Emmy

hello again, i have another question to get me closer to my perfect tank.

my guppies and corys seem to be getting on just great in their tank... the 3 guppies have been in the tank since the beginning but the corys just moved in a week ago. i'm going to give it another week and add 6 neons... very excited about that. i currently have 20lbs of gravel in the tank. i'm concerned that it's too jagged and hard for my corys. i've read that they like to root down a bit for the food and i've also read that a sharp bottom can hurt them and have potential for disease... which obviously i'd like to avoid. my corys sometimes swim up a bit, gain speed, and dive-bomb the bottom... i cringe when i see this cos although there might be food down there, it just doesn't look like it can feel good.

my plan is to gradually replace the gravel with a finer sand. the gravel that i scoop out, i've read it's a good idea to hang it in an old pantyhose leg in the tank to not remove good bacteria (how long do i hang it in there for by the way?). my question is what kind of sand to put in the tank. i hear silica sand is the way to go but i also hear it's too sharp for the fish.

i'm in toronto and just need something simple to replace the gravel with. any input would be appreciated. i can visit my LFS and get something there or maybe i can get something at home depot or walmart or a nursery? i just need a definite on what would be ok... there's some conflicting information out there! please consider that eventually i want to add a ghost shrimp, so something that he'd like to burrow down into also.

i don't have any real plants in the tank at this point... somewhere a little further down the road i plan to make the move to a live planted environment... for now, i may just add a couple of easy-care live plants to go with the silk ones. oh if i could start this over i'd have done a proper substrate and live plants from the start but alas, my lfs clerk convinced me otherwise when i was brand new and uninformed.

thanks for your time and opinions!

agabr123

pool filter sand is the best, it's much smoother than play sand and is a bit heavier as well and much easier to clean. the best way to do it is to change everything at once, but put the gravel in nylon hose like you said for a few weeks to a month or so, that should keep you from sending yourself into a mini-cycle

Emmy

pool filter sand, yes i've heard this is good too. this is available at home depot, walmart, etc? do i just rinse it and add (all at once as you said)? and should i expect the water to get cloudy for any length of time?

thanks again

agabr123

umm, i'm not sure if it's available at home depot/wal mart but i'd guess that you can probably find it there. i got mine at a pool supply store (i live near the beach so there are tons of them). yep, just rinse and add all at once. it may take a little time for it to settle, but it shouldn't be for very long.

Dozey

Filter sand comes highly recommended. I’m not sure if it’s available in home hardware stores or not but all “pool supply” stores carry it.

Yes you can change it all at once. I recently did a gravel change (not to sand) and used two 5 gallon pails. One for the fish and one to keep my gravel wet as I filled my pantyhose (that just sounds so wrong).

I don’t actually recommend that you “hang” the panty hose as they are actually quite heavy and could strain seals on your aquarium. I used knee-high pantyhose and simply tied the openings. From the attached picture you can see that my old blue gravel look like huge rocks so you might not want that hanging on aquarium walls.

I played on the side of caution and left the old gravel in for 6 weeks to ensure my new substrate had seeded. I also placed air stones below each of the two gravel filled pantyhose sacks to keep water flowing through the old gravel.

pantyhose.JPG

kendrid

I used pool sand and so far I love it. It was $8 for a 50lbs bag at my local pool supply store. When I cleaned my tank this past weekend I barely sucked any out.

It is very light colored but I like it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/traceyandkevin/3382630664

Dozey

Nice looking aquarium.

MissMTS

Your tank looks great!

CWO4GUNNER

I use natural construction sand processed from dry riverbeds. Its cheap about $7 for 90 pounds from Home Depot/Lowes or $20 a ton if delivered from a processor. Its medium fine and has very little clay unlike play sand. Also it looks good. The reason I don't use pool sand which contains allot of "diatomaceous earth" the remain of fossilized diatoms is because it is also clay like fine and too light in wight for my liking. One thing great about construction sand is that it stone and once rinsed thoroughly it is heavy enough to stay put on the bottom even if stirred up and out of your impeller. and because it harvested from riverbeds its very round and smooth yet shimmers slightly. Whatever you decide to get make sure you take a good look at a sample. Stay away from sand blasting sand and anything with a lot of clay. Sand labeled construction has to be pure and clean of contaminants in order to be sold and only requires some rinsing in a bucked before use.

