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Never had sand before - input please!

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Gizmo 
#1 ·
I only had saltwater tanks so far., so lots of questions! I inherited a 15 gal freshwater tank that is in questionable condition. I just set up a new 20 gal in order to transfer fish and plants in 2 wks or so. I never had actual sand but that's what the old tank has. Is it normal that the waste sits under the sand? This tank has a 2 inch black/brown layer (looks organic) on the bottom, then 1-1.5 inch sand above, lots of plants - some roots seem to go to the brown stuff. The water is crystal clear (I had this tank since just before X-mas), it came with 30+ fish, all are alive and happy (mostly MM Platys, 2 Zebras). Half of the fish are now at the school tank but I added a few guppies, striped snails and a sucker fish. They all did great (except one snail). With the sensitivity of saltwater tanks in mind, this is mindblowing for me.

Questions about sand:
- Is it OK to let the sand filter down the waste and then to dump out all waste and substrate once a year or so?
- How do you siphon or do you not and instead just take the top water (I keep hearing this from other folks w/ freshwater tanks but find it hard to believe)?
- How often do you siphon? 10% each week like saltwater tanks or half the tank every month (again, something I see other people do but am not sure about this being a good idea)?

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Questions about sand:
1- Is it OK to let the sand filter down the waste and then to dump out all waste and substrate once a year or so?
2- How do you siphon or do you not and instead just take the top water (I keep hearing this from other folks w/ freshwater tanks but find it hard to believe)?
3- How often do you siphon? 10% each week like saltwater tanks or half the tank every month (again, something I see other people do but am not sure about this being a good idea)?

Thanks!
Hello, and welcome to the forum! Let's get started:
1.) You can leave the substrate in for years, as long as you use fertilizer tabs for your plants.
2.) No siphoning required. Your plants` root systems aerate the sand enough to prevent hydrogen sulfide from building up. With that being said, if you ever see gas bubbles forming against the tank glass, evacuate the tank (plants included) and mix up the substrate to off-gas the hydrogen sulfide gas, otherwise it might bubble up into the tank and wipe everything out.
3.) For tanks with live plants, you can wait. I do 50% every 2-3 weeks for my 10 gallon.

Other tips for sand - Malaysian Trumpet Snails! They're pests, but only if they're not controlled. MTS burrow about 1" down into the substrate hunting for food, and do a great job of aerating and cleaning the substrate. Add them, let them overrun the tank, and then when the tank is clean, their numbers will dwindle until there's a good food/snail balance. It'll take a few months, but the dividends will be huge. You might be able to get some from your local pet store (not big box stores like PetsMart or PetCo), or another friendly aquarium hobbyist.

Hope this helps.
 
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