Will My Power Filter Disturb The Sand Substrate In Shallow Water?

[crabberdude]

As you can see the substrate right now in my tank is gravel. I have read from numerous sites including this one that I should switch to sand soon or else crabs will and die. As you can see in my setup the intake filter creates a small water fall that goes down through a hole in the piece of wood and into the inch and a half deep water below. I am worried that if I switch to sand with the same setup that the water fall will disturb the sand and make the water cloudy. which it probably will because the water is not that deep.

1)any suggestions where on how I can rearrange my tank to have the filter and sand and positioned so that the waterfall will not disturb the sand?

2)Also I read on these forums that play sand can be used as sand substrate...because at the local pet stores sand substrate bags are $29.99. and I probably would need 2 bags to fill up my tank (they are not that big). where can i find play sand??? probably at home depot or lowes right?

 

[dizzied]

Well, they wouldn't die just because they don't have sand. That doesn't make much sense. Sand is a better choice though, since you'll get to see their burrowing activity.

As for the filter, if you can use some sort of decor to block it's path down, it'll dissipate some of the force.

 

[crabberdude]

lol sorry i didn't mean to say the crabs dying because of gravel. i got my words mixed up...i know for sure they will get week and die in freshwater. thanks for the tips...i'm thinking about getting some plants to put right under the water fall to dissipate it like you said...

STILL...IS PLAYSAND SAFE TO USE???

 

[dizzied]

Do you mean real plants or fake ones? Live plants could really suffer from that heavy a flow coming at them.

As for playsand, it should be safe. I've heard some brands are unsafe for aquarium use, though these occurrences seems to be very uncommon. You should be able to find it at Home Depots/Lowes, they're quite cheap but are sold in larger quantities - like 40lb bags or something.

 

[Deep Freeze]

Just a thought, but wouldn't the sand get sucked up by the filter since it is sitting so close to it?

 

[crabberdude]

dizzied Posted Yesterday, 11:56 PM
Do you mean real plants or fake ones? Live plants could really suffer from that heavy a flow coming at them.

Fake plants btw

Deep Freeze Posted Today, 01:25 AM
Just a thought, but wouldn't the sand get sucked up by the filter since it is sitting so close to it?

Yeah I suppose it would. Is there any way I could counter this?

 

[crabberdude]

dizzied Posted Yesterday, 11:56 PM
Do you mean real plants or fake ones? Live plants could really suffer from that heavy a flow coming at them.

Fake plants btw

Deep Freeze Posted Today, 01:25 AM
Just a thought, but wouldn't the sand get sucked up by the filter since it is sitting so close to it?

Yeah I suppose it would. Is there any way I could counter this?

 

[Deep Freeze]

Well, you don't have many options. You could increase the slant and make the water deeper at the end, put the filter there, and raise it as much as you can without unsubmerging it. Of course if that doesn't work, you could go with a larger grained sand, or a smaller grained gravel. Just do what you think is best. Oh, and I love your setup and background

Hope this helped...

 

[dizzied]

The other solution would be to get a new, smaller filter. Tetra's In-tank filters are kinda bulky.

 

[darkwolf29a]

We're building my girlfriend a tank like this, we're still in the wood curing stage. I'm building her a DIY filter, since we were planning on using the same filter, but with sand in the bottom....It's not a good option. The bottom of the filter will suck up, and clog up, the impeller. Once that happens, the pump and filter stop. If it stops long enough, the pump will burn up.

I'm building an old-fashioned corner filter, with rocks and fiber floss. The rocks hold it down in the tank, and since it only has an airstone...no movement of sand, just air.

 

[GoldLenny]

You could also add a DIY aquaduct... maybe a piece of split bamboo (hollowed out) or black PVC pipe... to the outflow of the filter so it then flows across the tank onto the glass before the water runs down the glass to the substrate. At least this way, the returning water will be much lower to the water level so it does not create as much of a disturbance to your proposed sand substrate... but even if it does, the disturbance will be across the tank from the intake to the filter.

The other choice for sand would be pool filter sand which can be purchased at pool supply stores and some big-box home stores. Bring a magnifying glass and look at the sand as you want to get something that is relatively smooth. Some sands can have very sharp edges and I've heard these can be hard on inverts/fishes that prefer sand.