# starting a sand botton tank



## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

i just picked up a 25 gallon to replace my 10 gallon feeder tank... going to try a sand bottom this time... i know it will be harder to keep clean, but i'm gonna have 3 crawfish in it, plus if i syphon out the junk and sand goes with it, atleast the sand is cheap (i jsut used playground sand) mainly i'm concerned about the filters getting jammed with sand... any pointer about that, or should i worry... any other tips much appreciated as well!

i'll post pics when its set up!


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## Croz (Jan 29, 2003)

what type of filter ?


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

is playground sand safe?

also the filter issue may be trouble


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

to equipment questions


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

right now i'm jsut going to run a mini AC and a small fluval power filter. probably grab something better soon, but dont want to spend money on something that may get clogged and break


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## Croz (Jan 29, 2003)

i have heard the same thing for my friend at my LFS its the exact same thing accept like 15x cheaper. still clean it first but just as safe. well if its a acuaclear filer should be ok but a emp or penguin you might have a problem. if its a ac just take the extentions off so its not really close to the bottom.


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

Croz said:


> i have heard the same thing for my friend at my LFS its the exact same thing accept like 15x cheaper. still clean it first but just as safe. well if its a acuaclear filer should be ok but a emp or penguin you might have a problem. if its a ac just take the extentions off so its not really close to the bottom.


cool thanks!

anything else i should consider that i may not be aware of?


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

just wash out thoroughly..


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

Innes said:


> is playground sand safe?
> 
> also the filter issue may be trouble


yea and like croz said, i inquired at the pet store (pets unlimited in chain lake) one of their 100+ tanks was set up with the same type sand, that's what he suggested, as pet store sand is crazy expensive...

and to tell you the truth, i think it even looks better then the pet store sand... they had 2 tanks set up,one with playground sand, and one with theirs... the playground sand is alot whiter, and just looks better...

i ran the sand through hot water, probably lost alot but oh well... put it in the tank... i'm only keeping feeders in it, not a big deal, and i wont feed them to my p's for about a month, to make sure there are no ill effects!

guess my p's will be eating alot of salmon/haddock til then


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)




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## SnowCichlid (Jan 10, 2003)

cant wait to see teh new subtrae


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Sounds like alot of work for a feeder tank, but goodluck bro!


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

it is just a feeder tank who cares what it looks like.


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

any tank should still look good! and there will be a couple non feeder fish in it, just nothing too expensive... plus i was thinking of doing this to my p tank, so i wanted to try it on something smaller first!


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

thats a good idea mind as well try it on something small to see how it is


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## Poseidon X (Jan 31, 2003)

sand is actually a much better substrate then gravel and results in clearer water. A good idea is to mix some gravel in which the sand. This will help the silt to form . Once the sand is in the tank for a while it will become very heavy and you will not have to worry about stiring it up. I would place a big patch of gravel around the filter intake just incase. In sand.. and the shibby floats to one little corner usually and is easy to clean, although you may have to rake it out from time to time to keep it looking fresh.

Make sure you rinse it.. If not it will be cloudy for 4-5 days.. just dont worry though because it will clear eventually, dont panic.


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

BDKing57 said:


> sand is actually a much better substrate then gravel and results in clearer water. A good idea is to mix some gravel in which the sand. This will help the silt to form . Once the sand is in the tank for a while it will become very heavy and you will not have to worry about stiring it up. I would place a big patch of gravel around the filter intake just incase. In sand.. and the shibby floats to one little corner usually and is easy to clean, although you may have to rake it out from time to time to keep it looking fresh.
> 
> Make sure you rinse it.. If not it will be cloudy for 4-5 days.. just dont worry though because it will clear eventually, dont panic.


 thanks bud! yea it is a little cloudy, not too bad tho! glad to hear its not too bad to clean!

i managed to pick up an old AC 300 for 10 bucks... so i got that and a AC mini running on it!

here's a couple pics, the decor and such isnt near comlpetion yet... but i do like the sand look so far!

pics here


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## mechanic (Jan 11, 2003)

Hi.To keep the sand from wrecking your filters impellor you can take a AC filter sponge and cut it with a exacto knife.Cut it just enough to slide over the intake on your filter.VOILA! a cheap pre-filter for your filter.
Later
Eric


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## SnowCichlid (Jan 10, 2003)

I think my next tank setup should be a sand one... too many gravel tanks, not that there is anything wrong with that...
do you ever have any probs with the siphoning guys?


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

> although you may have to rake it out from time to time to keep it looking fresh.


what do u use to rake it


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## alvin (Jan 2, 2003)

Your net. Run the net over the surface. The sand will fall through, and the debris will stay in it. Easy cleanup.


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## jabster (Jan 18, 2003)

Well, I wouldnt do sand in a feeder tank. Hell, I keep NO substrate in my feeder tank. Easier to snatch the poor little [email protected] that way









Anyway, you dont really need to rinse the sand. But, if it makes you feel better...... It will wreak havoc on power filters, though. Just check them every so often to be sure they dont freeze up from the sand....especially in a feeder tank where it WILL get stirred up. Fish generally wont stir it up much after it settles in, but a net flying around trying to catch them will









I am planning on sand in my next P tank. Just cant take the gravel anymore.


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## goldfishkiller (Mar 26, 2003)

When I put sand in my tank, I raised the intake tube about 4"off the bottom of the tank...so far no problems with sand in the filters yet.


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

jabster said:


> Hell, I keep NO substrate in my feeder tank. Easier to snatch the poor little [email protected] that way


 lol...thats also true, but a nice lookin feeder tank couldnt hurt either


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## scarfish (Apr 5, 2003)

Sand is the way to go! Easier to see waste and debris, therefore easier to clean. I have not had any sand get in my filter, and I have had some active fish, dive-bombing feeders and sh*t. River rock and slate look really tight with sand, I suggest you use some.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

dont let your intake filer tube go down near the sand otherwise your gonna be buying new filters


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