# Can I use this sand for Mbuna?



## Sick-Oh (Oct 2, 2009)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7321


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think so. I often hear argonite recommend for cichlid tanks. Mbuna don't need sand, but they like to move it around and L. Malawi has a sandy bottom. The major drawback of sand is its effect on filter impellers. If your filter has an impeller at the bottom of the filter, you may want a foam pre-filter to keep the sand out of the filter.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2009)

*aragonite*

*Aragonite sand, most commonly used in Saltwater setups would work ok for africans, as it tends to raise ph and hardness naturally, and is a perfect fit for africans where the natural ph in the lakes is very high naturally. Most likely your fish will be tank bred, and wont have come from such a high ph or have maybe never experienced it in the LFS tanks either, you should slowly acclimated them, to prevent any ph shock. We are talking a tank ph thats gonna top out at about 7.8 and up.*


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Yes that sand is great for mbuna! IMO if you want to see the true behavior of a Mbuna species, use sand. They mold the sand to their likings. Like what has been said before, wash the sand good before putting it into a aquarium, usually pour it into a 5g bucket, then just rinse outside with garden hose until water runs clear, mixing the sand here and there. Then put it in. Your aquarium will be cloudy for about 48hrs, and if you can cut a sponge media filter to fit over the intake of the filter to help filter the sand prior to the impellar of the filter.


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