Okay, I like the look of it better than the sticky looking play sand, no offense, it looks great in other tanks. Wish there was a dark one; I think it would go better with my fish
Should I Replace Gravel with Sand?
- Thread starter PlasticGalaxy
- Start date
It looks better in person....I really like it, and so do my corys/snails/loaches....have it in 3 of my tanks
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PlasticGalaxy
Fish Gatherer
...Can someone teach me how to use a syphon for vacuuming sand? 
Ugh, it’s so hard to explain over text......Can someone teach me how to use a syphon for vacuuming sand?
I would look on YouTube for some tutorials.
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PlasticGalaxy
Fish Gatherer
Aha, thank you! Sorry, I'm pretty bad at this ?Ugh, it’s so hard to explain over text...
I would look on YouTube for some tutorials.
WhistlingBadger
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@itiwhetu We have sand in our local creek. Usually mixed with gravel and/or mud, but sometimes just normal sand.
@PlasticGalaxy Just get a siphon and give it a shot--you'll figure it out. Basically the gunk is lighter than the sand, so if you get it right, the gunk gets siphoned off, but the sand falls back into the tank. Hopefully you'll figure it out BEFORE you get distracted and siphon water all over your floor. (Hint: The first couple times you do it, have more buckets handy than you think you'll need. It's easy to start watching the siphon in the tank and forget that all that water has to go somewhere. I won't tell you how I know that.
)
@PlasticGalaxy Just get a siphon and give it a shot--you'll figure it out. Basically the gunk is lighter than the sand, so if you get it right, the gunk gets siphoned off, but the sand falls back into the tank. Hopefully you'll figure it out BEFORE you get distracted and siphon water all over your floor. (Hint: The first couple times you do it, have more buckets handy than you think you'll need. It's easy to start watching the siphon in the tank and forget that all that water has to go somewhere. I won't tell you how I know that.
)
madmark285
Fishaholic
I agree, I will be using the pool filter sand for my Mbuna tank.
A requirement for play sand, the ability to make sand castle! The stuff packs well and I been experiment casting cement objects with the sand (OK, I been making rocks
). But that may be an issue concerning anaerobic condition deep in the sand (the dreaded swamp gas issue).A requirement for pool filter sand, the water must be able to flow thru it else you burn up the pump motor. This should help on the anaerobic issue. I also like the color of the pool filter sand but what kind of sand you can buy locally may vary.
madmark285
Fishaholic
Try this one from Girl Talk Fish. She one of my favorites on Youtube. First, she has a master degree in engineering which is always a plus for me. Second for her newer video, she tries to limit the length to 5 minutes for her videos. So many Youtubers talk too much, just get to the point.
Mark
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PlasticGalaxy
Fish Gatherer
Ooh, I love her videos! I think I'm subbed actually!
I ended up using regular play sand as i had a bag left over from when i set up my daughters sand pit.
madmark285
Fishaholic
OK, help me here, I am one of those silly North Americans.
She is great, she can sub me anytime
That’s usually not a good idea. There’s a lot of bad critters and microorganisms.
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PlasticGalaxy
Fish Gatherer
Oh God no! Just shorthand for subscribed, lol.OK, help me here, I am one of those silly North Americans.
She is great, she can sub me anytime
He's not taking substrate from the wild. Only describing it to @itiwhetu to show that some freshwater waterways have sand.
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