How Do You Get The Sand In Your Tank....

[Oscar Betta]

....to not go up and get in and clog the filter?

 

[shi24137]

the best way is to not have a current to constantly sweep it up and towards the filter. but id advise you ditch the sand and go with rocks and gravel.

 

[Oscar Betta]

K, thanks.

 

[Darkerwhite2]

Are you talking about the initial addition of sand, or the continuous affect the sand will have on your filter? I don't suggest ditching the sand and using rocks or gravel unless you want that. There are many fish that will thrive more with sand than gravel, and it looks better IMO.

 

[ellena]

Depends what sort of filter you have. In some, the water intake hits sponge/floss first which will filter out the sand bfore it gets to the motor/impellor (this is where it will cause problems). In others, there is an intake tube wich goes straight to the motor. In these cases, cover the end of the tube with tights/sponge to keep the sand out.

 

[Darkerwhite2]

Honestly i have never had any prob with the sand and my motor impellers, the water 'contacts' them before any sort of filtration. All my HOB, of all sizes, 110G, 30G, 15G, 1-5G filters handle the sand fine. I say throw caution to the wind and jump in!!!

 

[DutchKev]

the best way is to not have a current to constantly sweep it up and towards the filter. but id advise you ditch the sand and go with rocks and gravel.

thats not necessarily advice, more an opinion, i have sand in my 180L and have no problems with it with an external canister, if you want to add new sand onto of old one, i recommend putting it into a net and lowering it down into the water rather than dropping it in from the top, much more controlled and less mess will occur

 

[LauraFrog]

Sand clogging a filter is a fairly unusual problem. If there is a current directed at the bottom of the tank, this will cause the sand to be stirred up and it can enter the filter this way - the best idea is to reposition the filter outlet to stop the disturbance of the sand. I have also had sand sucked up a filter by positioning the intake too close to the bottom of the tank - try to keep the intake about halfway up the wall of the tank, this will help prevent the problem as well. You are most likely to have problems when the sand is always being stirred up by a digging fish such as a cichlid. The only thing you can really do then is to use multiple layers of pantyhose in the filter, or to choose a substrate that does not get so easily sucked up (ie very coarse sand or gravel) if you want to keep fish that habitually disturb the bottom of the tank.

 

[Oscar Betta]

Ok thanks guys. I need sand because I have 2 ADFs and I am getting them a smoother surface.