Maintaining A Sand Substrate In Your Aquarium! KGTropicals!!
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i have an acrylic tank adn dont want the sand to scratch it. can i place ceram wrap or cling wrap on the bototm and put the sand on top?
@@randomrazr this is by no means a professional answer to your question but... My thinking... Plastic is a petroleum base product.
Most household plastic wrap is made from polyethylene, PVC, or PVDC. These polymers are all derived from simple hydrocarbons such as methane or ethylene, which are produced from natural gas or petroleum.
I would not put saran wrap on the bottom but that's just me. And I am no professional in this area. Good luck! 💕
@@TheFineLine920 the thing is water pipes are made of PVC lol
Do you recommend using a smaller sized siphon compared to a bigger one?
What did you do to clear the cloudy water in youre tank?
Cool trick is to attach a fork, piece of comb, whatever, to the end of your siphon hose. Can rough up the surface to make the junk float up, poke around for air pockets, and help put stuff back nice. I'm clumsy, so the added pokey bits help me out with control and general coordination. Hope this helps anyone!
Awesome idea! I love this!
Nice!
I've got white sand, and yes it does show every speck of uneaten food and poop, but it also motivates me to clean my tank far more often than I would with black sand. Looks clean and fresh, and you can see fish swim along the bottom at night, when lights are off and bottom feeders are out.
so jbl sansibar white is not so nice
I have white sand to,
an same, it’s so nice!
I try to make time every day to remove poop and uneaten food with a turkey baster. It works really well.
Dava jo what brand did you get? And does it come in black?
@@amandawitherspoon3988 why a turkey baster you could just get a gravel vac with a siphon
snails (malaysians) or loaches or Cory will help release this air pockets which is really neat because they regularly mess around with the sand 24/7
Same with koi and goldfish
But malaysian trumpet snails,can be a pest to a aquascape tank
Awesome, I have two Horseface Loaches and they stay buried in the sand and only come out for food.
I love my Corys. They are wonderful little workers and I also feed them their favorite foods as a reward and to keep them happy and healthy!!
What about crayfish?
Sand is also good for fish that have sensitive whiskers like Corydoras and other scavengers and bottom dwellers, as it minimises risk to their whiskers they also can lay eggs in/under the sand. I use a fine net and a gentle back and forth motion over the top to get the waste to rise than scope most of it before the water change and after feeds, I don’t go too rough as to disturb the sand but than I let it settle again and vacuum the rest for the water change. After that I move my hands through the sand re organising it as a number of my sons fish love excavating and move it around regularly (my son is 4 which is why I do the main work he helps but as much as a 4 year old can when they can’t reach the top of the tank without a step)
If you would like to see his tank we made a video and put it on a few weeks back he has some new fish in there now so we will probably do an update soon, as well as some fry in another tank as one of his guppies gave birth. I forgot how addictive fish are and how one tank breedings into multiple tanks so rapidly hahaha.
My corys freaking DESTROY my sand and goes everywhere!😭
MTS multi tank syndrome. It's quite contagious 😂❤
@@tidyceiling5262good to know. I'm switching to sand this week for my corys 😆
Plants also help deal with sand air pockets as the roots create gaps to the surface to prevent the air from collecting hopefully
Had a discus tank with sand. Never did any vacuuming.
I had a herd of corys that spent their day digging and turning the sand and keeping the waste in the water column until it got sucked into the sump.
I use a see through plastic bic pen tube on a hose to clean as I find it easy to get in around and under objects and stir up small areas so as not to contaminate the sand and get rid of gases. Plus you can skim up the dirty sand clean it then add it back later.
I'd do a gentle stirring/back forwards motion above the surface with the syphon inlet and the current it creates floats the crap off the top of the sand.
You could call it a silent but deadly
Reptilian Gaming 🤣
Deadly and Laziness just killed 4 of our most exciting family members yet.... sand requires alot and I just learned that at a BIG Cost.... R.I.P kids, I failed again!!
My corys are exactly why I'm switching to sand 😊
I use it all the time and I love it . The fish love it especially the Corydoras. Thank you for the cleaning advise .
