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  L# Plants and sand (plus corys)
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SubscribePlants and sand (plus corys)
John'sWildKingdom
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Hobbyist
Posts: 50
Kudos: 30
Votes: 3
Registered: 01-Mar-2004
male usa
Hi everyone.

I'm planning to transfer the contents of two 10 gallon tanks into a 33. I've never had sand in the bottom instead of gravel, but I'd love to do that with this one. So my questions are:

1.) Do I have to use special (i.e. expensive) sand from the lfs or can I use walmart or even beach sand (I will be moving corys in - can beach sand kill them with any salt that might be present?)?

2.) Can live plants survive being planted in sand? Will the roots be damaged/smothered/etc?

The fish moving are:

1 neon blue dwarf gourami
4 neons
5 glowlights
4 assorted corys
2 otos

I think a tank with a sandy bottom would be just killer, but if I can't transfer the plants, or if it's a real pain in the boo-tay, I'm not sure if it's worth the risk. Advice!

John
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile PM Edit Report 
Babelfish
 
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Small Fry with Ketchup
Posts: 6833
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Registered: 17-Apr-2003
female australia us-maryland
Play ground sand will be find, or you could go with LFS sand...I got mine from a local garden shop, places like home depot often sell playground sand in various shades as well.

Don't go with beach sand, for one it could be polluted, for two it's likely to raise the KH of the tank, and be difficult to sanatize. Whichever type of sand you do use, make sure you rinse it very well.

Most plants don't do well in sand. Some can be rooted to rocks or driftwood. Some people have done well with plants in sand, I personally havent' doens as well as I wished. Sand is known to compact and crush the roots.

^_^



Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile Homepage AIM MSN PM Edit Report 
FRANK
 
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male usa us-colorado
Hi,
If you really want to use sand, then just about any
sand is ok - as long - as you wash it throughly to
get rid of any "foreign: stuff such as twigs, glass,
nails (you get the idea). I would not use sand from
the oceanside. Getting all the salt and any polutants
out of it might be a real chore. It's faster to wander
into any hardware store and pick up a bag. Wash it too!

As far as the plants. Planted tanks should be about
three inches deep in substrate. That thick, and the
grains start to pack tigher and tigher which leads
to anaerobic areas of toxic gasses and materials.
Throwing in a hand full to the MTS burrowing snails
will go a long way towards keeping that from happening.
The Cories will also root around in the top 1/2 to 1/4
inch and keep that stirred up.
Good water changes and vacuuming will also keep it from
happening.

When the sand packs, it can restrict root growth, and
the plants could die off.


Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile PM Edit Report 
ceridwen
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Enthusiast
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female usa
I have sand in my 29 gal - which is heavily (sortof) planted: http://fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/thread.asp?id=45307

I have MTS in there, and I tend to redo everything every couple weeks or so. I haven't had a problem with compacted roots yet (But I have constantly melting crypts because I do keep redoing my tanks )

I am starting up a new tank (10 gal - with flourite) In which I'm moving about half of my higher light plants to.

I personally like sand - and I probably have too much in my tank (2-3 inches ) But so far - no problems *crosses fingers* Good luck with it! (And the only reason I'm doing flourite on my 10 - it sounded good to play with )
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Report 
littleslicknick
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Fingerling
Posts: 40
Registered: 19-Mar-2004
male usa
I have found that if you want to use sand, and you want to have plants.... you must get creative. I am currently doing an "experiment" on my sand bottom tank. I purchased a Wisteria and snipped a few of its leaves/brances off of it. I then took a 4 inch PVC endcap and drilled 3 holes in it. 1 in the bottom and 2 in the sides. I then filled it with gravel and planted the parent plant in it. I also took my cuttings and planted them directly in the sand. As of this point, the PVC endcap plant is doing much better then the others and much better then I orginally thought it would. I figured that the roots would not get the water cirulation they needed to get all of the nutrients they need. So, I guess the moral of all of this rambeling is that you just need to be creative. Try to look at everyday things and think "Yeah, I could use that in my tank". That's what I do. But then again.... a lot of people think I'm crazy. And I'm sure a lotof you smacked your forehead and said that when you read this.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile PM Edit Report 
Babelfish
 
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Small Fry with Ketchup
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female australia us-maryland
You're lucky Ceridwen I've managed to melt hygro and all I can think of is that it's in a sand substrate ....but then I've been told that there are some plants that do alright in it *shrug*.

Actually I've done similar to what littleslicknick mentioned...I used the top part from a 50 pack CD-spindle and used shultze's aquatic plant soil to plant some plants...the hygro just flopped over and started rooting in the sand .


^_^



[span class="edited"][Edited by Babelfish 2004-08-11 16:36][/span]

Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile Homepage AIM MSN PM Edit Report 
John'sWildKingdom
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Hobbyist
Posts: 50
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Registered: 01-Mar-2004
male usa
Alright! Thanks for all the advice y'all.

I'm either going to go with all sand OR a sort of half & half mix with some color of gravel - dividing that with some rocks to discourage too much sand migration to the gravel side. I really prefer live plants, so I'm gonna make it work either way gosh darnit...

That pvc pipe idea is really interesting, I may try it. And no, I won't use sand from the oceanfront

John

Oh hey, I'm thinking about adding a clown loach - will he chomp the MTS's I'm planning to get for the sand?
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile PM Edit Report 
Janna
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Mega Fish
Posts: 1386
Registered: 24-Aug-2003
female usa
The clown loach gets way too big for a 33 gallon, and, yes, he will eat any snails he can find,


They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:26Profile AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Report 
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