help with brackish salt

[Shadow Chaos]

I have a brackish tank with a: Dragon fish, puffer and goby
I am having trouble with the sand in the tank it is normal marine sand from petco and i washed it very throughly but the slightest move in the tank will make the whole thing cloud and clog the filters causing them to grind. also there is some debris caking up on the sand.. Can any give me some hints on using sand in aquarium? and how can I get it to not cloud the water and what filters can I use to clean the sand?
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t189/ShadowchaosX/IMG_3722.jpghttp://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t189/ShadowchaosX/IMG_3721.jpg
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t189/ShadowchaosX/IMG_3719.jpg


Thank you

[Shadow Chaos]

can anyone help with this?

[sweeTang21]

what kind of sand is it specifically?? label wise?? and is this a brackish tank, or a freshwater? i only ask because i see a pleco in there and i didnt think that those can be acclimated to brackish conditions

i would almost suggest LS if you have a brackish tank, this sand is a much heavier grade and will generally stay put.

[Shadow Chaos]

it is 1.005-1.008 salinity brackish. The pleco has been adapted to it over a period of month and has lived in the brackish tank for a long time now so hes fine. unless you know of a good algae eater for brackish.


and what is LS sand? (sorry if this is nooby)...

[sweeTang21]

LS=Live sand. filled with little critters for reef tanks. did some reaserch and it wouldnt work out that great for brackish due to die off.

Pool filter sand may be an alternative, but it usually has a lot of silicates and phosphates in it cause a lot of algae growth.

[Shadow Chaos]

hmmm so what would be the best for a brackish tank just some larger sand thats not so fine? and what type of filter?

[Daeorn]

I have a 75gal brackish with the same problem. I used Playsand. Such a bad idea. I had to upgrade to a canister filter because my emperor 400 kept getting clogged.

Unfortunately there's not much you can do with that, thats just how its going to work.

Pool filter sand is much better, and heavier, and provided you clean it well enough - shouldn't be a problem.

Also, just because the pleco has been acclimated, it still isn't going to live as long as a livespan as normal, and could run into problems as well.

Also, outta curiosity, what size it that tank?

[Pufferpunk]

Please find a FW home for that pleco! It will not live it's expected lifespan into it's teens. You have to do your own maid service for BW (BTW, we do have a BW forum here). Livesand will not stay "live" in a BW tank. Get aragonite sand for your tank--the sand you are using is too fine. Aragonite sand will also buffer your pH to remain around a steady 8. Whenever you use sand w/a FW filter, you willl have to cover the intake with a sponge or it will ruin the impeller of your filter. You should stir it thoroughly, before every weekly water change

You need way more decor in that tank too. Puffers are intelligent animals that need things in their environment to investigate or it will get bored. See my tanks below. Also, your puffer requires a much higher SG. I also believe it will rip up the dragon goby, especially if it has nowhere to hide.
See: Green spotted puffer (http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/an-introduction-to-green-spotted-puffers/)

[sweeTang21]

i found some type of sand at my local petsmart. its reef safe so it can be used in the brackish enviroment. if your petsmart doesnt have it, then you can order if from the website. im pretty sure its there. its called like coral beach or something. they hard white and black, its havier grade and i dont think you will have a prob with it. as stated earlier you need more hiding areas in that tank, i would make some caves form tank friendly rock. slate is cheap and can be found almost anywhere.

[Pufferpunk]

Is that some kind of aragonite sand?

[sweeTang21]

no its looked like calcium sand for reptiles but it was made for fish tanks. it didnt have anything saying what it was made from so i asked the manager of petcare what it was and she said it was base sand. my guess is its a silicate based sand, like pool filter sand. its heavy. a 20 lb bag would have been like 70 lbs of argonite lol.

[Shadow Chaos]

Don't worry the tank Is way more decorated now..the current tank is a 30 I would really like to get a 55 gallon for them but don't have the budget..=[

[sweeTang21]

the good news is though you really only need to buy the tank and stand. it looks like you have plenty of filtration power for a 55 gallon. if the tank comes with lights then your in good shape. after that you would only need to add a little bit more sand and decore, and a heater, if you need one.