I was just thinking about gravel versus sand. You’re video was very clear and helpful. And your speaking style and volume was very pleasant and friendly. Thank you!
I spent $120 dollars on sand. should have done my research before hand. Looks amazing though.
$120 where did you get it from?
$120? Daaaum!!! how much sand did u use? i paid $5 for 50lb. bag pool filtersand in one of my 75 gal tanks & it looks as good as any i've seen else where. I even planted Melon Sword, some similar to moneywort but thicker starts wit a c- something... So far, after switching from gravel to sand, i prefer it 10 -1 plus the fish seem to like it as well, they're more colorful and heartier than b4 with gravel. seems silly i know but true...
@@blkicemike4857 how many bags did you use a your 75, I'm thinking of going to sand with my oscars
@@kevinmcmullen6527 ,..in one of my 75gal i used two 50lb bags of pool filter sand, paid like $4.86 a bag @Lowes. U could use about any kind u like, just rinse it really well before you add to aquarium.
BlkiceMike I think I might just try that sand
I changed to sand 4 years ago and it's so much better. Thanks for the video.
Awesome video thank you. 30 years in the hobby still learning. I use blaxk diamond sand blasting sand from traxtor supply. Already washed you only need a quick rinse and your tank will be cloud free. Make sure it is course and not fine they sell different micron sizes.
Thank you so much !!! I’m remodeling my tank and I did not know how to clean sand this was so helpful ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks John. My next project will be a sand bottom, so this was timely.
We have a pond on our property with a beautiful sand bottom and I set up a tank with that sand before with great results. One thing to note is that I used Malaysian trumpet snails and buried them across the tank and I never had to worry about pockets or air. I then used cone snails with ramshorn snails for the rest of the heavy lifting to great effect. The mayalsian trumpets aerate the substrate whilst they eat.
I recently switched from gravel to black sand in my 10 gal betta tank. It looks great and anchoring plants is so much easier! :D
I am thinking of changing to black sand but is it hard to notice the fish pop or is it the same
Thanks for this vid! I just switched from gravel to sand in my 5 gallon and I was worried after hearing about the gas pockets. But now that I know how to prevent them I feel much better 😁
It’s wild that I stumbled across this video because I just bought a 55G and I’m seriously considering using sand in this one. I really want that totally natural look - I want my tank to look like I stuck my head under water in a pond or river. I have a 5G and a small bag of white sand that I’m going to try first, but it’s nice to see a video about pros, cons, and maintenance. Actually, your tanks look so darn pretty with sand, that was my motivation to switch. I like the idea that waste stays on the surface and I don’t have to be so aggressive with a vacuum like I do with substrate. And I’ve heard that cory cats are much happier in sand rather than gravel, so that’s another plus. Thanks, John.
Malaysian trumpet snails are a great choice for preventing Gass pockets in sand too! Because they constantly traverse the sand both on top and burrowing beneath gas doesn't have a chance to accumulate
thanks for the info ! good to know i have a 75 gal running a fluval 406 with 2 convics , 2 green terror , 2 silvini , 2 rubber lip and 3 pictus cats on 50 lbs of super naturals . its all about a month old and running great . i liked that you have all fluval canisters in the background . i love it . cant wait to see more videos . thanks for the upload
the "plunge method" works wonders on sand, for occasional deep cleaning and mixing it around! you just gotta keep a finger on the other end of the hose, to moderate the flow. it only takes a drizzling, to fluidise the sand inside the tube.
The PITA you don't mention is that because of the increased delicacy and time in vacuuming the sand, you're also pulling out much more water, and thus dramatically increasing how much is replaced.
I have this exact issue I’m not able to clean my 9 gallon tank fast enough before I’ve suctioned out 50% of the water
ah any solution?
You can raise You bucket on a table, use a shorter, smaller diameter hose, and keep your finger over the exit end of the hose to stop or slow the flow according to where you are in the aquarium and how much junk you're hovering over.
I have found that having creatures that like to burrown in sand help a lot, like trumpet snails or loaches...providing they're compatible with the inhabitants.
btw- Pool filter sand is so firm,you could actually do a great zen tank with the sand raked in rings around a single rock. Just avoid the fish that stir things and you would be surprised how long it keeps the rings in an aquarium.
