Thinking about sand for my 55g
- Thread starter TrevorM
- Start date
I personally do not like sand cause I have burned up a few filters using it. if a fish sturs it up and the filter sucks it in say good bye to your filter. But some like it. You clean it with the same vac that you do with gravel but you do not touch the sand with it you just get close to the sand and suck up the poo.
I have the same setup as you. i used 50 pounds of Target playsand $5.00 for a 50 pound bag at Home Depot. i have a aquaclear110 the intake tube is about 4 inches off the sand. iv never had a problem with sand being sucked up. just put some decor by the intake to keep your Oscar away and it'll be fine. make sure u rinse the sand allot untill the water is almost clear that runs out of the bucket. unplug your filter and add the sand really slowly(little bit at a time) as to not stur it up too much. the water will be pretty cloudy for about a day. dont turn your filter back on untill the sand has settled in your tank (about an hr or two) i love the look of sand and my fish seem to love it too. to vacume you do the same as u would with gravel but just hover above the sand(you'll find the sweet spot). if u suck up a bunch of sand just kink the hose and it'll fall back in. make sure u poke the sand once in awhile to remove deadly gases that can build up. i usually just poke it with the end of the vacume when its not syphoning. or u could use some kind of burrowing snail. Good Luck
Use pool filter sand, as it settles quicker than play sand because it's grains are coarser. If I suck any of it up with my gravel vacuum, it just swirls around in the intake tube then falls right back out. Just keep your filter intakes a few inches above the sand and you shouldn't have any problems.