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

[doubledragon]

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!!

Thank's, that will help!!!!

 

[doubledragon]

Oh yeah, definately be sure to have a sponge over the intake or you'll trash your impeller.

Definitely thank's, that could get expensive!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pufferpunk]

They eventually bubble out & release poisonous gasses, killing your fish.

 

[doubledragon]

So in a way sand is almost like bare bottom cause the stuff sit's on top... But do differen't sand's make a difference in how well they work????
Like some of the cichlid sand's I've found said they can be used with a undergravel filter???? This bothers me cause, even with gravel when fine particles get under the undergravel filter your s.o.l., and stuff just keeps getting stuck to it till you have to tear the tank down and remove it all... I think with sand it would happen so much faster!!!!!!!! Anybody????

 

[doubledragon]

They eventually bubble out & release poisonous gasses, killing your fish.

So while they are under the sand they are neutral??? And when they either bubble out, or when you stir them up they are trouble???

 

[Pufferpunk]

They are toxic under the sand too & if disturbed in any way will bubble up. NIMFT!

 

[doubledragon]

They are toxic under the sand too & if disturbed in any way will bubble up. NIMFT!

I work third shift, I should be in bed by now!!! What does NIMFT mean??? Have you had sucess with tank's with 1" of sand or less??? Does it build up at all or not as fast??? Thank's...

 

[niblit]

I have sand in my 65 gal tank and have for about 15yrs the tanks been set up and running the whole time i've had a dempsey live his whole life in that tank,from the day he came home till about 3 months ago when he died he never came out my catfish has been in there for 7yrs same deal so i would say sand has been a healthy substrate for me.I do have to replace my impeller every few yrs on my ac110

 

[doubledragon]

I have sand in my 65 gal tank and have for about 15yrs the tanks been set up and running the whole time i've had a dempsey live his whole life in that tank,from the day he came home till about 3 months ago when he died he never came out my catfish has been in there for 7yrs same deal so i would say sand has been a healthy substrate for me.I do have to replace my impeller every few yrs on my ac110

Thank's, great input!!!! What kind of cleanings did you do??? Did you stir the sand regularly??? If not, no flamming from my part, just tryin to decide if I want to do the sandy bottom...

 

[midnight]

dont let him scare you.lol
did he test the bubbles to see if it was just air or something toxic?lol
did the fish poop then cover it with sand like a cat?lol

i have a 100g with lots of sand and bubbles never happen and no dead fish from it.
same with my other 4 sand tanks.
i do have fish that stur it up a bit tho,as most fish will.
i like sand,changed most of my tanks from gravel to sand.
pool filter sand.
doesnt clean the greatest with a gravel vac.
i have a 24" aro with sand and he hits the sand and sand goes everywhere but settles fast.
worst part is when you put it in.
clean the sand in a bucket real good.
stick a hose in the bucket of sand,stur it up with water,poor out water to get the cloudy water out,repeat about a thousand times.

santa might be bringing me sand for my 240
can ya picture 4 bags of sand under the tree?