filtration with sand substrate

[Alice B]

I know a thing or 2 about sand. It is abrasive to impellers. And if it is deep fish waste forms pockets where anaerobic processing takes place which in a small reef tank when the sand is disturbed will cause a dead fish or 2. But this is fresh water. So if you use sand what do you filter with? and how often do you have to do a water change?

 

[Rocky998]

I know a thing or 2 about sand. It is abrasive to impellers. And if it is deep fish waste forms pockets where anaerobic processing takes place which in a small reef tank when the sand is disturbed will cause a dead fish or 2. But this is fresh water. So if you use sand what do you filter with? and how often do you have to do a water change?

You can use any filter besides an undergravel one I believe. And normal weekly 25-50% water changes do fine.
If you have sand, dont push the siphon all the way down to the bottom if you have more than 1-1/2 inches of sand because there is bad stuff that can come up, instead push down an inch or less into the substrate... Its WAYYYY less complicated than what you think

 

[Alice B]

That takes care of me and sand. I can do a monthly water change. Thank you. and I have lost a beautiful yellow tang to a deep sand bed. If I put sand in an aquarium it won't be over half an inch deep

 

[AbbeysDad]

I have pool filter sand in all my tanks and I have Aquaclear HOB filters and sponge filters. I do 50% weekly water changes with a submersible pump and never touch the sand.
BTW, one could use a UGF with sand if landscape fabric is put down first...but I've never done it.
The key with sand is to use a somewhat coarse sand as very fine sands are less friendly as they pack down.

 

[Alice B]

I run a small business, 1/3 of an acre and half of that requires a push mower, 5 dogs, 4 ponds, 2 cats, and I do occasionally have to eat and sleep. I gave my reef that took more time than I had away in 2012. So if it takes a weekly water change I don't bring the fish home. if it takes kalkwasser in the morning and RO and salt mix, I don't bring it home. And I cannot do weekly water changes no matter how easy they are. But thank you. if it turns out my julii corydoras have to have sand they will need a new home. Fish have to live within the conditions I can provide. or live elsewhere.

I use undergravel because, well I did a water change on the hex back in February I think, and I got the younger tanks a couple of times in between, but not the hex, and yes my nitrates were at 140 last night before I did a 50% water change, but no fish died. The algae eater and loach and guppies and tetras are alive. I will do a couple more water changes to get the nitrates down, but the giant anubias in the center of the tank is probably handling a lot too. If I had had sand and a back filter or a sponge I'd have lost the tank. And if I don't work in the spring, I lose my house. I have a mortgage, there is little work now that it is 100 degrees out, so now I catch up on aquariums and feed the lotus and the lilies

 

[Sgooosh]

for freshwater, you can get trumpet snails, they like to dig around in the sand

 

[Alice B]

I let my gravel sit in a bucket in a shed, and another covered bucket outdoors for 2 years in Texas heat and cold to get rid of those snails. I'll pass. thank you though

 

[Rocky998]

I let my gravel sit in a bucket in a shed, and another covered bucket outdoors for 2 years in Texas heat and cold to get rid of those snails. I'll pass. thank you though

I like snails. Their very helpful

 

[GaryE]

If you can't maintain the tank well for periods of the year, stock very lightly. Someone will come along and confidently try to talk you into a no water change tank, but those systems as good environments for fish were debunked ages ago. You have to work with the water, to an extent. You'll hear what we all want to hear, but right away, the perfection of it should be a warning.

As for sand, what's that? There's a huge difference in what we call it. Fine sand is prone to compacting and not good for a UG, but pool filter sand would work, in all likelihood. We can have great discussions at cross purposes with each other because "sand' is different things to different people.

You can reduce feeding. I assume you have AC, or else you are some kind of superhuman being for even functioning in that!. 100 degrees F sounds like you lived a bad life and the old myths were true. That's hot. But if you keep the tank in the lower 70s, you can feed every second day for periods, which should keep pollution down.

 

[AbbeysDad]

It always nearly surprises me when the merits of the routine, periodic partial water change is challenged. Nature refreshes fresh water ALL the time. ...24/7...365 days a year....else the creeks, streams, and rivers would just stop flowing! I've stood in awe of the amount of water flowing in the Niagara river between the Great Lakes and the flow of water out of the Amazon river is so great that fresh water can be collected 12 miles out at sea!
So the aquarium is this closed little box of water with creatures that pollute the water. We simulate natures rain when we do a partial water change.
Will fish survive high nitrates? Sure, all creatures want to survive. But high nitrates (e..g. polluted water) will have negative long term health effects on livestock. Those that choose to debate this simple fact just don't see the big picture.
Can water be purified so as to reduce the need for periodic partial water changes? Well, yes. Charles Clapsaddle of Goliad Farm is South Texas does not do water changes...but he has green houses filled with huge plants fertilized by the water. But the average home aquarium just doesn't have the capability to purify water so the simplest and easiest solution is to do partial water changes. There's typically no such thing as too much clean, fresh water!
The trick is to make the partial water change fast and efficient (Partial water changes, Fast and Easy). and the Deep Dive into Filtration and Water Quality.

 

[Back in the fold]

@AbbeysDad Jack Wattley would sure agree with you. Legend has it that he did 100% daily changes with his Discus and there has never been nicer fish ever.

 

[Alice B]

I don't doubt the merits of more frequent water changes, I just stock lightly. My 29 now that it is redone has 3 mollies and 3 bronze corydoras on very rounded gravel and they are fine. I also try to feed lightly. Too many guppies means the 55 is more heavily stocked but it is also heavily planted and my nitrates are near zero. The hex has a very mature filter and was months behind on waterchanges, It has about 15-20 guppies, 1 loach 1 algae eater 2 tetras. I think it is a 38 gallon and the algae eater is an albino BN male. so if my female lives I still have a pair. He might be a super red, he is certainly pinker than my others. I wasn't deliberately behind on water changes. and that 140 on nitrates was worse than I hoped for. The tetras and loach are population control. Yes I have central air. Texas is intolerable without it.

 

[AbbeysDad]

@AbbeysDad Jack Wattley would sure agree with you. Legend has it that he did 100% daily changes with his Discus and there has never been nicer fish ever.

Yes, many commercial breeders have flow through systems where fresh water is slowly introduced 24/7 while used tank water overflows out! It's great, just not really practical for the home aquarium....so we do the weekly or bi-weekly partial water changes.

 

[Rocky998]

Yes, many commercial breeders have flow through systems where fresh water is slowly introduced 24/7 while used tank water overflows out! It's great, just not really practical for the home aquarium....so we do the weekly or bi-weekly partial water changes.

I would love to have a large tank hooked up to my plumbing and have dechlorinators automatically added... That would be amazing!

 

[Alice B]

I work on some pretty fancy ponds. Some of them are $75K and up ponds. I didn't build them. They have gadgets. Water costs so much in Texas that the constant water change systems are mostly in petsmart or something. But auto top offs are common. I don't have any on my ponds. I have seen too many mechanical failures to trust my babies to a device.... I do have one thing, a timer, to turn the water off if I get called away while filling a pond. Even those fail after a couple of years.