You guys have been a lifesaver in setting up my first aquarium, thank you so much
Sand can wreck havoc on the impeller shafts and the magnets so I use pre filter sponges on my filter intake tubes. Granted its not likely to happen but isn't risk mitigation the name of game? Scuba Steve says all the time!Lol
Sponge filters are your frens
One of my tanks from years ago had the filter destroyed by sand. I removed all the sand and never looked back, but after this video and comment, I'm a little more comfortable with trying again
I went with sand from the beginning. My first tank is my goldfish tank, and sand was recommended because grazing goldfish have been known to choke on gravel. I decided I liked the look of it better than gravel, so I used it in the tetra tank I set up at work as well. Then I got into freshwater shrimp, and sand is much easier for them to scavenge through.
hey how to quickly clean the sand before the syphon runs out of time?
A tip I use... when your first staring a new or total substrate change after washing the sand and installing it and most things your going to have in the tank, I run a water supply and a siphon at the same time for a few hours until the tank is totally clear... then and only then do I add other tank water or turn on filters.... Sand silt is almost impossible to filter out like organic matter, so starting out with a settled tank will go a long way in setting things right from the beginning...
Very helpful! I have sand on top of organic dirt for a planted tank, plants are surprisingly doing well, always could use good tips!
Thanks to your video I just put sand in my tank, fortunately I bought a sand specifically made for tanks, it was super clean I had to rinse about twice only and it's very white, which I prefer over the brown looking sand, although it was a little more pricey than expected it looks amazing! My bichirs and ghost knife love it.
Similarly to Memories Channel's comment, I zip tied a couple of plastic cocktail stirrers to the siphon tube. They protrude down from the tube and stir up my sand while vacuuming. The length of the stirrers can be adjusted to work with your sand's grain size.
I just turn on the filter, stir up the sand with a chopstick and all the crap gets sucked up. Lowe's in my area sells 50lbs of all purpose sand for $5.
Will plants grow good in that type of sand?
@@amandawitherspoon3988 yes, if you feed your plants.
@@queenv3350 Thank you.
John, great video. I just set up my 75G and decided to use pool filter sand based on your video. Looks great and saved a ton of money! True: rinse, rinse, rinse!!!!!
This guy is right on point he's right obviously knows what he's talking about I do the same stuff you looking for advice this is the guy
Good info. Here's the other side though, I have white sand and cleaning it is a pain in the butt. Firstly you need light to be on so if you have a box top and the light is fixed on the box then you'd need another light source as you have to dismantle the top cover.
No matter how careful you are, you'll still end up sucking some sand out, mind you, even if you gently stir the top of sand. Also, when you siphon it, it can never be as clean as gravel because in the gravel the waste is light enough to get sucked out and gravel is heavy enough to not get sucked out, so like a vaccum cleaner, you can push hard.
THIS IS THE WORST DISADVANTAGE: If you are not careful enough not to allow sand to settle down first before turning on your canister, the sand will get stuck in your motor or impeller and make that krrrrrrrrrrr sound and damage the canister in the long run, so you have to not only clean the impeller, but also the motor evrytime you hear the canister making weird krrrrrr sound especially when switching on and off. Also, sand can get sucker into your mechanical filtration requiring you to change sponges every once in a while.
If you have fine aqua soil in the bottom most layer like I do then cleaning is a bigger headache because you can't afford to stir up the sand even a little bit, so planter aquariums with fine soil should not have sand as the top layer.
This may not be an issue for everyone but I use a generic utensil scrubber to clean algae off the glass and when you reach the bottom layer, you have to be very careful while scrapping it out,otherwise you will end up disturbing sand and it takes a while for sand to settle down. Goodluck.
Honestly subscribed because you create the most common typical things people don’t normally think about. I’m a surgeon, and I’m always entertained watching your videos, things I’m already aware of, but just good to watch and learn every day! Keep up this good work, one of the rarest things I’ve saw on a channel.
Thanks so much for these vids, they help me out so much. I’m a new betta fish keeper and I’m excited to give my betta a long and happy life in his sand aquarium.
