is sand a ....

[rasdbo]

good subrtate, thinking about using play-sand for the bottom of my nerw 90g, want to put live plants should i use some type fertilized soil first then put play-sand or can i use just play-sand? will have driftwood and live plants(about 4-8) like swords and anubis or java ferns so any help will do thanks guys/gals !!!!!!

 

[ShadowVengance]

Sand can be good. Negative things about it, is that it would go into your filter and screw that up, and plants have a hard time rooting in sand, its not solid, and the plants can easily be uprooted. What I would do, is put down some solid substrate in which the plants can root in, and after a while add the sand overtop. Play sand works.

You could also put a net or a sponge on the intake section of the filter to help keep the sand out of there.

Hope that helps.

 

[Honda12]

My experience with plants and playsand wasn't to good. The roots of the plants never took hold of anything and if any of the leaves got cought under the sand, they would rot and you would get a horrible smell when you disturbed it.

I substrate that I like that is a sand, just bigger grains is eco-complete's planting substrate. It has feralizers for plants right in it and it works really good. Plants grow really well in it and the roots get a good grasp. The only downsize is it only comes in black. I like black, but some don't.

 

[AlanSousa]

that made my day. I live and love eco-complete. even though it is kinda pricey... anywhere around here its like $30 - $40 for enough for a 20G tank. But it is celestial. Definately use small gravel and not sand for rooting plants. If you want to spend a little less money on plant-growing substrate, look into Laterite.

 

[Aussienative]

A negative i've heard of using sand is the "dead patches"? Anyone care to explain this, how it happens, how to stop it and the effects it can have on your fish/water quality?

 

[Honda12]

A negative i've heard of using sand is the "dead patches"? Anyone care to explain this, how it happens, how to stop it and the effects it can have on your fish/water quality?

Well new sand will get air pockets in it when you put it in the tank so gas will build up in them. If you don't distrubed the substrate very often, or have fish that do it for you the gases just keep building up. Then when you do agitate it you get a horrible sulfer smell, and your water can get contaminated by it.

Also if any leaves get trapped under the sand or any or parts of plants, other than roots they rot, and cause a horrible smell and polutte the water as well.

Only way to prevent it really is to agitate the sand every so often, or get fish that do it for you, like my rays do.

 

[Honda12]

that made my day. I live and love eco-complete. even though it is kinda pricey... anywhere around here its like $30 - $40 for enough for a 20G tank. But it is celestial. Definately use small gravel and not sand for rooting plants. If you want to spend a little less money on plant-growing substrate, look into Laterite.

You can get eco-complete fairly cheap online. Better deal than what stores give you even with shipping.

 

[soggysandwich]

dont mean to be mean but i think you guys are crazy, i have play sand in my tank and the plant root great in it. i have had it for almost a year now and have never had one uprooted. i mean ever see a lake, there are plants in there and what is the bottom of the lake made of? sand.

anyways the only down side to sand is it hard to clean and the fish waste shows a lot more. also i have never had any problems with my water quality, in the year of my tank being setup ive only had 1 loss

 

[DeLgAdO]

good subrtate, thinking about using play-sand for the bottom of my nerw 90g, want to put live plants should i use some type fertilized soil first then put play-sand or can i use just play-sand? will have driftwood and live plants(about 4-8) like swords and anubis or java ferns so any help will do thanks guys/gals !!!!!!

wheres HarleyK!!

sand actually isnt a bad substrate

Well new sand will get air pockets in it when you put it in the tank so gas will build up in them. If you don't distrubed the substrate very often, or have fish that do it for you the gases just keep building up. Then when you do agitate it you get a horrible sulfer smell, and your water can get contaminated by it.

Also if any leaves get trapped under the sand or any or parts of plants, other than roots they rot, and cause a horrible smell and polutte the water as well.

Only way to prevent it really is to agitate the sand every so often, or get fish that do it for you, like my rays do.

this is where malaysian trumpet snails come in handy

 

[dpetit]

this topic has been debated quite a few times now. but it is a very good question, and one that i tried to find answers to before i just ended up doing it.
I personally use sand in two of my tanks, one is the normal home depot play sand, and the other is a target filter sand(which is much better because of the larger grain size), i have yet to have a problem with plants not rooting, and have a real good growth rate.
the substrate in both is as fallows, terrastone base(it is a pottery clay that is claimed to be all natural, and has a iron content of around 4% i think, not absolutely sure) which is about an inch thick, with a little bit of micronized trace minerals mixed in, covered with another inch or so layer of regular soil and peat(1 part peat to 4 parts soil mixture), and on top of that i have the sand. sand alone does not do a very good job of providing nutrients to the plants, which didnt take me that long to figure out. As for moving sand around i just use a piece of dowelling to poke at the sand, it seems to release more gas than moving the sand all over, and the plant roots release a lot of the gas, the only places i get gas buildup is where there are no plants.
In the picture below is my 55 Gal(which has the regular play sand), it has been running with this set-up for 2 months. so far plant growth is very good, still have a little bit of an algae problem, but it is getting better with water changes. the swords are about 15 inches tall, from about 5 inches two months ago to give you an idea of growth rate. The second picture is of the tank and plants a month ago, and no plants have been added to the tank since I initially set up the tank, although some of the stem plants have been moved to a different tank i am starting. As soon as i get the other tank fully plants and established ill try and post pics.
and to finish this post off, i know there are better suited substrates out there, no question about it, but for cost per tank, ill keep doing it this way. total cost for me to set up my 55 was $15.00CA. I still want to try out an ADA substrate tho, just to see if it lives up to all the hype.
but ill stop now before this post just gets way too long, anymore questions just post em