Sand In Your Tropical Fish Aquarium

[colegamby]

great article i used it to change one of my tens to sand. worked great.

 

[Ethos]

Just a question, how do you vaccume sand, without having a tone of sand come up?

 

[ThinIce]

Just a question, how do you vaccume sand, without having a tone of sand come up?

practice and a kinda swirly motion

 

[sn0ut]

Thanks for such a great guide m8 I am umming and arring about swapping gravel for sand... What are the benefits of doing this and are there any fish that should not be kept with sand...?

 

[The-Wolf]

What are the benefits of doing this and are there any fish that should not be kept with sand...?

[snapback]861638[/snapback]​

The benfits are that detrius is not trapped in the sand therefore it is
a healthier evniroment.

quite the opposite there are fish that should not be kept with gravel, like corydoras for example as gravel could erode their barbles.

 

[prios]

just to double check....sand blasting sand is ok to use? i have access to LOTS and would like to change over to sand.

eta: no need to reply, i found the answers i needed...but i have a new one!
if i do a 50 to 75% water change and add bio-spera at the same time i change over to sand, i shouldn't have to worry about another mini cycle starting should i? i don't want to stress the fish more than absolutely necessary.

 

[Barracuda518]

Anyone else tried the sand/gravel combination?

I want to have half gravel and half sand. My plan is to have the gravel slope down towards the sand. Anyone see a problem with this?

Thanks B)

 

[rosietoo]

I'm sure I've seen a picture of someone's tank in the picture section, they had a set up like that, going from gravel at the back to sand at the front. It looked really good, very natural.

However, I'm not sure if the two substrates would mix together in time, giving you a grave-sand mixture all over the tank!

 

[Barracuda518]

I'm sure I've seen a picture of someone's tank in the picture section, they had a set up like that, going from gravel at the back to sand at the front. It looked really good, very natural.

However, I'm not sure if the two substrates would mix together in time, giving you a grave-sand mixture all over the tank!

[snapback]875607[/snapback]​

Yeah, thats what Im worried about

 

[The-Wolf]

you would need to use somekind of physical barrier to prevent the sand and gravel mixing.
short of stripping the tank down and siliconing strips of glass along the middle of the tank, a good piece(s) of slate or wood will suffice.

 

[Barracuda518]

what about big rocks between the gravel and sand?

 

[The-Wolf]

they may slow down the eventual mixing
but they won't prevent it fully, due to the
gaps between the rocks. sand has a habit
of filling every nook and cranny.

 

[Barracuda518]

ok, so I take it that its a bad idea for the sand and gravel to mix?

Im just worried about making the whole tank sand since ive never done it before and I dont know how hard it will be to keep it clean.

 

[Luke_e]

I am wanting to change from gravel to sand, but after hearing that people have had trouble with the water clouding up, but what happens to my poor fish in a 25ltr tub (or 3 25ltr tubs) whilst the sand is settling?
I'm slightly confused about the filter situation. Do i turn the filter off, then when the sand is in the tank, do i turn on the filter to help it clear quicker, then rinse the sponges after?
In total, what would someone estimate the time to change gravel - sand, (with the sand prewashed).
Thanks.

 

[nmonks]

You might want to just clarify the "silver sand" bit. There are two grades sold (at least here in the UK), known as 'sharp' and 'smooth'. Sharp sand is unsuitable. What you want is smooth silver sand, and this stuff is usually sold in garden centres for use with various types of plant. It's inexpensive, and usually costs less than aquarium gravel.

I _always_ use silver sand in my tanks. With fish like spiny eels, burrowing gobies, and freshwater flatfish, sand is essential. Puffers and cichlids also seem to like foraging in it.

My plants have always done really well in it. There's a misconception that anerobic conditions in the substrate are bad. They're bad only if the gases build up and come out into the tank. In a well maintained tank this won't happen.

The plants carry oxygen down their roots through special air spaces inside them (that's why bits of aquatic plant root float). This helps keep the substrate less anaerobic that it might be. But the low oxygen concentration also creates "reducing" conditions that shift mineral ions to the forms that plants can absorb. This is the opposite to what an undergravel filter does, which "oxidises" the minerals making them unavailable to the plants, and why plants usually grow badly in tanks with undergravel filters.

Burrowing fish and Malayan snails will remove any food long before the gases build up, and the Malayan snails also help aerate the substrate as they burrow through it.

In ten years of using sand in tanks, often to depths of 7-8 cm, I have never, ever seen or smelled any dangerous gases. Incidentally, I place sand on top of a layer of pond compost to maximise plant growth... this works really well.

So, my thing is this: if the fish and plants like sand so much, why do so many people still use gravel?

Cheers,

Neale

Some pictures of my sandy aquarium: