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Well, according to a similar post, i had a stroke of an idea! HOBs will get torn up by sand, right? What if I used a Prefilter, such as a prefilter sponge, filter floss, or a black pantyhose. Will any of these work, im sure they would w/ Tahitin Moon Sand Black. Its about the size of sugar or rock salt. The reason for my lust for sand is that i want to have a uniformed, smooth, looking tank. Black pea gravel just dosent work for me! The good part is that i didnt start the initial cycle with the gravel yet. I hope all goes er well....Any comments about TM sand, or 1st hand Xperienxe? Thanks!!!

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"what if I used a Prefilter, such as a prefilter sponge, filter floss, or a black pantyhose."

Won't work.

I tried it on my filter, covering it with various materials. Didn't work a bit and damages the filter by making it work harder. Without covering you have impellers torn up by sand, with coverings you have overheated and burnt out motors. Plus you get the added joy of cleaning the covering off twice a day as it picks up all the gunk that's supposed to be picked up by your floss or sponge.

Tahitian, if it's the size you say it is, should be ok without a covering so long as you havent got a filter the size of niagara falls.

Another idea is to use a different type of filter. If the stocking is light enough, and the aquascape can hide it a corner filter wouldn't be damaged by the sand.

^_^

Another idea is to use a different type of filter. If the stocking is light enough, and the aquascape can hide it a corner filter wouldn't be damaged by the sand.

Great Idea

I have seen the PFK article on a nano setup and they use a air driven filter. I would like to have one just like it, but i already bought a filter, a Tetra Whisper 10. I like this filter a lot, but i am afraid the flow will be too much? I have a previous model of this on my 10g, and it has very very low flow, almost none at all. That kinda scares me, because dont plants need some flow? Its literally just a dripping flow. The new one that i have has a semi good flowadjuster where the minimum is not as low as the old model. WHich one do you suggest i use. Also, i am currently treating the tank for ick in the 10g, and maybe the methylene blue will be stick in the filter? I really dont want to poison this tank! WHat about if I fill the water up to the waterfall part? I do that with my larger filter on my 20g and the flow seems to be drastically lowered. I will try that before anything else then.....

Im sorry for asking again, but the black pea gravel just dosent fit what i was looking for. Any experiences with Tahitian Moon Sand? THanks again!!!

EDIT: Scratch that, they use a compact internal filter. I still want to use the HOB that i bought though....Maybe, if i find a good use for the HOB, i might consider an internal filter, but for now, HOB it is for me.

UPDATE: Well, i filled the water level up to the black border, and read the instructions Yes, sometimes it DOES help! ANyway, it said that the flow control facing back will turn the flow all the way down. I tried it and it actually works!!! Very little flow in the tank now!!! Just have to keep it this way....I might pick the sand up today... I might also pick up an internal filter air driven filter too! Any suggestions?

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You are asking the same question with different headings. My answer is still the same.
There is no harm in wanting.
Getting is a totally different thing.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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I use pool filter sand, that I found at a swimming pool supply dealer. They sold me like 50 pounds of it for 20 dollars. Only problem is that I don't think it comes in black. I use 2 marineland 350 HOB filters, and for 2 years now, no problems. Just FYI.

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I think the biggest concern I would have about using sand in a planted tank like that is that it is extremely nutrient-poor. And IME adding root tabs and whatnot to sand can discolor it. I think I'm a little late, but if I were setting up that tank I would get Seachem Onyx Sand (which is sort of a fine black Flourite), ADA Aquasoil, or even plain garden topsoil (which I am using in my paludarium quite successfully, inspired by reading Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad - my crypts love it, and it actually happens to be dark-colored and fine)

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I deffinately won't use sand in my tank as I have a twelve gallon, I went overboard and put a Emperor 280 on it. I did this because I like these filters so much and this is the smallest size you can get in an emperor. I would be afraid the current in my tank would pick the sand up and ruin the filter. I also prefer a darker colored bottom.

17 years experience with freshwater.

I tried the hosiery over the inlet. Found the minuscule algae particles coagulated very quickly and prevented the flow. I do water changes weekly so tank isn't left to fester...it just didn't work in this tank.

{How topical, just emptied my 10g of sand this morning. Nothing against sand, looked great. But I needed coral for shellies.}

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raise your intake.

It isn't perfect and reduces the efficiency somewhat due to the altered flow pattern, but it is better than stockings.


I use sand in almost all of my tanks and have only really had the multi tank play up (they just spit the sand right in, little rascals)

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

*Agrees with Calla*

Raise your intake or use an overflow (to a sump). Lots of people do saltwater tanks with sand and avoid problems by using high-set intakes.

I just had an interesting thought, could an overflow be rigged to work with a HOB?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Yes, it can, calla, but they're not too reliable. If the power dies, the overflow drains the HOB (depending on where you mount it, but whatever), and then it can't restart itself when the power comes back on, and your sump gets pumped back into your tank. Also, the pump on the HOB has to be able to match the output of the pump on the sump, and it can cause balance problems.

It CAN be done, but it's not recommended. Just drill thru the back of the tank