Media: Sand vs. Gravel

[packer43064]

ive been removing mine one cup a day lol

What day you on...50.

 

[Noto]

Thanks for all the input.
You have all converted me to sand
Ill go the route of PFS as I was once a Pool Boy and know all about the standardized size of the granules.

What would be the easiest way to go about adding the sand after I make the tank bare?
My idea: Drain about 50% of the water, Mix the extracted water with the pre-rinsed sand, allow 30-60 min to completely settle, make necessary water addition/subtraction, turn on sump and add fish....

Right or Wrong? Remember im sorta new to the sand thing

I'm not sure I understand your idea, but it is not necessary to remove 50% of the water. You might want to remove a little just in case your sand volume is enough to cause overflow.

Rinse the sand first. Just put a few quarts in a bucket and run water from a hose in it, stirring (use a stick or screwdriver unless you have tough skin) the sand and pouring off the dirty water until it runs clear. I find that filter sand does have a little bit of fine particles, so a quick rinse is advisable.

Once you've got your sand rinsed, you can slowly add it to the tank. You can pour it in through a tube, or you can put it in a bowl and slowly sink and dump the container. The more slowly you do everything the less turbidity you'll get, but the suspended particles should settle in a few minutes in any case.

If you're worried about residual chlorine from the hose rinsing, just add a bit of dechlorinator at the same time as the sand. This shouldn't be necessary, but you can do it for peace-of-mind if you like.

 

[FSM]

I agree ^^

sand if sucked up by a filter can and 99% of the time will damage the filter.

I have never had a sand tank that did not get some in the filter at one point.

If you're using a canister with the pump at the top, water should go through all the media first and the sand will never get to the impeller.

 

[vietmanx]

what would you use in a freshwater tank to stir up the sand? assuming that there are predatory fish of a large size in the tank at the same time?

 

[packer43064]

what would you use in a freshwater tank to stir up the sand? assuming that there are predatory fish of a large size in the tank at the same time?

Meh, anything really. I just stick the fish net in and swish it around. Or buy a long PVC pipe and swish the sand around. The fish will move out of the way, their not dumb.

 

[Noto]

You can use Malaysian trumpet snails if your fish don't eat them; they're pretty hard, so most fish leave them alone. Honestly I think the importance of stirring sand is vastly overstated.

 

[Deaths Sting]

Don't bother with gradually removing the gravel. Remove all the gravel at once if you want to switch to sand. There is enough bacteria in the filter to accommodate the bioload. I have no issues removing my substrate all at once.

I switched to sand quite a few years ago and would never consider using gravel again...

1) Is it worth the hassle? In my opinion NOT using sand is not worth the hassle... Darn double negatives... in other words using gravel is not worth the hassle...

2) Is sand better/worse for the fish and or equipment? Some substrates can be 'to sharp" for some fish like stingrays, but your P Bass, Pleco and similar fish will be fine with any kind of sand.

I highly suggest Pool Filter Sand. It is regulated to be within a certain range of particle sizes meaning you will not have all of the fines which are common to get pulled into filters potentially causing damage.

3) could I add sand without draining the tank (first removing the gravel)? Yes, it is commonly done... it is a bit of work, but is a rather simple process that can be done in an hour or two.

4) Is there an alternative method in keeping what I have and cleaning less? Gravel requires frequent gravel vacs to keep clean/healthy. Compromising cleaning compromises health and cleanliness...


As far as sand harming your filters...

Most canisters are designed so the water comes in the intake... through the media... then past the impellor... then back to your tank. Therefore if your filter doe not have bypass (which is shouldn't) then the sand can not make it to the impellor.

HOB filters are different, the water comes up the intake... past the impellor... then through media and back to the tank. Therefore it is a bit more critical to keep sand out of HOBs. The good news is when HOBs get sand in them they are noticably louder and fairly easy to get to in order to clean them out. Be creative with a turkey baster...

Sand FTW!!

I've had gravel for a few years and recently switched over to sand. its a lot easier to maintain and i think it looks a lot nicer.

i agree with all u guys!

i love sand and so does my ray; as i type this i can see her diggin in it.. she is really ''going to town'' on the sand!

i would recommend using heavy sand like pool filter sand or play sand. however, if its an option use 3M color quarts
also it would be smart to keep ur intakes as high as possible. if that's not an option; use a hydro sponge with elastic bands.

if none of this works..... just buy some nice tiles!

 

[Fishman0]

Does anyone know any store chains that sell 3M Colorquartz? I did the calculations for the amount of sand I want on the bottom, it goes something like this....

48" X 18" X 2" = 4' X 1.5' X 1/6' ~ 1 cubic ft.

and going off what i have read for the density of sand is roughly 90 to 99lbs/cubic ft. (of course depending on grain size, compaction, humidity, etc...)

so i would need about 100lbs of sand

I cannot seem to find any prices and/or suppliers of the 3M sand on-line.

Any ideas?

P.S. If the price is over my budget im just going with pool sand

Im an Engineering student so after tuition, books, etc... Times are rough lol

 

[Deaths Sting]

Does anyone know any store chains that sell 3M Colorquartz? I did the calculations for the amount of sand I want on the bottom, it goes something like this....

48" X 18" X 2" = 4' X 1.5' X 1/6' ~ 1 cubic ft.

and going off what i have read for the density of sand is roughly 90 to 99lbs/cubic ft. (of course depending on grain size, compaction, humidity, etc...)

so i would need about 100lbs of sand

I cannot seem to find any prices and/or suppliers of the 3M sand on-line.

Any ideas?

P.S. If the price is over my budget im just going with pool sand

Im an Engineering student so after tuition, books, etc... Times are rough lol

3M color quarts can be hard to come by.. but if u do search on google u may luck out. myself and other have done this with much sucsuss!

3M color quarts goes for 1$/LB here..

 

[Fishman0]

I was too impatient to shop around Color Quarts so i just went to my old job and picked up two 50lb bags of Lighthouse PFS.

It came clean very quickly and has a "natural" look to it. it was fairly easy to put in. I just sank a Solo cup full at a time and it settled almost instantly. I have 50lbs in right now and it covered the bottom more than i thought... im considering not putting in the other 50lbs yet.

BTW will live plants live in sand or should i put pea sized gravel for the "bed" of the plant.

I think one plant looks like Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian Watermilfoil), and the other looks like Ceratophyllum demersum (Coontail or Hornwort) which is rootless but i bury the bottoms in the media