can sand easily getin and destroy the filter?
Not shure i want to take any risks.

 

[DiscusAngel]

Use small Gravel the natural looking colour. sand is messy gets chucked about everywhere and ruins your filters.

because for my 130l tank 5 bags of it filled it and cost about a fiver £1 per bag

 

[Joemuz]

I think im gonna get tiny gravel instead. Thanks a lot everyone!
Cheers, Joemuz

 

[leoslizards]

I have Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate and it does the same as sand. Clogs it up and I have to open it up to clean it out, so whenever I move a plant or clean the gravel, I just turn the flow rate valve to the off position so I don't have to worry about messing with or cleaning the filter.

 

[John59]

I have an ecco 2236 and sand never had any problems

 

[paul-discus]

Playsand mate which is just silver sand at less cost, my filter has been fine with it and i much prefer it to gravel.

 

[Joemuz]

Playsand mate which is just silver sand at less cost, my filter has been fine with it and i much prefer it to gravel.

Nah, thanks anyway but i will just stick to small gravel i think. I will buy some tiny gravel that looks like sand, its more natural than larger gravel i think, especially when the larger gravel is multi-coulored. Thanks a lot everyone, Joemuz

 

[jayjay]

Can anyone name a fish that prefers gravel to sand? This is the way I look at it, almost all fish prefer sand to gravel, some fish have choked on gravel, some can't bury, some get cuts which lead to infection, sand in my experience is easier to clean and none of my filters have ever been effected by sand.

 

[Joemuz]

I cant name any but i am shure that gravel cant be that bad can it?

 

[fenwoman]

Yes its fine and i just put it in a container and ran water through it for about 20-30 minutes stirring it every couple. Just be sure to put it into an empty tank and dont disturb the sand when filling. Also let the big particles settle before turning on any filters, sand is very good at destroying the motor (experience talking ). The water will still cloud up some but should clear in 12-24 hours.

So can sand easily getin and destroy the filter?
Not shure i want to take any risks.

sand is lovely. I used playsand from my local builders merchant. It cost me £5.95 for a 25 kilo sack. My tank is 48" long. I put the sand into a bucket, ran the shower head in it to fill the bucket, stirred it with my hand until it was clear, only a few minutes as it is clean stuff anyway. Has to be for chiuldren. Filled the tank and used a plastic jug to scoop the wet sand out of the bucket with a little water and just drizzled it into the tank. It was dead easy, like pouring golden syrup. I planted the tank and let it all settle down for a couple of hours before turning the filter on.There is no chance of it destroying your filter motor if you use a little common sense and don't switch it on while stirring the water and sand in the tank. It sinks to the bottom so I don't see how it would get into the filter motor unless you were actively stirring it up.It looks much nocer than bog standard gravel and I find my loaches seem to enjoy whiffling through it which they cannot do with gravel. I only used about 1/3 of a sack to have a one inch deep layer of sand in my tank. I put gravel at the rear of the tank to make it look like a natural stream bed and to make it easier to plant into and it looks nice.
There is no risk with sand otherwise dozens of us users would have destroyed filters and I can assure you that my filter is just fine.