what type of sand should i get?

[o-zel]

hi all

lol i know that is a weird question... but i have no idea what type of sand should i put in my 20 gal.... well i try gravel before in my 5 gal... but it just to hard to clean.. so want to try something new for the 20 gal... the 20 gal will mainly for guppy+ other fish.... will any kind of sand be ok?... what if it from my local beach? should i go for the 1 at the shore or the dry 1?
is java moss a good idea with sand?
thnx

 

[jordan barnhart]

Don't use sand from the beach. It contains salt and most likely is polluted with something. Go get some playsand from a lowes or home depot. It like $2.60USD. Or you can get Onyx sand, its black and looks really cool.

 

[smithrc]

why did you find gravel hard to clean?

sand is a bit more fiddley. you cant just plunge the syphon into it as it'll get sucked up and out.

all the poop will sit on the surface of the sand and detract from its apperance VERY quickly.

You will need to clean it 2-3 times a week to keep it looking as nice as it will look when you first set it up.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> all the poop will sit on the surface of the sand

Exactly, it doesn't drop between the stones and rot out of sight.

I use swimming pool filter sand. It is more expensive, but has an even grain size and shape. It does not pack down to the same extent as cheap sand. All sand beds need to be kept open, I prod mine about with a chop stick, the filter sand requires a lot less "gardening" then say silver sand.

 

[o-zel]

why did you find gravel hard to clean?

sand is a bit more fiddley. you cant just plunge the syphon into it as it'll get sucked up and out.

all the poop will sit on the surface of the sand and detract from its apperance VERY quickly.

You will need to clean it 2-3 times a week to keep it looking as nice as it will look when you first set it up.

well i don't really mind cleaning my tank 2-3 time a week, infact i enjoy clean lol... i want to use sand cuz i want the fish waste to sit on top so it make it easyer to get clean... well for the gravel all the waste just sink deep inside and it make clean extremly hard...

 

[swozzie]

I had a sand tank, you can scuplt the 'landscape' so that the water current takes the fish waste directly to the filter. This is quite effective at keeping the tank clean. However its bad for plants, you need water flowing past the roots which can't happen when they are in sand.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> you need water flowing past the roots

Quite the opposite actually. Plants in the wild do not have water flowing around their roots. One or the reasons plants have problems with undergravel filters is that the water circulation around their roots is higher.

 

[o-zel]

hmmm... maybe that why the plants i got from camp didn't survive in my 5 gal graveled tank
what the amount of sand i should put in? ie the thickness 1"?
so far i got banana plants (lily pad) n some moss... but will get more

thnx

 

[StarOrbs]

I belive sand should be less than 1 inch. Anything less than I believe.