Thinking of changing to sand

[yippy]

Hi guys, at the moment I have a fine layer of gravel in my tank and really like the look of sand. Is it easier to keep clean? and does much get sucked up when syphoning? I feed my discus a variety of foods including live blackworms, would the worms burrow into the sand ??? I know thats a silly question but Ive never tried anything but gravel in my planted tank. All the others are bb.

If not sand, is there any other substrate that has a nice natural look that i could use? Ive posted my tank here -

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=15255

Id love some advice from you pros :)

Thanks, Kerry :)

[ronrca]

I like the look of sand also however I have not tried it. Sand substrate is more difficult to maintain imo because it is lighter than gravel therefore it can be sucked up with a python and can even be sucked into your filters which really causes a mess if your not careful. It can be done but for the moment, the risks outweigh the actual doing it.

It will really depend on the sand I suppose. There are different types of sands around. What I would do is take a smaller tank and put sand in to test it. Once you feel happy and comfortable with it, put it in your 100G.

Here is a link from someone that tried a planted sand tank:
http://members.shaw.ca/dclubine/master.htm

[yippy]

Hmm, thanks for that - last thing I want is problems!!! The fish are happy in there - 2 pairs are spawning, so dont wanna upset the "apple cart"!!! I have a 3 foot I might try sand in and see how its goes. Ill throw my female bettas in it for a test run. :)

The 100 gallon is real easy to maintain so - i guess ill leave it for now.

Thanks so much for the advice!!!

Kerry :)

[M0oN]

I've done sand in discus tanks, in my opinion it's a complete waste of time and money...incredibly hard to keep the tank clean enough for the discus to thrive...don't know about using it in planted aquariums with discus...

I use it in a 30 gallon housing lamprologus stapersii and paracyprichromis nigripinnis with a few plants and it's still a major commitment to keep the tank clean...

[mattrox]

One LFS has a quite coarse sand. It is light in colour. It looks to be course enough to withstand vaccuuming. I have not tried it but it looks like it would work in a planted tank. It looks similar to the "Friskies" brand aquarium sand that I have seen in Coles.

[yippy]

Thanks guys, think ill stick to gravel - lol

But thanks for your advice. Appreciate it.

Kerry :)

[rafall]

Hi,
I have my 125 gal 6/8 of bottom with sand.
Adventages, nice look, it is noot sharp for fish, dirt stays on the top of it, other fish specially bottom living ones may dig into and hide w/o harm. I think it is lighter than gravel.
Disadventages: get sucked in when syphoning, you need to go an inch above it toget just the dirt and leftover and keep sand at the bottom. Some gases gets to residue in it if it is unmoved a little for longer time (you may simply brush it of the bottom fish will do the part of job.
Myth about the filter suckong it: filter will not suck it in if there is that cap on the intake pipe about 1.5 to 2 inches obove the sand's surface.

[ronrca]

Thanks rafall on sharing your experiences! ;)
Do you find that sand also 'stirs up' if you disturb it? Does it float around then also?

[sumptnfshy]

I would have to recommend using sand, but there are some things to make sure of before you decide. I used silica sand used for sandblasting the good thing is that is sold in different sizes ranging from 20-60 grit 20 being larger. Get the larger size to prevent siphoning, also use a long siphoning tube I have no problem with sucking out sand. Rinse the sand over and over and over unill the rinse water runs clear. I think sand is easier if you use these ideas. ;)

[drew22to375]

I have tried a couple different kinds of sand(not with Discus tho). Altho It looks pretty nice its a real pain to keep clean. My alage problems were five times worse with sand. It just seems to trip too much of the fine particles in the sand bed. It does provide a great surface area for bateria tho. If you are going to use sand I would recomend Pool Filter sand. Its a little more coarse than snad blasting sand and is pre washed. You don't need to wash it. I just dumped it in even with my filter running. Its coarse enough it sinks right to the bottom. I've never had any problems with this getting sucked up in my filter. The sand blasting sand is a little finer and I noticed even more alage problems with that than the pool filter sand.