freshwater tanks an sand questions

[_Piranha_]

I heard sand is easier to clean. Rather then stuff sticking under the gravel. An Sand I think is also gives the tank a much cleaner better look.

My question's are:
Do I have to remove my fish out of the tank before adding sand?
(if so how long do I have to wait before I can put them back in?)

If I got black sand does it affect my pH ( if so how do I fix that? )

Should I turn my filter on after I add sand or wait a few hours?

Should I just use a syphon to clean it is it the easiest way?

How many pounds you recomend for a 40 breeder tank?


Any advice would help from you sand users. I love the look, I think black sand would look great in my tank.

 

[y2shanon]

I just put some black sand in my new tank..... here some good info http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php

I would take the fish out and put them in when the (dust) cloud settles.
I would turn the filter on when the sand settles atleast a little.
You can use a syphon just becarful not to suck alot of sand out.... also it would be good to shift the sand every now and then cause gas and decayed food get trapped in there.
How many lbs? Depends how thin or thick you want your substrate? I would say start with a 20 lb bag and go from there.... lot of lfs sell in 20 lb bags atleast in my area....

one last thing you should put the sand in a bucket or something and rinse/clean as much of the sand as possible then drain it out until it starts to become clear in the bucket.

 

[D12DetroitD12]

Most people on here would disagree with me but ive switched sand with the fish in as long as you wash it to get the small dust out of it then pour it slow into the tank. Id turn the filter off if it clouds so it doesn't ruin the filter. Black sand shouldn't ruin your ph either as long as its made for aquariums. And last in my opinion sand looks much better in aquariums then gravel. Ive had gravel a few times and never really liked it.

 

[_Piranha_]

Thanks for the tips, I use a syphone on my gravel sometimes an very careful not to suck it up also. But I use a gravel vac. more. What kind of black sand is there? What do you recommend that doesnt cost a arm an a leg . Looking to do this fri. I got blue gravel my fiance' got for me. I got like a man tank with P's in it like a badass tank. With like croc skulls an plants an she picks some "pretty" gravel o.0 bc she said it looks nice. Ruined my display lol I might leave a cup or so of gravel in the tank to stick out. Since its blue an black sand. Might look cool with some blue pebbles in it. Ill check it out b4 i put in the tank.

 

[iloveoscars702]

I heard sand is easier to clean. Rather then stuff sticking under the gravel. An Sand I think is also gives the tank a much cleaner better look.

My question's are:
Do I have to remove my fish out of the tank before adding sand?
(if so how long do I have to wait before I can put them back in?)
no you dont, use a large cup to place the sand into the tank.

If I got black sand does it affect my pH ( if so how do I fix that? )
if you get sand for FW, it wont affect your ph, unless your using sand for african cichlids.

Should I turn my filter on after I add sand or wait a few hours?
once the sand is settled, it should be safe to turn on the filters again.

Should I just use a syphon to clean it is it the easiest way?
if you go with pool filter sand, you can clean it just like gravel because its a heavier grade. if not, set your faucet to a low flow and just run the syphon accross the top of the sand.

How many pounds you recomend for a 40 breeder tank?
a 50lb would be more than enough.

Any advice would help from you sand users. I love the look, I think black sand would look great in my tank.

for black sand you can use tahitian moon sand or or 3M colorquartz sand

 

[_Piranha_]

Thanks how much is this black sand? An what lighting you recommend for my rbp's they used to come out an swim with the light on. But now i upgraded there tank a little due to a minor leak. They stay hidden while the tank lights on. I think a Blueish light would be nice. I dont know much about lights lol

 

[nes999]

put the sand in an OLD (learned that lesson the hard way from the finacee and the silk pilliow cases) and run the hose till clear dump out the sand and repeat.

 

[iloveoscars702]

Thanks how much is this black sand? An what lighting you recommend for my rbp's they used to come out an swim with the light on. But now i upgraded there tank a little due to a minor leak. They stay hidden while the tank lights on. I think a Blueish light would be nice. I dont know much about lights lol

standard 50/50 light bulb should be fine. uhm tahitian moon sand is like 20 dollars for 20 lbs and im not sure about 3m sand.

 

[dannyboiiii]

i vaccum the sand and it goes into a bucket then i dumped the water out then when i fill the buckets with clean fw i dump it back in the tank along with the sand!!!!
so if ur vaccuming into a bucket u wont lose sand..

 

[Deaths Sting]

Thanks how much is this black sand? An what lighting you recommend for my rbp's they used to come out an swim with the light on. But now i upgraded there tank a little due to a minor leak. They stay hidden while the tank lights on. I think a Blueish light would be nice. I dont know much about lights lol

3M color quartz has been disconnected and is very difficult to find now. if i were u i would go with pool filter sand, since its heavy enough to be vaced like gravel. plus, it looks very natural. if ur set on black then i recommend Estes Aqua sand, its no where near as sharp and abrasive as the Tahitian moon sand. plus Estes is a lot heavier then the moon sand.

As for ur lighting u can use any light u want really as long as u don't have any demanding plants. Hagen power glo is a great one.