# Sand Sub.



## Suess00 (Sep 5, 2008)

I have seen some tanks having a couple of sand substrates and I think it looks extremely good. But, I have a few questions about it and hopefully yal can help me out.

1. How do you clean the sand bottom? I have a regular vacumm one buys at petsmart wouldnt the sand get all sucked up?

2. How will my plants react to the sand?

3. Will this effect my peac_ock eel and my kuhli loaches in a postivie or negative manner? (i have smooth rocks down there aleardy for them)

4. If I do buy the sand what will I have to do before placing it in my tank?


Thanks

Chris


----------



## frogman5 (Mar 13, 2007)

all you have to do is clean it quite a bit determining on wat type of sand u get for play sand you will have to clean it alot but for sand u get at a pestore u wont have to clean it as much...some types of sand i use are play sand and pool filter sand play sand is a little bit more difficult to clean and gets swept a lot but pool filter sand doesnt.....im not sure how ur plants will react.....you just sweep over it with a vacuum to clean it a thin some may get in the vacuum but not alot....as for your eel he should bury in it but he will like it either way as for ur kuhlis mine nvr buried in sand but others have but they should like it either way


----------



## Guest (Oct 15, 2008)

1. How do you clean the sand bottom? I have a regular vacumm one buys at petsmart wouldnt the sand get all sucked up?
I've only ever used a regular vac. to clean my tanks with sand. Get the vac going and then hover it over the substrate to suck up the debris. Generally sand will not allow much to get further in the substrate bed like gravel does. If you get sand, I'd suggest getting Malaysian Trumpet Snails. They will burrow in the sand and keep it from compacting and building up toxic materials.

2. How will my plants react to the sand?
Depends on your plants and what sand you choose. Play sand, although it's worked ok for me in the past, isn't your best choice for plants. Pool filter sand would be better because it has larger particles than play sand.

3. Will this effect my peac_ock eel and my kuhli loaches in a postivie or negative manner? (i have smooth rocks down there aleardy for them)
Again, depends on the type of sand. With bottom feeders and sand, you need to worry about how sharp the sand is. I haven't had problems with play sand and bottom dwellers, but it's not always the best to use. Also, the swear filter was fixed, you can say peacock now.

4. If I do buy the sand what will I have to do before placing it in my tank?
Rinse, rinse, rinse it well in a clean bucket with dechlorinated water beforehand. If you have fish in your tank already, I'd suggest moving them while you add the sand or slowly adding the sand to make sure you don't harm the fish. With proper filtration and cleaning of the sand before, your tank should be cleared pretty quick.


----------



## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

very useful, thanks


----------



## Suess00 (Sep 5, 2008)

Thanks that is good information. I didnt know about the snails and how much they would help out.


Well I am getting a 120 gallon tank in December and that is the one that I want to make sand but am trying to plan ahead. Now I know to leave my fish in my 75 gallon tank and wait until the sand is normal in the 120 gallon.


----------



## Guest (Oct 15, 2008)

While the snails aren't a must, they are very helpful. If you choose not to get a natural sand sifter, then you'll have to do it yourself.

Good luck


----------



## akangelfood (Jun 26, 2008)

Another helpful trick in vacuuming with sand is to keep the siphon approximately 1//2" above the surface and swirl it to lift up debris and feces that may be resisting the suction.


----------



## Guest (Oct 16, 2008)

Just a suggestion, try to find dark colored sand. I had very light colored pool filter sand in my Multi tank and some in my 55g and it got really dirty looking and just wasn't something I wanted people to see. I was quite embarrassed of it....and if I ever vacuumed any out (like the dirty top part) it clogged my sink....

I personally like tahitian moon sand.....because its black and shows nothing. I think play sand is a darker beige color than the pool sand I had.


I just thought I'd share my experience.


----------

