sand in my tank

well, i just got back from my dads pools hp, he gave me some sand..i will post pics later of the outcome..but wish me luuck on it

well, i have done the big CHANGE! and yes it is a big one. i will have pics in a little while, i have to wait for it to settle down in there.

ok, here is a pic of what the tank used to look like. http/fishregistry.net/registryitem.asp?ID=238
after that i changed it to this sorry about the quality, this camera sucks!

and now i have changed it to this, sorry about the water not being clear, it still hasnt settled..and sorry about the dirty-ness..i couldnt tell all that stuff was in there when i was using gravel...

and now here is a pic of my blue gourami checkin out the sand in his remodelled home!

and now we have the right end of the tank, the crowded place for the fish to CHILL out or they could go to the left side and swim around

I wish I had gone sand!

How hard was it for you to do the switch?

I much prefer the look of sand and recently changed all of my tanks over from gravel to pure white sand.. your tank should look great once the water settles a little I'm sure you won't regret the change over.

Is it easier to hoover the poop off sand using a gravel vac? I have the syphon type.

Also is sand higher maintenance? do you end up vacing every other day?

Do the fish prefer sand?

i was actually gunna ask if it seemed harder to maintain....i also have the siphon type.. /) thanks for the comps.

And here is as of today. sorry again about the quality of them )

NO COMMENTS?!?!?!

I think the sand looks WAY better!
I have had sand in tanks before....but the fish seemed to have a game where they dug it up and spit it into the filter....not a fun game for Chris (killed a few impellers and shafts)

IMO the fish DO like sand better than gravel, especially cories and loaches....and quite obviously the cichlids like it better too, considering how much fun they thought it was

As for cleaning it, it is fairly simple, most of everything poopy and such stays on top of the sand, so vacuuming it is a breeze. Just stay an inch above the surface of the sand with the syphon and swirl it around, the "poops" rise but the sand does not Also depending on what type of sand you get....playsand/aquarium sand/pool filter sand....you will need to stir some more than others, to get rid of the air pockets that accumulate due to that anaerobic (sp?) bacteria. Playsand more than the others, because it is a little more like mud and quite a bit heavier.

I eventually want to go back to sand in a few tanks, but am a little apprehensive because of the "let's kill the filter" game.....I just like the look of it ALOT better.

Oh yeah. Your tank looks AWESOME!

thankd FM