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Pro's and Con's about sand in a freshwater setup...

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doubledragon

The House Of Endlie
MFK Member
Nov 19, 2006
2,311
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ohio
Just wondered if I could get some input from some of you guys that have done this with success or failure....

Will the debree stay on the top of the sand or mix in??? Will big fish stir it up constantly??? Will it end up in my filters??? Can I still use my siphon clean or will it suck up the sand??? I've had one tank like this long long ago and kinda forget if it was worth it or not.... I used playsand...
 
I use pool filter sand.Its big enough to gravel vac with a large vac head to slow the flow down.Its cheap.My cichlids love to dig it up and move it around.I use maylasian trumpet snails to keep it stirred and prevent gas pockets.I also have a few tanks with colorquartz.Its cheaper than moonsand really nice looking and available in a few colors.The larger grade can be vacced
 
Biggest con--if over 1" deep, every inch of it has to be stirred weekly--even under all decor. Sand will trap anerobic (toxic) pockets of air otherwise. A real PITA if in a large tank.
 
Pufferpunk;1320768; said:
Biggest con--if over 1" deep, every inch of it has to be stirred weekly--even under all decor. Sand will trap anerobic (toxic) pockets of air otherwise. A real PITA if in a large tank.
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:) Some areas of my tanks have higher substrate levels to create a deeper effect, and when I move plants around to suit fit, every now and then medium to small sized bubbles will flow out. Not cool.
 
I use sand in my african cichlid tank...and i love it. All the waste just either gets sucked into the overflow or lays on top of the sand bed.. so when i vacuum, i just need to hover about an inch above the sand, and the waste is siphon out. Oh... and if you plan on using sand, it is recomended that you use an overflow and into a wet/dry filter. Cause if you use another type of filter where the attachments are placed inside and close or mid way to the bottom of the tank.... sand can easily get pushed and sucked into your filters and causes clogging!!
 
Oh yeah, definately be sure to have a sponge over the intake or you'll trash your impeller.
 
one good thing is that all the waste just sits on top so its easy to clean
 
I use pool filter sand. Debris sits on the top and its heavy enough to be vac'd by just hovering over the top without sucking a lot into the syphon. if you rinse it well there is very little to float on the top. and it settles quickly after its fully saturated. I have gravel in others. traps a lil more debris and is a bit harder to clean.
 
Either way the substrate has to be stirred before vacumed. At least gravel can be cleaned with a gravel cleaner. I think poop sitting on top of sand before it's picked up is pretty dirty-looking.
 
Pufferpunk;1320768; said:
Biggest con--if over 1" deep, every inch of it has to be stirred weekly--even under all decor. Sand will trap anerobic (toxic) pockets of air otherwise. A real PITA if in a large tank.
Click to expand...

Weekly??? So if you get all, it just keeps building air pockets over and over again..???? If I keep it to 1" do you think I'll be ok.? I was considering it in a 300 gallon and a 125 gallon... Do the air pockets ruin the water quality while they are under the sand, or when you stir them up, or both????
 
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