White sand and plants help

[PaulD]

Hi I am new here and also new on plants tank and discus. I have a 125g with water been running for two months. I have a very fine white sand. I would like to known this white sand is good for the plants? I also wanted to buy discus about 4" to 5" for this tank. Please give me some advise. Thank you.

Paul

[Wjmulder]

I have a 55 with white aquarium sand and my plants do great, no fert or co2. Just lots of water changes and twice weekly gravel vac. When plants reach the surface I cut the tops and stick the stem in the sand and viola! New plants!

[PaulD]

the problem i have is i can't vac. the tinny sand, the python will suck the sand with it plus i have a lot of plants, it hard to do the water change.

[dprais1]

Paul what sort of sand are you using? where is it from?

[discuspaul]

Paul what sort of sand are you using? where is it from?

Yes, what kind of white sand is it that you're using ?

There are many different kinds of sands, many of which do rise up and free-float in the water column when disturbed, get into & clog up filters/impeller assemblies, and will easily get siphoned up when vacuuming.

White quartz-based silica pool filter sand is relatively dense and will do none of those things - when vacuuming it with a wide-mouthed aquarium vac tool, it will move up into the tube just a couple of inches and then tumble right back down - no problem with siphoning it up.
If your sand is light, fine grained, and with little density, it will indeed be a problem to vacuum without siphoning it up.

As for growing plants well in sand - generally it's no problem, particularly if the plants are helped along with the addition of root tab ferts.

[PaulD]

Paul what sort of sand are you using? where is it from?

i forgot the brand i bought it at petsmart it is very tinny fine sand

[PaulD]

Yes, what kind of white sand is it that you're using ?

There are many different kinds of sands, many of which do rise up and free-float in the water column when disturbed, get into & clog up filters/impeller assemblies, and will easily get siphoned up when vacuuming.

White quartz-based silica pool filter sand is relatively dense and will do none of those things - when vacuuming it with a wide-mouthed aquarium vac tool, it will move up into the tube just a couple of inches and then tumble right back down - no problem with siphoning it up.
If your sand is light, fine grained, and with little density, it will indeed be a problem to vacuum without siphoning it up.

As for growing plants well in sand - generally it's no problem, particularly if the plants are helped along with the addition of root tab ferts.

i do used tab ferts. with it. thank you for for the advise

paul

[dprais1]

if it is 'amazon' sand or something like that i had REAL problems with it. during water changes even a slight current would kick the sand into the water and it would literally stick to the discus slime coat, which would then be shed in large patches with that powder sugar fine sand stuck to the slime. never had the problem before or after using that sand. just my experience.....

petco has a white sand. not nearly as white but no problems so its an A+ for me

[strawberryblonde]

I had huge problems with the first type of sand I chose for my tank. It was superfine and most of it ended up outside in the garden during water changes. I actually got so disgusted with the whole sand thing that I went barebottom for a few months. LOL

After that I finally got brave and tried out a new sand and have been happy as a discus with live worms in the tank. I purchased CaribSea Instant Aquarium Freshwater Sand, Crystal River. My first purchase (the super fine horrible stuff) was the Sunset Gold. If you check it out on Drs Foster and Smith's website you'll be able read the listed grain sizes for each type. They don't seem all that different, but trust me, Sunset Gold was like powdered sugar and Crystal River (VERY white in color) is larger and heavier grains that don't end up swirling in the water column or heading up the siphon when I vacuum.

The cost isn't all that large since you don't need much. I have 2 bags in a 115g tank and the coverage is fine. It grows plants very well and is heavy enough to keep them rooted (though I don't have plants at the moment - did have them in pots with the sand in them till 2 weeks ago)

[Derelique]

I had huge problems with the first type of sand I chose for my tank. It was superfine and most of it ended up outside in the garden during water changes. I actually got so disgusted with the whole sand thing that I went barebottom for a few months. LOL


I did the same thing after ending up with a rash after having tried to switch from briefs to boxers the other year. Going barebottom resolved that problem for me though.