I use sand because I have goldfish and it gives them something natural to do. They sift all day long!
Sand blasting sand works good too. It comes in different size granules.
Thank you so much for this video! I've been looking for this type of info for a few months as I've just started being an aquarium enthusiast. I quickly became interested in aqua scaping and sand is a BEAUTIFUL substrate. I am dealing with cloudiness as I did not clean the sand. I got black sand substrate. I'm thinking of starting over to get the water clear. Thank you for the cleaning and gas pocket info. I am now a loyal subscriber!! THANK YOU AGAIN!!
I've had aquariums for decades...ALL with sand substrate. I never do water changes, except when cleaning the tank about once a year. I have NEVER heard of 'gas pockets' within the sand, nor have I seen any bubbles. More importantly, I have never lost a fish to ammonia, ph, nor anything else related to the water quality. The secret to it....keep your sump and filter floss clean. I change my filter floss about twice a month on all my tanks.... mostly because I like to overfeed.....but I have NEVER had to do a water change due to ammonia or gas.
I use sand in all my tanks. Black diamond medium grit, quickrete medium sand (white), playsand (favorite and most natural looking) and hth pool sand from Ace hardware. I'll never go back to gravel again. With playsand I no longer wash the sand, I just fill the tank up on a trickle so it's not disturbed I think they clay in it actually helps plants. And no corydoras etc do not cloud the tank when they dig for some reason it remains perfectly clear unwashed and I have seventy tanks with half of them playsand non-washed prior.
Planning to change my gravel stone to sand, luckily I watched this video. Really helpful!
I didnt know about the gas pockets, so thanks for the info. I'm going out to buy my first sand substrate and thought it might be a good idea to research it first, glad I did 😁 kind regards from a newbie ❤
thanks. switching to a 10 to a 20 gallon and i want a natural look. this was great info to know
I find it SO much easier to just use the hose itself to go around the surface. The suction is way more powerful as well, so you just have to be close, instead of having to stir it up
I installed a ball valve at the end of my gravel vacuum. That allows me to reduce the flow of the water and I can vacuum my sand without siphoning it out of the tank.
Kg i make sand cleaner by using cloth and simple airpump, i use this since 5 years. Easy to pick dust and all leftover food, poop from tank.. after that if its sucks sand in pocket, i just open pocket and remove sand from it. Clean and back to the tank ;)
🤣🤣 those plekos on the outside of the tank had me too confused for a minute
I use a few hunks of dead corral in my African cichlid tanks and it raises the ph slightly when also slightly increasing salinity
Hi. I'm not sure if you see new comments on older videos, but I thought I would try. I have a suggestion for a subscriber poll: should the arowana tank remain bare bottom?
Thanks for all you do!
Thank you. Setting up my first sand tank this week.
You also don’t need that much sand, if you have sponges in your filter the sand is pretty much completely inert and you need just enough to cover the bottom, you don’t really need it at all you can have a bare bottom tank, so it’s pretty much cosmetic. If you keep it then you don’t have to worry about the air pockets. You can also use the gravel back and let it pour the sand out and then just clean it and put it back as well
4:02 my Hemichromis lifalil helps me maintaining that cuz when the mother is pregnat the father digging holes all around the aquarium cuz the babys will sit in that later an, now my aquarium looks like the surface of the moon 😂😂😂 so much holes in the sand but yeah it really helps most of the air bubbles are not anymore in the sand ,so yeah i work with my fishies together during maintainig the sand
Great info!# Thanks. Have 8 tanks, 6 have play sand, didn't know about stirring it often. But will do it from now on!
If you have bottom dwellers like cory cats or loaches, they dig and sift through it enough so there is no need to stir it up or worry about gas pockets. Digging cichlids do a fine job of that too! (always rearranging my sand! :)
I got 3 corydora catfish a few days ago and right now the corydora/guppy 20 gallon tank has gravel on the bottom. I am gonna switch to sand tomorrow and spend today getting it, researching, and cleaning it. I want my little Cory's to be able to burrow, and sand looks sooo much nicer than my black gravel
I have a weird albino strain of Malaysian trumpet snail that does not breed overly fast that I use to prevent gas pockets because they burrow into the sand and pop any bubbles that develop before they get large enough to hurt my tank
One of the tips hobbyists I know use is using a rubber band and attaching a chop stick or something similar to the end of the cup of there python and poke that into the sand and drag that through the sand as they scan the surface to pick up detritus etc.
