I have started to change all my tanks over to sand. It's easier to maintain, I think it looks nicer and fish love it. My blood red parrot in my 100 gallon hexagon digs in it and throws it around with his fins. Once I have sand in all my tanks that aren't breeding setups I won't ever use gravel again. I agree with putting crushed coral in the filter too. Then it is actually serving a purpose. In my opinion it doesn't really look very nice as a substrate.
Sand vs Crushed Coral
- Thread starter Robertshadow
- Start date
I also love sand. You dont really need a buffer if your water is already hard but crushed coral is a better buffer. I just use sand b/c my water is naturally hard. I love the natural look with sand. My fish love the sand too. I use 3M its great stuff and doesnt clog filters =]
Assuming you've got a decent turnover rate in your aquarium using CC as a substrate will buffer your water - you don't need to place it directly in a filter if you're turning the total volume of your tank over say 6 times an hour or more, though you won't get the dramatic results you do from putting it directly into a filter (this holds true for any buffering substance).
You can always go old school and find the bags of #0 crushed coral, which is pretty close to the same consistency as sand - or if you're not worried about keeping a buffered pH just use sand.
I've used sand, gravel, coral, river rock ect. and prefer sand over almost anything else for most fish - though my Tan***ikan setup has #1 grade crushed coral in it.
You can always go old school and find the bags of #0 crushed coral, which is pretty close to the same consistency as sand - or if you're not worried about keeping a buffered pH just use sand.
I've used sand, gravel, coral, river rock ect. and prefer sand over almost anything else for most fish - though my Tan***ikan setup has #1 grade crushed coral in it.
Thanks for the info guys.
What about this idea, sand with lots of shells? someone told me that sea shells buff ph too, I've used shells for decorations before. I know they bring up hardness from the calcium, but yeah.
As far as filtration I try to keep at least double the recomended filtration on my tanks, since they are somewhat overcrowded.
What about this idea, sand with lots of shells? someone told me that sea shells buff ph too, I've used shells for decorations before. I know they bring up hardness from the calcium, but yeah.
As far as filtration I try to keep at least double the recomended filtration on my tanks, since they are somewhat overcrowded.
jhutch;1766053; said:
no astheticaly it dosen't, still looks better than coloured gravel lol.
So, how do you clean your sand? gravel syphon?
If you seed the tank with malaysian trumpet snails prior to putting a lot of predatory fish in it along with some cleanup crew such as cory cats or synodontis it's a lot easier to keep sand properly cleaned.
Usually the leftover waste will pile up in one area of the tank to syphon if you've got strong circulation with a lot of decor in the tank, rather than having to go over the entire substrate.
Usually the leftover waste will pile up in one area of the tank to syphon if you've got strong circulation with a lot of decor in the tank, rather than having to go over the entire substrate.
