Thinking to switch the substrate from tile to sand.. help pls?

[giar]

Sup fellow monster fish keepers!!

So I really want to replace the tile with sand so it will look more natural...but i am concerned if any waste/ left over food gets trapped there.

I am also afraid if the cleaning will be a headache with having sand instead of tile as it is now.

Also i am using 2 wave makers pointing to the surface, im afraid if it will Drift the sand inside the tank or worse make a sand strom there.

The wave makers have been helping me getting 95% of the waste to the filter input all these time. So reducing the flow of the flowmaker wont be a wise idea, if it needed be to avoid sand drift.

I am using 3 canisters and 1 sump for the filtration.

Any suggestions folks?

 

[Bigfishnut]

I wouldn't do it. I love my tile bottom for the clean look and ease of maintenance. I think you'll regret going to sand. I've dealt with way too many sand substrate tanks...not fun

 

[Bigfishnut]

Great looking fish by the way! With fish like that who cares what the bottom looks like!

 

[giar]

Great looking fish by the way! With fish like that who cares what the bottom looks like!

Hehe thanks..

Ive been able to keep the tank 99% of the time poo-free all this time because whenever i see some poo lying at the bottom i can just scoop it right away..Other than that, the wavemaker do it for me

But yeah, still arguing inside my head wether i should change or keep it as it is..

Or any suggestions to make the tank looks more natural than it is now?

 

[Bigfishnut]

You could always go shopping for new tile. It sounds to me like your itching to make a change on your tank, we all go through this, go buy a different color tile! I feel you would regret going to sand

 

[giar]

It sounds to me like your itching to make a change on your tank

Damnn that's straight to the point.. yes i am.. hahaha.

 

[Bigfishnut]

Lol...I tend to be a practical person!

 

[Jez1992]

I have sand in my tanks as I don't think tiles / bare looks natural.

Is you buy actual sand, as opposed to fine gravel, then waste cant get through it and under it. The only thing you have to do is give it a good stir every now and again to prevent bad anaerobic bacteria building up. I have rays which do it for me so I don't need to.

As long as you maintain tank properly with decent water changes and proper stocking levels, there is no reason why cant have sand. Most of the people I know of here in UK with large tanks has sand in them, unless its specifically a breeding tank etc.

 

[duanes]

I am also a proponent of Pool Filter Sand, the detritus usually stays on the sand surface, and is easily vacuumed off. And PFS is dense, so not easily stirred up like the fine play sands can be.
It is also very natural, below are some photos I took of river bottoms in the Magdalena system ofColombia.
To me, looked and felt very much like PFS

 

[aztsm]

I think you'll regret it. You have a lot of monsters there that surely eat and poop a lot. So much easier with a bare bottom. My biggest draw back is the risk of scratching the glass. But it does look really nice.

No issues with "DIY" sands like pfs like duanes mentioned. Unless you're really going to stir it up, then just turn off your filtration prior to doing so. Google around before you buy. Some PFS is to white for my taste, some to course. My favorite is quikrete all purpose sand in the clear bag. They sell it at lowes, and it has a mixture of sand and small pebbles. It's not so white and looks more natural imo.