Natural Sand & Natural 🌱Plants all the way✨🙌🏻
I've found that using a air hose for between water change poop cleaning works really well. you can get a lot off poop with little sand/water being removal with
lesson learned..."Don't Be Lazy!"
and I was......... My Lazy wife needs to get involved as well!!
Isn't there another way to help prevent gas pockets from forming, especially if it is a dirted sand tank, and that is to add Malaysian Trumpet Snails, since they'll burrow through it constantly? I've also heard people use blackworms for that purpose, though I presume they'll likely be eaten up too quickly before they can do so.
I'm new to the hobby and addicted!! Thank you for the great info in your videos👊👊
Great video, my gold fish keep the sand very clean. I have a small 20 gallon with 2 goldfish and 2 small soft shell turtles and so far no problems.
Handy tip, use 1 litre bucket. You can clean sand really, really, really well and it's not as heavy when moving it.
So glad i saw this video, i have a ton of sandbags from our hurricane season lol. Its surprisingly clean too though, i was shocked once i put it in water
I guess I had the right idea on prepping sand because I never saw the other video. I used 50lbs bag of pool filter sand and I spent a few hours rinsing the sand vigorously using a 5gal bucket, hose and only putting in 3-4inch of sand so you can imagine how long it takes but that is the best part. I stirred vigorously enough that I was not satisfied with what was left after a whirlpool of sand would make the water look dirty but then the sand would dropped instantly within 1-2 seconds after I stopped. Now the sand in the tank does not cloud the water at all when stirring it up and when stirred up, the sand would fall first before any waste would. And because it is a cichlid tank and they love to move that sand around, the sand sinks instantly, the waste settles above it. I also use a hotdog fork to stir the sand so the pockets don't form but the 'structures' the cichlids make stays mostly intact.
That little water banana plant is adorable!
Hey man I really needed to hear what all you said and thanks alot for helping me out you were right on and helped me fix my tank problem thanks brother
Had sand and a very small amount of gravel in my tanks for better than 30 years. The plants and fish love it. Never clean the sand the fish keep it clean.
i watched this video one month ago. and i was scared, i didnt think i could do it. I wanted to put sand in my 20 gallon tank. instead i chose my 2.5 gallon betta tank. today i am doing my first water change for my girlfriends betta. He has had sand for 2 weeks and has nested a lot. he loves his tank. and soon he will be getting a plant. Thank you!
Sand- makes filtering much harder. It, unlike gravel, doesn't seem to help filter water that flows over it. So,its ALL on your filter,plants to keep water quality high. Sand is also very high in silica- that's a good food for blue green and brown algae. You''ll notice it starts over the sand long before it starts on plants or glass.
But,if you put the pool filter sand in...its heavy and clean to start. Pour in in a mound...and you would be shocked how long it stays in a mound. I would advise you keep a stable of sand cleaners with it...Geophagus,Corydoras,worm type loaches.
Yet,in large tank...a vast area of sand is hypnotically beautiful. So like every clean stream you've ever seen in nature.
I recently changed my substrate from gravel to sand in my goldfish tank. My 2 rabbit snails definitely like it and they're always burying themselves in it.
Good point about the hover and rake on the back stroke. Thanks for sharing
I really thank you for the advice John you make things easier for me 👍🏿
8$ for sand mix 20kg @home depot........cory's love it , angelfish doing great.....
I use very fine sand for my Axolotl, it was my first time using sand and honestly.. I do not find it hard to maintain. I actually use a turkey baster to pick up crud, it's only a 30 gallon tank so a siphon sucks up way too much water. It looks very pretty and the white color helps me find those elusive turds.
If you want to clean sand, get a vacuum, (obviously the gravel cleaning one) then put it into the sand, while holding the tube, let the water flow, lock the tube, the lift it, the sand will drop but the poo won’t
Thank you so much for this video! I just switched to sand today and had no idea about the gas bubbles!! Great video!
