Substrate: Sand (010)

[benno]

I have a tank that i am in the process of setting up and ive heard that i can use sand pit sand in it for substrate. Will this be ok to use it isnt to fine is it. Thanx guys Benno

[fiona]

Guess it depends on what kind of sand you are meaning when you say sandpit sand. If it's a neutral kind of quartz based sand it should be OK. I use river sand in my kids' sandpit and have nicked it for tanks with success. Keep the sand layer shallow, say 1cm or so, to avoid anaerobic icky bits (the technical term escapes me ATM). You may find some sand makes its way into your filters - be aware that fine sand is more easily stirred up.

[Downunder]

I've just setup my tank and put some "General use dried sand"(written on the bag) I bought from Mitre 10 in Salisbury near Peter Engells there for about $6.50 for 30kg. It was a bit of a bugga to clean, but the end result was worth it. They have it outside. I think it was packed from a company in Melbourne, but sorry can't remember it's name. The bag states that it can be used with pets ie litter trays and bird cages, so it must be alright. There is a warning on it about containing silica also, but I think most sands contain that any way. If you're lucky there might be a bag already broken so that you can check it out first. It's a nice yellowy colour and looks great. I'm sure the store at Gawler will also have some. Good luck.

Wayne

[fishie4me]

hey guys,

i have some sand from my uncle and was told that it was purchased from bunnings, on the bag it is writen "nepean sand" is it ok to use it in aquariums as the sand also contains seom little gravel in it as well, and the colouration is a brown more than yellow colour, tried to clean it today... geeezzz it was hard work only managed to get 25 kg clean and took ages.. lol

was just wondering if anyone has used this type of sand in their aqaurium before and wanting to know if it is safe as i dont want to screw my fish up.

[Pierced Soul]

I've used plenty of "sydney" sand from bunnings and it works well. cleaning is a pain as everyone else has also found

only prob with sand is that it will work it's way into impellars, and I'm guessing ultimately destroy them. All my filters have sand in them..... so far only one motor has stopped working, however I cant say for certain thats due to the sand or not.

and u can use more than 1cm, you just need to stir it up everynow and again. There have been times when i've released bubbles, but no fish seem to have suffered from the bubbles, which makes me wonder whether the bubbles are anerobic bacteria or perhaps some other gas.

[Adrian09]

I used sand once with a viaaqua filter

it died within two weeks

so be vary with sand!!

it just stopped completely

i cleaned it out etc but it has never been the same, pumps less and seems to run outta steam every week or so, coming to an almost complete stop until i reclean it.

[trofius]

I use river sand as it is courser and falls from suspension very quickly, never found any in my filters, looks very natural with the rocks, and the fish all love it.

to clean it i used a bath tub in the back yard with an overflow made from pvc and an old plug, and just stirred it up all th ecrap floated away.. It in my oppinion is now the easiest substrate to keep cleen. a quick vaccum when you water change.. if the sand gets algae etc on it just syphon it out into a bucket and give it a good stir up and pour back in..! couldn't be easier...

[E4G13M4N]

If the sand is too fine it can damage impellors and housing causing vibration noises eventually, especially if the fish housed do a lot of digging and spit the sand directly towards the filter intake..

Looks good, can work, yes it is cheap but can come at a greater cost eventually.. If you are useing a cannister use a fine pre filter and clean the pre filter weekly..

[OziOscar]

There are some coarse pool filter sands which would be better. The larger particle size is less likely to end up in a filter and the bonus is that the sand arrives pretty much clean. I've only used it once before for a particular look but went back to gravel / coral sand depending on the livestock.

The downside of paler coloured sand is that the poo and all looks very visble compared to gravel, so if it's in a display tank you might be doing a lot more cleaning to keep that sano look.

Usually sand shouldn't be a prob for cannister filters as any material in suspension should be caught in the filtration media before it reaches the impeller chamber. AC500s and the like are still at risk owing to their design.

Lots of luck and would love to see pics of your tank when it is complete.

Cheers - OziOscar.