Sand, Gravel, and Incompetent Specialists?

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TexasJoel

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2011
15
0
0
Waco, TX
Ok, so, I will be getting my 300 gallon aquarium very soon now. I have the Fluval FX5 filter canister, and four 250W heaters ready for it. I started thinking about getting sand (I was thinking about black sand with one or two bags of blue sand to have a blue sparkling affect) because I am interested in housing a freshwater stingray. However, one of the 'specialists' at the local pet store strongly advised against sand. He said that when he did sand it was a huge mistake because it continuously stalled his canister filter. He also said that his stingray's slime coat was always covered in sand and very nasty looking. He suggested to either do nothing on the floor or do gravel and it would be fine. Now, I have always read that rays need sand because it is soft on their tender bodies and they need it to hide in. Is there any truth to what he was saying, or am I right to say he's wrong?

Also, if I do get sand, I have found that sand is much cheaper online. Here is the website I found: http://www.bigalsonline.com/product...=ComparisonShopping_Google&CAWELAID=511401101
Does anyone know about this?
 
I've seen several people use sand with rays without any issues.
As far as ruining a canister filter:
-prewash the sand thoroughly, even if the bag says its been prewashed
-after you add the sand wait until it settles, and do some water changes if necessary to clear it up
-make sure the intake to the canister is well above the sand so that if any fish disturb the sand it won't be sucked up.

The sand you found online is pretty cheap (assuming shipping isn't expensive).
 
Dude I have run sand in almost all of my tanks and have never had a problem with stalling out my cannisters, just dont stir the sand real hard when doing maintenance and rays love sand my motoro spent most of his time burrowed in it .Bare bottoms are easier to keep clean some gravel is to sharp and large for rays , go for sand. but that sand is 5 pounds you know how many you would have to buy?? lol
 
Yeah the dude was wrong. Just rinse the sand real well and DON'T use gravel. It will mess your rays up. Big Al's is a good retailer. go sand bro.
 
My local fish store told me to only use sand and not gravel because they like to bury themselves and the gravel can cut them which could lead to infections. So I did not buy one because I do not have sand in any of my tanks yet, and I don't want to loose a $100 no guarantee fish due to having the wrong substrate.
 
I agree that you should use sand, but wanted to add that foster and smith ship products at a flat rate--not by weight. So it's going to be MUCH cheaper than big als on shipping.
 
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