Theres a lot of back and forth about the hydrogen sulphide gas that forms. personally i dont think its worth worrying about. like anaerobic bacteria are what produce it, and they live in areas of the substrate with basically no flow through it. so as the bubble sits in the substrate the gas isnt dissolving into the water at any rate that would be harmful. and if that area is disturbed and the bubble rises to the top i really dont think enough of it to cause harm could dissolve into the water in the short time the bubble rises up the tank and pops at the top. Cory from aquarium co op says there isnt enough evidence to prove the gas pocket are what are killing fish and he just does not worry about them either. i can see a few of them in my planted 55 gal, and im personally just not worried about it. (wow that comment got long fast.)
Thank you😂
Glad i watched this... Thank you... I'll be cleaning my sand substrate in 2 of my tanks tomorrow
Just wanted to stop by and show some love to your channel. Thanks for all the helpful info! Havent had a aquarium since I was a kid now im working on setting up a 75 gallon south American chiclid tank for my home! Still debating on what filtration I want to use leaning towards canister filter or sump
Use your hand and swirl water near sand, the food and waste will stir up and the sand will sink. Standard water change and substrate clean...
Definitely going to remove the sand out of mine now
we just lost 4 of the best fish one could ever have... one died and I checked the Ammonia level... Holy Sh*t!! dark green OMG!! Panick!! swapped out 4 gallons instantly... (With filtered water) then....... it all got worse..... soon I would be burying 3 other fish.,...... :(
Malaysian trumpet snails will help aerate the sand. They borrow deep down only to come up at night time. Pretty cool little creature.
Good to know that there are pro's and con's before getting into it
I've had sand in my tanks for 25 years. If you decorate your tank with fake plants and other items the waste will eventually find it's way to the small divots of your tank (around the plants). You can just vacuum in those areas to get he waste out. Also, if you keep things like cichlids they will disturb your sand enough you won't have to worry about gasses. I also have a finer sand than what he shows so food doesn't fall further down inside and cause gas build up. I got this sand 20 years ago so I have no idea where you can get it now but I like that pool filter sand idea.
and the third methot to avoid gas pockets are snails that live in substrate i have them and i dont have any problems with gas pockets
I loved how you explained this. Very thorough video 👍
I was able to get sand for my test aquarium outside. I used a fish net to filter out the big parts of soil from the small parts, then I began to pour the soil in a container, then I began to clean the sand constantly until the water is clear. i used this 'sand' in outside tanks to grow out aquarium plants so I can use again if the plants in the main tank plants don't do so well. I wonder if this helps or is even safe for fish, snails, shrimp, etc.
Great video. Please give us a list of plants we can grow on sand substrate and how to maintain them. Thank you.
o wow glad I found this video! new to hobby and just pulled gravel out of tank to do sand... figured I better research how to keep it clean and found your video first!! thanks for the tips
I think with good filter suction at bottom and a nice group of bottom fish like corydoras stirring up the debris maintenance is not an issue
The one thing i would not skip spending money on is a a large canister filter, this will make maintenance a breeze
Black sand looks dope in a 75 gallon with some angels and rams head with white cori catfish at the bottom and of course 2 Kohli loaches
Great info, never tried sand before, but much more likely now after this very informative video. Thanks John.
Don't be scared of it, it's easier then you think;-)
I used white sand in my chiclid's aquarium..it was looking fantastic..i changed 20-30% water in each week and removed poops by siphon..but after 2 weeks the sands become dark brown n looking gross..so i removed all sands and now use round shaped white stones
If you keep Corydoras schwartzi like I do, you have to use riversand. It's so much better for their barbs. Fish like Corydoras are great to keep the sand substrate clean. Also assassin snails (Anetome helena) are good for the condition of a sand substrate because they burrow into it. If you use these animals in combination with regular maintenance a sand substrare can last for years (mine is 5 years old and still in perfect condition).
great info,professional and informative without all the unnecessary information.considering some white sand for my two fish tanks for my bettas but no pet stores sell sand,only gravel.smallest pool filter sand bags are 15kg,i only need less than 5kg ughhhhh