Substrate Question

[fairy74]

Blimey im worried about what sand i have now..i bought it from ebay and it cost me a small fortune

[babystarz]

Originally Posted by fairy74

Blimey im worried about what sand i have now..i bought it from ebay and it cost me a small fortune

What did you order? From my understanding it's hard to find "bad" sand, just make sure you clean it well by running water through it several times in a big bucket or bin outside before it goes in the tank to get rid of tiny particles and dust (and DON'T breathe that silica dust in), and it will probably work out ok.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by fairy74

Blimey im worried about what sand i have now..i bought it from ebay and it cost me a small fortune

I honestly don't think there is any sand that is harmful to an aquarium....as long it's not labeled as "builders sand" it should be fine. "Builders" sand usually has chemicals in that aid in bonding..for use when doing masonry and what not...the chemicals may be harmful to fish. And I wouldn't use beach sand for a fresh water aquarium. as it will have a high salt content. Play sand,pool filter sand,sand blasting sand etc etc are fine for aquariums. Just rinse out what ever you use, before adding it the tank.

[fairy74]

I cant find the link but it was aquarium sand and i washed it several times untill the water ran clear.

[babystarz]

Originally Posted by fairy74

I cant find the link but it was aquarium sand and i washed it several times untill the water ran clear.

I'm sure it'll be fine then :) The only thing special I'm seeing with pool filter sand is the specific grading, but aquarium sand is probably the same thing in smaller packaging. Sand is sand. The labels they put on the bags just dictate the price, and grain size. Play sand is more likely to have a greater variety of grain size and the odd large pebble, pool filter sand has a narrower range of grain size but honestly it doesn't make much of a difference to the fish.

[fairy74]

This was it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNIPAC-BLA...ht_1356wt_1265

[babystarz]

Oh yes, that looks totally ok to me!

[MSG]

Just read over 300 comments on the eco-complete cleaning on dozens of forums.

• The hovering technique is HIGHLY recommended, but very hard to do with fish in the tank.

• It's also recommended to create tornadoes while you clean sections.

Back then those things didn't occur to me, but makes perfect sense now.

Also the tube everyone suggested should be smaller like a 1" cleaner
versus the 2"-3"

Also with the PFS, you have to SEE the stuff being used in an active tank UNDERSTAND the difference in the size of the granule. PFS doesn't clump up like the play sand.

Just use whatever you have.

Another thing I remembered was the eco-complete can get stuck on your algae cleaning pads and cause really nasty scratches if you're not careful.

Fairy, I'm assuming you choose the black sand? 25K is plenty. You should have enough for all your tanks & what you paid is cheaper than we can get it for in the states.

[babystarz]

Ok, so as far as plants go I've ordered 55 stems of Wisteria, 35 stems of 6 in. Rotala Indica and 3 18in. bunches of Hairgrass. Does this seem like a decent combination of plants to start growing in the tank? I am also planning to add castles or something for the girls to hide in.

[MSG]

What size tank is this?

I think you definitely have more than you need.

How much does 55 W stems & 35 Rotala Stems go for?

So far I haven't come across many safe looking castles. Most have sharp plastic residue on the inside, & very tiny windows.