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I want to use sand as a substrate in my african cichlid tank (125g). Is this actual sandbox sand or something special? I want to grow plants in there too... does this work? Ohh yeah... Is this gonna screw up my filters? I have a magnum 350 canister filter and a penguin 330 and a few powerheads... thnx

Hi,
Yes, you can use sand.
Yes, you can use "sand box, sand" however it will
contain twigs and other debris as well as very, very,
fine material and must be washed, and washed,
and washed, to remove the unwanted stuff.
Yes, it will destroy your filters if it gets into them.
The way to protect the filters is to put a sponge sleeve
around the intakes to keep the sand out. Also, bring the
intakes higher up into the tank and further from the
bottom.

Plants will grow in sand, but over time, the sand compacts,
and the spaces between the grains become compressed, and
also become clogged with debris from the tank. This leads
to areas of anaerobic bacteria that produces a black, foul
smelling patch of sand, that gives off hydrogen sulfide
a toxic rotten egg smelling gas. The normal substrate
depth of 4 inches for a planted tank makes these conditions
even more likely to occur than a thin, one inch thick layer.
The use of MTS snails, and corries and other burrowing
fish helps eliminate the "dead" areas but will not keep it
from happening in the long run.

Purchasing sand from a pool supply store will give you
a better quality sand that is cleaner and easier to use,
at only a very slight increase in price over a 50 pound
sack of sand from Home Depot.

In your tank, I would use a thin one inch thick substrate
of sand. I would use only a few plants, and I would create
depressions with rock, and then fill those depressions
with a handfull of flourite, or echocomplete or something
similiar, and plant the plants in those depressions.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

In addition to what Frank has mentioned....
Additional ideas are using java fern and other self-rooting plants on rocks or a very small piece of driftwood (since it is a cichlid tank and you dont want much of a ph drop).
As for getting the filters screwed up. Cannister filters dont have the same prblem as HOB's in that most of them run the water thru the media before it reaches the impeller causing whatever sand that gets picked up to be trapped by floss/sponge ect rather than the impeller. The reason HOB's so often end up damaged or destroyed is that the impeller is the first thing that comes in contact with the water. Additionally you'll want to be sure the powerheads arent pointed directly @the sand and instead just causing enough water movement to keep waste from settling too much.

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thanks guys this will help a ton!