is there any easy ways to add sand into a tank with fish?

[Sgooosh]

Find a non toxic play sand usually pretty cheap and the best thing for them I’ll try and dig a video out for you that I found interesting. I always thought there is no was it was just pure soft sand must be a mix but no it is literally a sand pit. I think I’ve used Argos play sand before but that was a while ago.

Wills

keep in mind play sand is very very dirty, and you have to wash it because it will be hard to settle

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

keep in mind play sand is very very dirty, and you have to wash it because it will be hard to settle

Washing it was really easy. The Argos brand is actually pretty clean, but obviously still needs washing. It was definitely the easiest to wash out of the other stuff I've done before.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Find a non toxic play sand usually pretty cheap and the best thing for them I’ll try and dig a video out for you that I found interesting. I always thought there is no was it was just pure soft sand must be a mix but no it is literally a sand pit. I think I’ve used Argos play sand before but that was a while ago.

Wills

I'll look on their website now.. I'll try and get a huge bag of it aswell for future reference

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Washing it was really easy. The Argos brand is actually pretty clean, but obviously still needs washing. It was definitely the easiest to wash out of the other stuff I've done before.

Awesome, How long did you need to wash it for and did it settle alright in the end?

 

[SAChichlidLover]

I might try using a divider to split the tank in half and then do one side with the fish in the other and do it like that to avoid removing each one into a bucket as some of them are quite large and I want to minimise stress for them all

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Awesome, How long did you need to wash it for and did it settle alright in the end?

I used the little hose thing from the detachable shower head in my bathroom, a big 12L bucket and 1/2 - 3/4 of the sand each time. Took maybe ten minutes of swishing the sand around, letting it overflow, waiting until the water cleared, e.c.t for each lot of sand that I did. Might need two or three buckets depending on how much sand you're using. I used hot/warm water straight from the tap to wash it. It was cold that day so I didn't want to wash it outdoors.

I got two 15kg bags for £10 from Argos.

Sorry if this is hard to make sense of.

Basically, ten minutes or so of washing each load of sand, and then left it in the bucket(s) overnight. It settled very well with about an hour or two of cloudiness and then absolutely nothing.

I put the fish back in once the water was up to temperature, since my filter was already established and would be able to cope with the complete water change.

No deaths, even all the snails and tetras survived. No stress, their colour returned to full brightness after about twenty minutes.

This thread from a few weeks ago was where I learned a lot about sand and switching substrate. Then I made this post in my journal briefly covering how I went about doing it.

Again, it's a bit troublesome but it's very rewarding.

 

[FloridaChick]

Love the tank! Glad to know your little kuhli loach is okay hah

 

[Sgooosh]

?
@FloridaChick did you mean to say something but submitted it accidentally?

 

[FloridaChick]

Haha! I did but new and got confused ? Busted! I really bought expensive sand and not yet sure the best way to clean it. Kuhlis look happier than ever ? If only they could talk ? (that would be creepy!)

 

[Sgooosh]

Haha! I did but new and got confused ? Busted! I really bought expensive sand and not yet sure the best way to clean it. Kuhlis look happier than ever ? If only they could talk ? (that would be creepy!)

i think you should root some of your floating plants, they will absorb sand nutrients. i dont clean the sand personally, it is waayy too hard

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

i think you should root some of your floating plants, they will absorb sand nutrients. i dont clean the sand personally, it is waayy too hard

My aquarium sand was very clean, actually. I don't think it came up with any sort of dirt. Maybe a small amount but nothing noticeable. I probably wasted more money accidentally spilling it down the drain.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Haha! I did but new and got confused ? Busted! I really bought expensive sand and not yet sure the best way to clean it. Kuhlis look happier than ever ? If only they could talk ? (that would be creepy!)

Aquarium sand is... Hard to clean. I won't lie to you there. I ended up just sitting in the bath washing it because it's so much more effort than gravel. Back hurt for hours after.

 

[FloridaChick]

i think you should root some of your floating plants, they will absorb sand nutrients. i dont clean the sand personally, it is waayy too hard

Its mostly bacopa but the bettas love to rest on it on the surface of the water. Suggestions for bottom plants? On offer up looking for a used 20 gal.

 

[Sgooosh]

Its mostly bacopa but the bettas love to rest on it on the surface of the water. Suggestions for bottom plants? On offer up looking for a used 20 gal.

that will be good. you can add cories to 20 gal but keep some in the old tank.


anubias is good, just put it in there it will root itself. bettas can sleep there too