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hi there i just get my tank it is still outside i need to take out my window to put that tank in to my bassement .following sugestions i get biggest tank i could.but now i have to spend a fortune to set it up wondering if sand from lake is god for aquarium ?

Hi,
Welcome to Fish Profiles!

It sounds like you are doing your homework
before establishing your system. It's a shame that you
have to go through the basement window to get the tank
into the house. Perhaps a couple of more guys might
be able to wrestle the tank in the house and down the
stairs instead of taking out windows, etc.

What you are proposing, taking the substrate for the tank
from the local lake is fraught with problems that only
really experienced folks rarely attempt.

The problems range from possible pollutants that would
contaminate the tank, to live critters living in the sand
that could become predators, to chunks of organics such
as pieces of wood, etc.

Most folks use aquarium gravel whose individual grain
size ranges from 1-3 mm in diameter. Unless you are going
to house fish that require a higher pH, in the 8's, such
as the African Rift fish, you would want to be sure that
the gravel is silica based. Silica is inert and will not
affect the water chemistry (pH, GH, KH).

If you are truly going to use "sand," then you should read
about the cautions of using sand. Because of its small
grain size, the individual grains pack closer together
and clog up from detritus and bacteria, and there is no
circulation between grains. This leads to areas of
anaerobic bacteria. These areas become toxic to fish and
to plants and give off Hydrogen Sulfide (rotten egg smell)
that bubbles through the water column on the way to the
surface.
If you are going to use sand, wash it throughly until the
run off is clear, then add it to the tank in a layer not
to exceed 3 cm or just slightly over one inch thick.

Plants will grow in sand but it comes with some problems.
With a bed of one inch, many plants will not stay anchored
in that thin a bed. They will eventually uproot and
float to the surface. Most planted tanks use gravel
substrates and thicknesses of around 3-4 inches deep.

There are many articles on using sand, goggle for them
and read several before making that decision.

For more complete information on natural substrates such
as dirt or mud or fresh lake sand, read Dianna Walstad's
Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.
For sand substrate here is one of many articles:
http://www.theaquarians.net/html/section-viewarticle-50.html

Frank



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

local lake substrates usually come with problems. unless possibly if it is a little beach in which you wish to collect the sand from. if collecting the sand from the bottom of the water you are going to find polutants from recreation and run off in the sand which may harm your livestock. also many bacterias and parasites may live in the sand and you could be introducing those to your potential fish.

Gravel is best for your nitrate/nitrite eating bacteria colony and the plants roots to anchor too and grow. If you want some gravel thats good for plants Give me a PM and I can tell you a good guy to order from (good for plants) who sells at a reasonable price.

If you are wanting to utilize your natural resournces then simply harvest unique or interesting rocks (scratch the surface of the rocks and add vinegar if it bubbles then its not good for your tank) and drift wood pieces. You'll have to clean/treat them for your tank, but its cheaper then shoppong for them!

You havent told us how big the tank is or what your plans are for it...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Hello zuzio

Welcome to FP

Starting a tank

Before you bogged down with science I strongly suggest you read and fully understand all of that thread.

Several questions How big is that tank?
If it is a BIG tank it will require a good support system do you understand that if not you will be in a lot of problems.

Any tank especially should also be sitting on at least 10mm styrene foam and if it is a big tank 20mm certainly would be best.

Now for the substrate NO WAY get only quality substrate from your LFS I prefer a natural coloured 1-3mm river pebbles if you want a particular coloured substrate be careful as some colours can cause problems.

Before you even start let us know what you intend to use in setting up this tank one mistake could easily spoil you ever enjoying a very relaxing hobby. Also when buying equipment only buy quality as cheep stuff only leads to problems

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

hi guys first i wanna thank you all for reply and i think i owned you some more info . so finaly my tank is in the basement it is 84/24/24 and that is around 220 gallons and it is heavy all i got are 2 filters magnum 350 and im planning build biological filter soon ,i got stand which comes with that tank but dosn't looks strong enough so i decided rebild it,looks like tank is supported only on the edges nad is on 6 wheels which is crazy for me. as you see i got a lot of work before i set up my tank. thx greg

one more thing im from chicago and lake michigan is very close there i was planning get the sand i heard looks awesome,but if it's not good ill look for gravel we got few stone suply companies around they got a lot of stuff gravel sand rocks etc.

What ever you do, never use any sand/gravel from local lakes as it can and will be heavily polluted. For your gravel 1-3mm natural river pebbles river sand can be used but it can have problems with sand be warned.

That is a big heavy tank and will have to be supported correctly otherwise it will crack, it will also be advisable for the glass to sit on at least 20mm-3/4ins styrene foam sheeting. This will even out the weight pressure and make it more stable. It might also be advisable to have a solid base for the tank eg 20mm-3/4ins either plywood or particle board.

You have a lot of research to do and ask as many questions as you can it is better to take it slowly and get it correct first time than making all the mistakes and never getting it correct.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

I would not use anything from the great lakes in my tank , I remember a few years back there were really dangerous levels of pollutants in them, I wouldn't trust them to be clean yet.

Try looking at those gravel companies. Stone companies sometimes will give you broken slate pieces for free. I know home depot/lowes is pretty good for gravel for pea gravel. I got a bag for really cheap there, though a local company may give you a better deal. The big chains usually carry shultz's aquatic plant soil, which is good if you want to head in the planted direction but I found it to be very light and easily sucked up through the gravel vac.

^_^