What Sand?

[dave_oddballs]

hi i take possession of a 1000 litre tank on saturday, i plan to have a simple sand substrate, whats the best sand to use? preferably cheap, as i figure i will need a fair bit to get a good couple of inch's depth!
i know people use play sand but i don't want that colour in the tank so would something like silver sand be ok in an aquarium? or what other suggestions is there? all i want is a fine sand and naturally coloured, or light, but not white!

cheers,
Dave

 

[Truck]

hi i take possession of a 1000 litre tank on saturday, i plan to have a simple sand substrate, whats the best sand to use? preferably cheap, as i figure i will need a fair bit to get a good couple of inch's depth!
i know people use play sand but i don't want that colour in the tank so would something like silver sand be ok in an aquarium? or what other suggestions is there? all i want is a fine sand and naturally coloured, or light, but not white!

cheers,
Dave

toysrus sand isnt white, it has a pinky colour to it, heres a comparison, argos on the left, toysrus on the right:

 

[JustKia]

Be careful with silver sand - it's quite sharp so any fish that spend a lot of time on the bottom might be irritated by it.

 

[dave_oddballs]

thought as much, i meant i wanted the sort of colour of silver sand, im having rays so they will be at the bottom lol.
yeah truck i think i prefer the toysrus one, do you know the rough price of it and what area it would cover, with about 2-3" thickness?
cheers,
Dave

 

[sjolliff]

Iv got 30KG of argos play sand in my 400L discus set-up which gives me a 2-3" covering and it looks great and for £2.99 a 15KG bag you cant go wrong, better the LFS sand IMO, there is a toy master near me (keighley) doing 4 bags (60KG) for £9 of the same stuff as argos

I just rinsed it twice, did not cloud or owt and settles quick even when it gets disturbed by the plecs plus the cories love it i dont have to gravel vac at all!

 

[Truck]

thought as much, i meant i wanted the sort of colour of silver sand, im having rays so they will be at the bottom lol.
yeah truck i think i prefer the toysrus one, do you know the rough price of it and what area it would cover, with about 2-3" thickness?
cheers,
Dave

its £5 per 25 kg

one bag did 80*30 at 4cm

so one bag did about 10 litres, so work out the volume needed and then divide it by ten and thats how many bags youll need

 

[dave_oddballs]

so at 3" thickness i need 123 litres, so thats just over 12 bags? and that makes £60, suppose its not that bad considering the size of the tank, it must cost hundreds if i use lfs sand!
i dont think id have to do much gravel vacs as the rays would constantly stir it up and then it would get sucked up be the filters!
gotta invest in a couple of external heaters now, anyone know the best place to get these, don't know what power i'd need for 1000 litre but im gathering i will need 2 at least.
cheers for that guys,
Dave

 

[sjolliff]

Get 2 hydor 300W ETH,
I use a 300W for my 400L and it keeps the temp spot on, its noisey though when it clicks on. try ebay i paid £31 delivered on there

 

[Truck]

i would go more than 600 watts personally

 

[dave_oddballs]

hmmm i dont know what to do, they only go up to 300 watt, but im unsure 600 watt would be sufficient for 1000 litres, but could you put 2 in a row on 1 filter outlet? and one on the other filter outlet, (there is 2 external filters) that would take it up to 900 watt which id be happy with. the only thing is i really dont want an internal heater in with rays! looked on ebay and i found them for £32 each and about £3 p+p so not too bad i'm looking at about £100 just for the heating, not to mention the electric bill! lol

 

[bae1994]

yeah im also trying to work this out on my 8ft tank and im using toys r us sand i think but ive gotta work out the heater aswell (although mine holds less water)

 

[kiriyama]

hmmm i dont know what to do, they only go up to 300 watt, but im unsure 600 watt would be sufficient for 1000 litres, but could you put 2 in a row on 1 filter outlet? and one on the other filter outlet, (there is 2 external filters) that would take it up to 900 watt which id be happy with. the only thing is i really dont want an internal heater in with rays! looked on ebay and i found them for £32 each and about £3 p+p so not too bad i'm looking at about £100 just for the heating, not to mention the electric bill! lol

Hi , if you don't have any luck on ebay you could always check www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk they stock hydor..........
happy hunting