Sand

[Joeyt66]

I have some play sand in my 125 Gallon. It has been in there for about 3months and just recently it seems the sand is making the aquarium look dirty (ive tried water changes added more filtration (eheim 2217 and then added a fluval 104) It looks like very tiny sand particles floating around. After i washed it really good and put it in the tankwith in a couple hours it was clean and looked pretty good up till about a month ago. Ive tried lots of different things to try to make the water clearer example ......water changes (works for a couple days) filter floss, carbon, more filtration to name a few. I am gettin discouraged with the sand and am thinking of switching it to something else. Which is a shame cause my fish seem to like it and i love the looks when it is clear. Any ideas or anyone else have this problem?

 

[WILDER]

Do you vac it with a gravel vac.

 

[Joeyt66]

yes i vacum it once a week

 

[WILDER]

Do you have an airstone or something that's kicking the sand up into the water.

 

[Discomafia]

Do you have cories or plecos that stir up the bottom?

 

[Joeyt66]

nope no airstone(well i did but took it out thought it might be that too) i have 1 plec but he is still smal and doesnt seem to stir much up. I do have a couple Columbian sharks but not convinced they tear it up either.

 

[BettaMomma]

Have you changed the filter, or moved it or anything to that effect?

 

[Joeyt66]

i moved the one that sucks up a bit (i thought it might be drawing the sand up ) but it didnt stop from being this way

 

[Joeyt66]

Does anyone else have this problem? Could it be the Columbian Sharks stirring it up ? Would the chemical that clumps particles together help(not sure of the name )? ANyhelp would be greatly appreciated. I dont want to change it back to gravel.

 

[littlefishie]

Black sand doesn't look as dirty. But then again, I'm addicted to it..

Honestly, it could even be the filter output as the water goes back into the tank.. my filter tossed my sand around for a while before I put a big fake plant in front of it to break up the current.

Are there any larger pics of your tank than the one in your avatar? It might help to take a look at it that way and see.

 

[Joeyt66]

Dont think it would be the filter it has a spray bar on it (and is at thte top 24" from bottom). Got any of the black sand pics? I looked for something different i wanted to get somethin darker. What type of sand is it? Where do you buy it ?


ps i dont have anymore pics right yet (left my camera somewhere....just gotta remember where)

 

[littlefishie]

The black sand in my 15g is Hagen Geosystem black sand.. it can buffer your pH, which I did not know until after I had put it in the tank. ) It can be purchased at just about any pet store.
The black sand going into my 10g is from Big Al's, and it's a marine sand that doesn't alter pH. Also, it was more sand for less money. $5 for a 5lb bag, I paid $7 for a 4.4lb bag of the Geosystem stuff.

Pics ::

It's an old one from before I planted it properly.. I shall try to borrow housemate's camera again and take more pictures of it now that it has a bit of driftwood and has been aquascaped.

 

[Joeyt66]

Well Ive done yet another water change(its the only thing i can think to do)it makes it so you cant see the back of the tank anyone else have any suggestions???

 

[Undawada]

Is it possible that you have some sort of algae / bacteria bloom?

It would be a shame to change substrate and still have the problem.

 

[Dubby]

Exactly what I was about to say How much lighting do you have and for how long is it switched on? Do you have any live plants?