Rocks for my mbuna tank and Sand

[Nina7777]

Hi everyone,
Currently I have One large peice of Lace rock in my 30 gallon tank. It is actually helping keep the ph just right.

Unfortunately It does not offer great hiding places.

So my question is, is there another type of rock which I can stack to make smaller caves, that will still help buffer the water?

Also my filter has built up a nice colony of bacteria, and I would like to convert to sand now. Do you think sand or finely crushed coral would be best?

If sand which kinds are best?

My plan is to remove the fish and put them in a 20 gallon rubbermaid container with air.

How long can they stay in there while the sand particals settle?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You can return the fish to the tank as soon as you are done messing around with it. The sand particles will not do any harm to the fish. The only reason for moving them in the first place is really to avoid the stress of all the work that will be going on in the tank.

Personally I find sand much more natural then crushed coral, and I've never seen a cichlid that didn't appreciate sand. Another bonus is that you can get pool filter or play sand for just a couple of bucks, and it works nicely.

As a buffering rock you limestone works well, as well as holey rock. Check out a local landscape supplier, they should have a wide selection of rocks for you to choose from. It can help to have rocks buffer the water, but there is no rule that makes it a necessity - personaly I don't worry about it because it limits my choices too much. In general regular water changes keep the PH stable on its own.

 

[Nina7777]

Ok great! I was just worried because I read a post where someone said you had to wait a couple of hours because it was like a human trying to breath in a sandstorm.

I think I will go to the garden shop down the street from this weekend. and see if I can find some limestone.

Is there anything special besides rinsing that I should do to it?

And which would you suggest to be the "better sand" Play sand or pool filter sand?

I've heard mixed reviews.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

And which would you suggest to be the "better sand" Play sand or pool filter sand?

There is no correct answer for this, which is why you hear mixed reviews. It depends on the specific brand being used. I like the texture of play sand better then pool sand. I use a play sand of a brand called 'King'and it is truly the best sand i've ever used. It is basically just washed beach sand, and causes absolutely no cloudiness after just a quick rinse, and has a perfect grain size. I have noticed that many people who buy other certain types of play sand can rinse all day and still end up with cloudy water. No matter what you buy, it will settle - its' just a question of how long it takes.

Rinsing is all you need to do. I just use a 5 gallon pai, fill it up about 1/3 with sand, and then rinse and dump several times.

 

[Nina7777]

Ok great!

Thanks alot!

 

[fish_r_great]

I've never seen a cichlid that didn't appreciate sand.

Yeah I put sand in my tank and they had lots of fun!!!



Digging it up

 

[gixer]

i use a mixture of playsand and coral sand (argonite) helps to buffer too

 

[vantgE]

where do you get the king playsand I just finished my third hour of cleaning half a bag of rona revy stuff(canadian store) and it is still really fine, anyone no a better brand and where to get it or is all playsand this bad, there is gravel in it too

 

[gixer]

playsand should NOT have gravel in it, that sounds like washed sand to me for building etc..

playsand is the sand that is commercially available for the use in childrens sandpits and is available in most big stores in the UK however i see you are in canada, how about somewhere like toys'r'us . do you have that store in canada?

if not i'm sure you get the idea

 

[vantgE]

I know I got it at a hardware store we were over there and we didn't feel like driveing to the mall so I picked it up it was labeled as sterilized playsand and i was indicateing how bad it was with the gravel it even had little kids playing in a sand box on it, i will try toys r us though, thankyou

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I've used construction sand in the past too. Very dusty, but it works.

 

[tdins_2]

i used playsand by quickrete also soubles as moulding sand it is very dust and makes a nice cloud but i washed it in a pillow case for a while it looks nice but my catfish digs through it and makes sculptures around my rocks and wood

 

[cardak]

Just to note a bit. Playsand might have metal inside which might not be desirable. Before you buy the sand check the bag if it indicates what metals might be inside. Best to get pool sand, or 100% silico blasting sand.