usually, someone here has the definitive answer. It hasn't happened yet. So far I'm leaning toward PFS.
Exactly, me too.
The question is, how do you know it before you use it.
usually, someone here has the definitive answer. It hasn't happened yet. So far I'm leaning toward PFS.
Mama Bear
I will try Liz. I used to use PFS, from a local pool supply store. $12 for about 50 lb bag. The idea with the sand is that fish poo and uneaten food will just sit on top of the sand so you can easily see and remove it. If you use a Python, just hover the tube over what you want to pick up. The suction will draw it up the tube with the heavier sand falling back down. Just don't put that tube into the sand. Every few days you can stir up the sand with a hand, spoon, anything. It will help keep pockets of gas and bacteria from building up. But you certainly don't need top do this too often. Depends on how deep you have the sand. I would recommend only 1-2" of sand. Deeper could make stirring it up once in awhile too hard. More questions? Just ask.
Barb
Hey guys, after reading thru this thread, you all got me to go out to Leslie Pool supply and purchases an 50lb. bag of PFS for my 125G Discus tank. Just laid downed a thin layer of sand, less than 3/4". Many yrs. of BB tank, liked the new look. Will run an hose siphon over the top of sand to remove the dirt. Also have potted plants in the tank, used plant substrate in clay plant pots from Home Depot.
I would say the answer to your question is yes Liz, a light skim. The #20 quartz sand is still coarse enough for fine particles to settle into the top 1/2" or so but it is heavy enough that you can vac it without losing much. The finer sand can breed anaerobic bacteria and produce gas pockets that can be harmful if/when they're disturbed, so I routinely use the gravel vac to prevent that, even with the #20, just out of habit
Last edited by danotaylor; 10-03-2019 at 08:25 PM.
I totally agree Liz.
Going with coarse , almost gravel size PFS , defeats the purpose of using PFS sand and that's not letting the debris and gunk accumulate with in . Gravel size for easier siphoning recommended here , seems counterproductive to me .
Even if you suck some PFS up during multiple siphonings you can always refresh it with new sand , because it's dirt cheap. When I want to go deep and thorough with my siphoning I just use a bucket at the end of my siphon so that sucked up sand stays there instead of going in the drain with the water flow .
Last edited by Filip; 10-04-2019 at 05:24 AM.
So you vac the entire sand to prevent the anaerobic bacteria and gas pockets, or what?
Thanks.
Nope , just the surface and occasionally stir a maximum of 1 -2 Cm depth with your fingers during the siphoning .
Deep sand bed holds toxic gasses and anaerobic bacteria that aren't supposed to be disturbed .
When I go 1-2 CM in depth stiring I use the bucket at the end to prevent the sand going down the drain , and I get the sand back in the tank ,once I'm finished siphoning.
Last edited by Filip; 10-04-2019 at 05:29 AM.
And how much cloudy it gets?
When I kept discus in a planted tanks, I siphoned around the roots and did deep cleaning quite often. A lot of waste from plant decay and fish waste. Now, I never used sand when I had planted tanks. I found that plants grew better in a coarser substrate like pea stone. The plants didn't seem to like sand and the compaction. A looser substrate seemed to give the roots the air they needed just like terrestrial plants need. I know this don't make a lot of since cause in nature plants grow in mud, but we're in a glass box and we're talking about discus. When I started not doing the substrate around the plants, weeks later they started the white poop thing and were treated. I have sand in two tanks now, it gets dirty and it still needs deep cleaning with a python.
I agree with Mervin, and still deep clean my sand, though the #20 quartz doesn't compact it's large enough for small particles to settle below the surface requiring a good clean every week.
If you wash it thoroughly before adding it to your tank it shouldn't cloud the water when you clean it
Last edited by danotaylor; 10-04-2019 at 08:10 AM.
Has anyone actually had fish die from a sand bed producing a gas pocket that released and killed their fish? Actual, first-hand knowledge, not heard from a friend, who heard from a friend, who read it on the interwebs somewhere. Because I've had sand substrates for years, had gas pockets form and release while cleaning the substrate, and nothing has ever happened to any of my fish.
No, not me mate. I clean it regularly enough so the anaerobic build up & gas pockets don't happen. I described a "potentially harmful" situation, not lethal. We all know the key to keeping healthy discus is clean water and to minimize stress. For me, that's what keeping the sand bed well cleaned is all about.