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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Sand in the 90gal
I'm thinking about changing the substrate in the 90gal to sand, but I know nothing about it. Whats the best type to use, or will any type do? And how do you go about cleaning it? | 
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| When we decided we wanted sand in the community tank I bookmarked this info an dhave found it to be a great primer for using sand in aquariums.
It even advises on how to change from gravel to sand as well! http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| The only one of those I've used is play sand and I really didn't like it. It was almost impossible to get rinsed(it was even pre-rinsed) good and you never know what else is mixed in with it.
But I absolutely love my pool filter sand. Since its made to go in swimming pool filters it's very clean and the grains are more rounded, less sharp and you don't have to worry about other stuff being mixed in with it. It doesn't have to be rinsed before you use it (my favorite part) There may be a very small amount of smaller sand particles but they settle very easily over night. Comes from bright white to cream color.
Here's a link with more sand information http://www.fishinthe.net/html/sectio...rticle-50.html
Carol | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Like Butterfly I use pool filter sand (on her suggestion, actually, lol). Mine is kind of a creamy white, and I just dumped it in my 90g, let everything settle, and ran with it...it's working out well so far.
I use Malaysian Trumpet Snails to prevent toxic gas pocket buildup. Most of the waste just sits on top, so I can get it by just running the siphon about an inch above the substrate. If I need to get into the gravel, my other siphon is just the right speed to stir the sand up but still let the it fall back down if I keep the tube at a slant.
I also have Tahitian Moon Sand mixed into my Eco-complete in my 29. | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| i use pool filter sand and it's great! i dont have any malaysian trumpet snails yet, so i just use the other end of my algae scrubber to aerate the sand when i do water changes or maintenance or anything like that. i have play sand (accidentally) in one of my tanks and i really don't like it, it tends to get blown around quite a lot by the filter output
i'd suggest completely removing the filter and putting the media in a bucket of used tank water or something while you're doing it, otherwise sand can get all clogged up in the filter, ugh, such a pain. | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| How many lbs of pool filter sand would you need for a 125g tank? I know that it comes in 50 lb bags at Home Depot. Sorry not trying to hijack the thread, but thought that it may be a good question for Nick's 90g tank as well.  | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by capekate  How many lbs of pool filter sand would you need for a 125g tank? I know that it comes in 50 lb bags at Home Depot. Sorry not trying to hijack the thread, but thought that it may be a good question for Nick's 90g tank as well. | Depends on how deep he wants it...I have 1.5 50lb bags in my standard 90g (48" x 18" bottom), and it's pretty deep...but I have cichlids and they love digging in it, and I like watching them dig in it, so I made it deep on purpose  | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by agabr123 | Great link agabr123! Thanks... | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| you're welcome! someone else posted it here before and i'm glad i thought to bookmark it!!! | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| i changed my 65 Gal to sand last weekend and i think it look 100x better, it does show all the fish poop though and is harder to clean  . All of the fish seem to prefer it too.
btw i used Play sand (£4:95 from Focus) and it was easy to rinse, filled a bucket with the sand, then fill it up with water and stir. Leave for 5 mins and let the dust settle, pour the water out then transfer to aquarium... couldnt be easier it only took about 5 hours for the water to clear up again and i think (somehow) it has got rid of some of the tannins from my mopani wood | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Yep that's the same substrate calculator I use also You probably wouldn't want sand to be over 1 to1-1/2 inches deep unless like Shaina you have something that will burrow or dig in it to keep it aereated well.
Carol | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaina Depends on how deep he wants it...I have 1.5 50lb bags in my standard 90g (48" x 18" bottom), and it's pretty deep...but I have cichlids and they love digging in it, and I like watching them dig in it, so I made it deep on purpose | My 90gal has Cichlids too. Once in fully stocked it'll contain 1 Oscar, 2 Jewels and 2 Convicts. Do they prefer deep sand, or just a shallow amount? | |
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February 13th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick Goody My 90gal has Cichlids too. Once in fully stocked it'll contain 1 Oscar, 2 Jewels and 2 Convicts. Do they prefer deep sand, or just a shallow amount? | The Oscar at least will move around everything in your tank, most likely. Substrate, rocks, driftwood, little scuba divers...
They don't really need the deep substrate, and tbh shallower is easier to clean, which is important for cichlids like that.
Deep or shallow substrate shouldn't affect whether they thrive in your tank. | |
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