Below is a photo of one of my two Cory Cats with his head in the soft sand dig dimpling the entire bottom of my 60 tank working in oxygen in and breaking up waste particles so bacteria in the sand can thrive and process, notice the natural orange peel appearance of the sand bottom in all directions. All without causing damage and stress to catfish barbels as gravel substrata causes.

kendrid

That construction sand looks very nice.

There are different grades of pool sand (I didn't learn that until I got to the pool supply store). Mine is pretty heavy and the suction from my vacuum barely picks any up. I got a somewhat larger grain than the finest available. I'd think the finest would create a mess.

Thanks Dozey and MissMTS. It is my first attempt at a planted tank. I think it is a bit "bare" as far as hardscape goes. I didn't want to drop $30 on a piece of driftwood right now so I bought that little $8 fake tree root. I am thinking about putting java moss on it so the moss will cover it to make a nice cave for the fish.

CWO4GUNNER

That is a nice looking tank and your braver then me with such a thick layer of sand. I lay mine a little thick but I try and keep it off the front viewing side so I can more easily clean the inside glass with a magnet cleaner and avoid picking up sand particles and scratch the glass. One thing about stone sand it will scratch your glass or plastic if your not earful moving it near the glass sides. I use a turkey baster to blow it away if I'm going to clean the glass. The important thing is we both saved a fortune rather then at the LSF at $25 for a small bag.

kendrid

I had read that with plants I should have 3" of sand. After doing it I think it is a bit much.

I am very careful when cleaning the glass. My tank is used and had some scratches in it from the previous owner and I don't want to add any more. I don't use a glass scraper, just a clean rag and elbow grease.

Every week I've been moving the sand around, poking holes, etc to be sure nothing bad builds up. In a month or so I will be getting Kuhli Loaches to help.

meg1220

Does pool filter sand have silica? In my industry, we use silica sand in our sandfilters (for construction stormwater treatment). Everyone who is handling sand, filling sandfilters, etc. is required to wear a respirator because silica sand can cause silicosis, a condition in which your lungs become filled with fluid and scar tissue. Be careful if your sand contains silica!

kendrid

I'm not sure. The "theory" I've read online (which is of course correct ) is that if it's safe for humans to be in it should be safe for fish. Of course we aren't breathing it into our lungs.

I think I still have the bag from mine. If so I'll see what it says.

edit: I found an article that states it is very dangerous for humans to breath it into their lungs but in an aquarium it is no different than the glass your aquarium is made of. It is safe and non-toxic to fish. Just try to not breath in the sand dust.

meg1220

Actually, my concern wasn't for the fish, but for people pouring it into tanks, buckets, etc. while it's still dry. The tiny particles of silica in the dust that comes up when you pour it can embed in your lungs. That's what causes silicosis. As far as how safe it is for fish, I bet once you rinse it and it's settled into the aquarium, it's fine, but I a quick google search didn't turn up anything specific. If people use it in their tanks without it affecting their fish, it's probably fine.
BTW, silicosis normally takes 10-15 years to exhibit symptoms! At least use a dust mask when handling silica sand.

CWO4GUNNER

Almost all sand contains some silica and yes in the cement finisher industry where workers empty bags into mixers day after day Silicosis can and does happen. I have a friend who was in the industry for 35 years and he never wore a mask but would always dump from up wind and hold his breath until the dust cleared. If they saw the OSHA guy on site everyone would put their mask on. Guys that usually got it never took any precautions he told me. He only knew of 1 or 2 guys. Of course this is when it is dry and airborne, once wet silica posses little threat especially if its been filtered and washed and has no more air born fines (dust).