how much would it take to change my tank from gravel to sand or some type of dirt that i would find in a lake my jag is native to and how would my jag react to it i want to have a more natural ground to my tank and was wondering if anyone else has done this
i want a natural bottom to my tank
- Thread starter brandallmoss
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Sand takes a little work. You have to clean it, or either let it settle in the tank, which can take a couple of days. Other than that, there's really not much difference. Instead of just gravel vac'ing, you stir up the sand and suck up what comes up -- the poo and fine sediment. After time, there should be less fine sediment. I use play sand in my 125, and though it was very dirty, and took time to settle, now, it's just fine, and there's no sediment at all (it's been about a year, though). Overall, it is a more natural bottom. Different members have different opinions on using sand from an actual lake... you can probably search and find these threads. Some feel you should boil it, some say bake it.... the idea is that there are yuckies in this sand you don't want in your tank (insect eggs, larvae, parasites, etc.). So, you might want to research that, and I've never done it, so I have no experience there. However, you can buy play sand for 5 dollars for 50 pounds at your local home improvement store, so it's cheap, and you don't have to really clean it if you have a place to move your fish while it settles. You can clean it in a bucket, just washing it and letting the water and sediment come over the top, but I think either way, you're going to have some cloudiness. There's also pool filter sand, which some people use, but I have no experience with, so you'd need to search out threads on that. Hope this helps.
Pool filter sand works wonderfully. In comparison to play sand, the initial cloudiness is WAY less. I recently set up a salvini tank with pool filter sand I purchased from Lowes. It looks great and the fish love it!
You can check out my post here for some quick directions on how to go about rinsing/adding the sand to your aquarium. I mention leaving the tank to settle overnight (assuming there are no fish in it). Depending on what type of filter you use, I would be extremely cautious adding sand without removing the fish or at least turning off the filters for a little as even a little suspended sand can destroy an impeller (learned this the hard way...)
You can check out my post here for some quick directions on how to go about rinsing/adding the sand to your aquarium. I mention leaving the tank to settle overnight (assuming there are no fish in it). Depending on what type of filter you use, I would be extremely cautious adding sand without removing the fish or at least turning off the filters for a little as even a little suspended sand can destroy an impeller (learned this the hard way...)
takinap;3502813; said:
that would rot and go horrible so fast.
for sand I just before hand whip up all the crap on the bottom and let it all settle in dead spots in the tank then suck it up with the syphon then just do my regular water change.
does anyone ever have problems with their flow stirring up the sand to much. my return pump is only a Mag 9 for my 135g but I have a Koralia 4 & a closed loop pump(2500gph) if needed. I wouldnt use all of the above but i want adequate flow in all areas with a sand storm.