40 gal set up

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
if you go with gravel ,,it is also is available at home depot (or local hardware store )WAY cheaper than lfs...pea gravel from hd is about $3 a bag...and it looks natural ...any future tanks of mine will have mostly this or pool filter sand.. almost forgot pea gravel has a lot of dirt in it ,,rinse serveral times in a bucket,,,then twice more after you think it's clean
 
I wouldn love to do sand but really don't wanna empty the damn thing again. I do motice rhe filter is quieter now. How long does the pool filter sand take to settle. Because I noticed that since I took the sand out the water is much clearer.
 
pfs will settle quick... the cloud will be gone in a few hours,,, you have to rinse it pretty well though...maybe lfs didn't tell you that about your other sand ... pretty much any substrate you have to wash it till it's clean then at least 1-2 times AFTER that,,,, pfs is pretty clean out of the bag compared to most substrates,,, pea gravel (from HD) is good too.. but if you use it go thin..just an inch on the bottom will look good and be easy to clean (gravel vac)... pfs will likely be fine just use prefilter sponge ..in case your fish decide to stir up the sand...here is something I JUST thought of...keep the filter turnrd off when(if) you put sand in.. let it settle overnite ,then turn on the filter,,,of course that won't work if you already have fish....:)
 
I thought i Cleaned it pretty good but I guess not well enough cuz tank is clear now. Whats the worst that happens with the sand anyway ... messes up the impeller just a matter of switching a bad one out for a new one. Could it damage the motor ? I wouldn't think so right. I got another impeller any way sob I can start a spare parts box.
 
good call ...and no you won't hurt the actual motor ,just the impeller,although the shaft can get warn too,but it's another cheap part ($6)...whatever substrate you go with at this point should work out ok , you have seen the worst of it
 
thanks dude lets see what other mess I can getmyself into. Your a cool dude man thanks for helping me with all these questions
 
what kind of stones are best/safe to put in a tank hat wont cause clarity issues. There is a local brick/stone supplier nearby that I wanted to use but not sure what stones to look for besides large river rocks. I was thinking like slate or something to make caves and ledges
 
river rocks (all different sizes)is what I mostly use... you can collect stuff ,,as long as it isn't soft ,magnetic or reacts to vinegar it will be safe.. I don't(haven't) used the vinegar test so I don't know much about it ...if you stick to river rock you are safe ,, you can always switch later if you don't like it:)
 
Thanks man... mfk nation this is gonna sound really dumb but here goes anyway... does it matter what side of the tank I put the filter on ? Gonna try and explain ...I put it on the left side (when standing in front of the tank) so the intake tube is closer to the left hand corner. I noticed that there is no fish turns on that side of the tank but a pile of them on the right side. Do I need to move the filter to the right side ?
 
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