Hey there, n00b chimmin in on this.
Sand in itself is inert so they is nothing coming or going from it. only thing it may do it slightly buffer the pH. You can miz sand in with your other substartes, such as laterite ot flourite, eco-complete what ever floats your boat. you can also put down a THIN layer of peat on the bottom of the tank and cover it with sand, gravel, flourite and that just adds to the goodness of it all.
the other problem you can have with sand is compaction and when it compacts it can get bad. the sand can create pockets of sulfa gas which is harmful to you and your fish. best way to not worry about this is get those pesty trumpet snails. they burry into it and move around keeping it from compacting. the plant roots help but they can only go so far so fast. or everynow and then kinda rake it with a fork.
Sand in itself is inert so they is nothing coming or going from it. only thing it may do it slightly buffer the pH. You can miz sand in with your other substartes, such as laterite ot flourite, eco-complete what ever floats your boat. you can also put down a THIN layer of peat on the bottom of the tank and cover it with sand, gravel, flourite and that just adds to the goodness of it all.
the other problem you can have with sand is compaction and when it compacts it can get bad. the sand can create pockets of sulfa gas which is harmful to you and your fish. best way to not worry about this is get those pesty trumpet snails. they burry into it and move around keeping it from compacting. the plant roots help but they can only go so far so fast. or everynow and then kinda rake it with a fork.
