Does sand hurt the fish?

[fantasy fish]

I have a pleco and i know my tank is too small but they suck on the gravel in the tank, would having sand instead of gravel hurt it, can it suck up the sand and not be hurt? If fish eat the sand could it kill them?

 

[Tolak]

The sand should be fine for them, I wouldn't worry about them eating it any more than I would worry about a dog eating a rock it finds in the yard. If it's not food, they aren't interested.

Tolak

 

[blackfinshark_3]

but wouldnt sand kinda ruin the filter and when your vaccuming the bottom?

i ve thought about sand but always thought it would ruin my aquaclear mini and id have problems with vacuming?

is this true

 

[OrkyBetta]

The sand should be fine for them, I wouldn't worry about them eating it any more than I would worry about a dog eating a rock it finds in the yard. If it's not food, they aren't interested.

Tolak

watch out about that, tolak, a lot of dogs DO eat rocks

Don't worry, sand is their natural substrate.

 

[freddyk]

Yes, sand can ruin the impeller of a power filter. I simply get around this by keeping the intake far off the substrate and shutting down the filter if I'm doing anything to disturb the sand. Many people put a sponge (like a simple aquaclear filter pad) onto the intake as a prevention as well. I had one cichlid who would always spit sand right into the darn intake and now the filter is quite loud and annoying.

 

[fantasy fish]

Thank u every one for the help and i do have an undergravel filter which i have taken out while i am waiting for my sand to come in.

 

[Bloo]

Please note that you absolutely cannot use an under gravel filter system with sand. The sand will compact underneath and cause very dangerous gas pockets to build up

My filters are approx 5 inches above the sand and I get no sand whatsoever in the filter or impeller for that matter. You should only lightly rake through sand (on a weekly basis to stop pockets of gas forming) - not entirely whirl it around anyway.

 

[fantasy fish]

K i have taken the undergravel filter out with no intension of putting it back in, i am also wondering if it would be better to leave the filter grids on the tank bottom or take them out? Also on the bag of sand i bought it says that the sand should be pre-soaked before use to avoid floating particles and clumping. Soak in a clean bucket until the sand is uniformly wet and smooth. But after almost 24 hrs. i still have floating sand particals in the water, i have rinsed it to try to get the floating particals out but it doesn't help. Any answers to this?

 

[Bloo]

Nope - no grids underneath the sand. Just put the sand in the tank.
You shouldn't really "soak" the sand - that won't really help. It needs to be washed and swirled around to get rid of the larger particles and majority of cloudiness. Depending on the type of sand you bought, washing it can take anything between 5 minutes and an hour. Depending on the quantity of sand as well of course.
Just put the sand in a bucket and put a shower hose in there to give it a good clean. Let the water run until it's reasonably clear. Then it should be ok to put in the tank.

 

[fantasy fish]

It is clear just floating particals on the top . k so i will do what u say and see what happens. it is only a 5 pound bag not that big plus i am waiting for the rest of my sand to come in. thanks so much bloozoo2 for all the help, i haven't asked this many questions since i first got on. It feels good!

 

[fantasy fish]

i keep washing it but instead of getting rid of the floating particals it looks like i am losing a lot of my sand. should i keep washing it, the floating particals seem to never end

 

[Bloo]

Did you buy this sand from your lfs? What happens if you let the sand stand for a few hours (in water of course) ? When you say particles - do you mean small grains of sand or do you mean cloudy water ?

By the sounds of it you've done all the washing you can do. At a guess I would say it's fine to add to your tank now. The filter should take care of the rest.

 

[fantasy fish]

Yes i bought it from my lfs. Nothing really happens if i let it stand it just looks the same and yes the small grains of sand, otherwise the water i perfectly clear. i'll put it in my tank today or tomorrow. Thanks againg bloozoo2