OP
OP
Should I move the fish back into my 55 gallon and have to catch them again when I add the sand? Or leave them in the bucket? Which would be more stressful?
Help my sand poisoned my fish
- Thread starter JuiceBox52
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Leave them in a bucket for a time being
I guess so...
I just think a fish would prefer to see something a little more close to home.
I also think it looks better. But that’s just me and my weird opinions.
I couldn’t agree more with you tbh. My cory’s health is amazing from the sand and they love to nuzzle right into it. I also like how it compacts the rooting system on plants. Cleaning wise is a breeze too
Martyn87
Fish Fanatic
I agree with Byron keep the fish safe, clean and add the sand back in, refill the tank, let the murky water clear as it will be murky when you refill (hopefully not as bad). Let the filter clear the water, then do a few water tests, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, hardness. I would do a 50% water change for good measure then add the fish if all is fine. Keep us posted.
Martyn87
Fish Fanatic
Don’t add the fish until you’re sure it’s safe. If it was me I might even check the tank is still cycled as you’ve had a bit of an ordeal, last thing you want now is an ammonia spike.
I agree. You don’t want them dying now due to a spike in ammonia.
Do you have any QT tank left?
I don’t believe she has any extra tanks...
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
What? I do need Prime, I'm getting new filter this week and I'm in the UK where our water is different in many other areas.
Several posts since I logged out yesterday, with some questions/comments that need clarifying.
Anaerobic pockets will develop in any substrate, whether gravel, sand, or dirt. Sand is no "worse" than gravel. The substrate is the biological bed of an aquarium. You can have a perfectly healthy aquarium with no filter, but you cannot have a healthy aquarium with no substrate, or with a substrate that does not do what a substrate must do so far as the biological system is concerned. Anaerobic areas are part of a healthy substrate/aquarium. But you leave them alone.
I set up my 33g tank last June after my move and decided to use my dark river gravel instead of sand. In late fall I decided it was not working, so after the New Year I tore the tank down. The anaerobic patches under where wood or rock had been for just seven months was black. I've seen this previously, durinng the 25 or so years of gravel substrates. To be honest, tearing down my play sand tanks when I moved was no worse, and I think not as bad.
All things considered, sand is the best substrate for an aquarium. I'm thinking here of the biological system and health of the fish.
When changing the entire substrate, always remove the fish. It is OK to siphon out a small bit for some reason--but use a syphon to do this, as it sucks out the sand and everything in it. But when changing the entire tank, the fish should be removed. It is not only far less stressful, but it give s you time to do the job without being rushed, and it avoids issues like occurred here. And I am still fairly certain this biological problem was the culprit.
Play Sand is dirty. So what? I have always rinsed new gravel by placing 4-5 cups in a bucket, then rinsing under the tap four or five times. The water at the end is not crystal clear, buit there is no need for that. With play sand I do exactly the same. The water after the fourth or fifth rinse is certainly not clear, but so what? It is only dirt, and that is harmless to fish and plants. I have explained elsewhere how to set up a tank with new play sand and not have it too cloudy. But my main point here is that all this fussing over rinsing sand for five or six hours is not necessary. In the end you will have the closest thing to a perfect and natural environment for the fish (and plants). That should be every aquarists' goal.
With respect to Quikrete vs Sakrete Play Sand...I have used bags of Quikrete and never had any issues. I do not know personally about Sakrete but from what it says on their website, it would not be my choice.
JuiceBox52...you are not going to have cycling issues no matter what you do, so decide and finish it.
With our very soft and acidic water we do not have cycling to worry about (unless you increase GH and pH deliberately).
The depth of a sand substrate should not be too great. I aim for somewhere around 1.5 to 2 inches depth when the rinsed sand is spread evenly over the aquarium floor. Then I may build up some rear areas with rock or wood. But unless you are dealing with a huge tank that will have very large plants, this is all you need. My 40g tank which now houses my beloved cories has about 1 inch spread evenly, maybe 1.30 inches. I never touch the substrate in this tank, the cories do that for me. And speaking of cories and sand...cories do eat sand; Ian Fuller was mentioning this in connection with a food/feeding discussion. Another reason never to use sharp/coarse industrial sands.
Anaerobic pockets will develop in any substrate, whether gravel, sand, or dirt. Sand is no "worse" than gravel. The substrate is the biological bed of an aquarium. You can have a perfectly healthy aquarium with no filter, but you cannot have a healthy aquarium with no substrate, or with a substrate that does not do what a substrate must do so far as the biological system is concerned. Anaerobic areas are part of a healthy substrate/aquarium. But you leave them alone.
I set up my 33g tank last June after my move and decided to use my dark river gravel instead of sand. In late fall I decided it was not working, so after the New Year I tore the tank down. The anaerobic patches under where wood or rock had been for just seven months was black. I've seen this previously, durinng the 25 or so years of gravel substrates. To be honest, tearing down my play sand tanks when I moved was no worse, and I think not as bad.
All things considered, sand is the best substrate for an aquarium. I'm thinking here of the biological system and health of the fish.
When changing the entire substrate, always remove the fish. It is OK to siphon out a small bit for some reason--but use a syphon to do this, as it sucks out the sand and everything in it. But when changing the entire tank, the fish should be removed. It is not only far less stressful, but it give s you time to do the job without being rushed, and it avoids issues like occurred here. And I am still fairly certain this biological problem was the culprit.
Play Sand is dirty. So what? I have always rinsed new gravel by placing 4-5 cups in a bucket, then rinsing under the tap four or five times. The water at the end is not crystal clear, buit there is no need for that. With play sand I do exactly the same. The water after the fourth or fifth rinse is certainly not clear, but so what? It is only dirt, and that is harmless to fish and plants. I have explained elsewhere how to set up a tank with new play sand and not have it too cloudy. But my main point here is that all this fussing over rinsing sand for five or six hours is not necessary. In the end you will have the closest thing to a perfect and natural environment for the fish (and plants). That should be every aquarists' goal.
With respect to Quikrete vs Sakrete Play Sand...I have used bags of Quikrete and never had any issues. I do not know personally about Sakrete but from what it says on their website, it would not be my choice.
JuiceBox52...you are not going to have cycling issues no matter what you do, so decide and finish it.
With our very soft and acidic water we do not have cycling to worry about (unless you increase GH and pH deliberately).The depth of a sand substrate should not be too great. I aim for somewhere around 1.5 to 2 inches depth when the rinsed sand is spread evenly over the aquarium floor. Then I may build up some rear areas with rock or wood. But unless you are dealing with a huge tank that will have very large plants, this is all you need. My 40g tank which now houses my beloved cories has about 1 inch spread evenly, maybe 1.30 inches. I never touch the substrate in this tank, the cories do that for me. And speaking of cories and sand...cories do eat sand; Ian Fuller was mentioning this in connection with a food/feeding discussion. Another reason never to use sharp/coarse industrial sands.
My apology...for some reason I thought I was responding to the OP here...sorry to confuse. But, as I'm here...I do not recommend Prime unless you have ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in the source (tap) water. Any conditioner will dechlorinate (chlorine and most chloramine), and most deal with heavy metals too. The less chemical the better.
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
It's alright.. I use Prime as I find it very useful and I have source of nitrates at 15ppm in my tap normally and then they shoot right up to 25-30ppm weekly! Nitrates are crazy tho
OP
OP
One of my otocinclus died overnight
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
Oh no.. I'm so sorry to hear this..
How are your other fish?
OP
OP
The otos seem okay. That was the smallest one that died. My rummynose I am worried about but they are alive so that's goodOh no.. I'm so sorry to hear this..
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