How To Sink Sand?

[Guest Kayla's Goldfish]

OK so I went out today to aqua hut and got a few things because I am redecorating I wound up with a totally different view on how my tank will look but anyways how are you suppose to use sand without it floating? Thank you!

[dkisosondi]

Use a heavy/large grain sand.

[claire_uk]

Is the sand going to be used in a goldie tank? If so this is not recommended as it can irritate the fishs gills as they sift through it looking for food, thus stirring it up into the water.

[Guest Isilme]

I thought this too, but some people seem to use sand. Is it a special kind then? Because I rather like the look of sand in an aquarium.

[lantern567]

Another question would be how to vacuum the bottom with sand in the tank. I vacuum a lot, and it seems like sand might collect more (what's the polite word for fish poop ?) than a little gravel would.

I have no idea about this, but would you use an undergravel filter with sand instead, or would that even work with goldfish?

[Jack of Hearts]

Bare Bottom for Goldies.

[M*gic]

Use a large and heavy sand... there's a type that is much larger than the normal one... like mine... no matter how you stir it, it's not gonna go cloudy because it's bigger and much heavier and will settle instantly. Don't use the common live sand... as it is very light and very fine... to the point that it's "dusty".

USE:

DON'T USE:

My sand is even heavier and bigger than the marine aragonite... you just have to look it up at your LFS... they should have samples of substrates they're selling...

[Guest Kayla's Goldfish]

Ugh, I went back to aqua hut they told me it wouldnt make the tank dusty and so I went home and did what the guy said and it still got dusty. Ughh. I guess I am going to have to take it out especially because now one of my Black Moores, Aida is having her slime coat get irratated from it.

[M*gic]

^You have to look for the big one... a sand particle in my tank is probably like coarse brown sugar particle but slightly smaller... it's why it's so heavy. The one that you tried to use must be the common brown sand that is cloudy when you stir it. Loook for the white, big, and heavy one...

[bettaqueen]

Is it possible they sold you the wrong type of sand? I was told that if yours is the type they use for reptile tanks that it will float and not sink. I used to have sand in my bettas tank. I used sand meant for marine tanks in my fresh water and it did not float. You also need to only put about a 1-1 1/2 inch layer of sand in the bottom of your tank. Too much sand can cause sulfur pockets which are deadly to fish. When you change your water and vacuum the sand you just hold the vacuum over the sand and suck up the the poo etc. You will also have to stir the sand afterwards to prevent the aforementioned sulfur pockets with a wooden spoon. Then let the sand settle after the stirring and you should not have any floating sand

[bettaqueen]

Also forgot to add the sand had to be rinsed multiple times till the water runs clear before adding it to a tank. You can use and old pillow case and a bucket to make less of mess of rinsing

[dkisosondi]

I use pool filter sand, much cheaper than the fish store stuff. It does not float, does not cloud water as long as it is rinsed well. My fish love it, you don't have to grave vac like normal gravel. You just skim the top of the sand, if you see that the sand is being picked up, just lift the head a bit. It will pick of the poo as long as it it close.

[lynda441]

I thought this too, but some people seem to use sand. Is it a special kind then? Because I rather like the look of sand in an aquarium.

Just because people use it, doesn't mean it's a good thing to do. In addition to it being known to irritate and cut goldfishes' gills, it can also strip the slimecoat off the fish. I've seen some terrible pictures of the slimecoat just falling off in sheets because of sand. I, myself, would not chance it. I, however, have a very, very fine gravel which looks like very coarse sand. I like it because it packs very tightly and doesn't allow the gunk to get under the gravel and it's small enough to not get stuck in the fishes' mouths, but it doesn't do all of the terrible damage regular sand can do.

[lynda441]

Also forgot to add the sand had to be rinsed multiple times till the water runs clear before adding it to a tank. You can use and old pillow case and a bucket to make less of mess of rinsing

In an answer to another question about sand, Koko said that it needs to be washed like 30 times to remove all dust. I just don't see how sand is worth that. And what about vacuuming? Wouldn't sand get sucked up in the vacuum and go right down the drain?