# Quick question about sand vs gravel



## waytoodeep03 (Jan 11, 2009)

I am thinking about doing a sand only tank for my Africans. However I have never had a sand tank before just the top fin gravel you get from petsmart or walmart.

How do you clean sand? I spent 60 bucks on a python syphon. Wouldnt the syphon suck all the sand out when I clean the tank?

Can Algea eaters be in a sand only tank? Would they suck up the sand as well?


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Here's a video for you. I'm about to switch to sand myself.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/cleaning_sand.php

What kind of algae eater do you have? I can't see how there would be a problem...

kevin


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## Morpheus (Nov 12, 2008)

The python will suck up the sand some, but not a lot will reach it to the sink. Unless you hook your python up to a fire hydrant, you will be fine.

As for cleaning sand, get yourself a 5 gallon bucket. Fill about a third of the way with sand. Fill the bucket about 1/2 way with water, vigorously stirring the sand as you do. Let sit about 5 minutes, and dump the water out. Continue to do this until the water is clear when you fill the bucket. Then do it two more times.

I've had plecos in sand tanks before with no problems.


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## eddy (Jan 16, 2009)

You don't need to stick your hose in the sand just wave it around about an inch or two above the sand. When you wave it around the waste will float up off of the sand and right in. IMO it is much easier than gravel. You will need to rake or otherwise stir the sand occasionally if the sand is fine unless you have fish that take care of that. Be sure to add water slowly or it will really move your sand around. Be sure to turn off filtration while cleaning. All my tanks are sand only I think it is much easier and the fish seem to be quite fond of it as well.


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## Lively (Jan 13, 2009)

I swirl my hose about 1/2 inch above my sand and mainly the debris comes up. I do get some sand, but like others have said not much. The longer you have it in the tank, the less you end up pulling up.

I'd suggest you go overboard on cleaning your sand - first time I did it I didn't do it well enough and my water was cloudy (from the sand, not cycle) for quite awhile. The next time I did it I did the bucket trick and then poured it into a seive and rinsed it several times. Also, when you're doing the bucket - I would swirl the water a bit before you pour off the water. The finer particle will come up and you can pour them off - that's the sand you'd end up with in your sink anyway!


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## Mussin (Oct 30, 2008)

What is the best kind of sand to use?


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## jldean78 (Aug 6, 2008)

Pool filter Sand, Silica Sand and Blasting Sand are easier to clean than Play Sand or something like Quikrete All-Purpose sand. But it really depends on the color of Sand that you want and how coarse the Sand is.

I just switched and I'm using Quikcrete Play Sand. It said that it was washed, but when I sampled it in the water, it was very cloudy. Took sometime to clean, but I'm so happy that I switched. Well worth the time!!!!


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

The best I've used (and cheapest) is play sand from the Home Depot landscaping section. It has some nice dark colors and it's a fairly even, fine sand. You have to pretty much clean the bajeesus out of it though. I filled a 5gallon bucket half full of sand and stuck a hose in there at full blast swirling it down through the sand. When the bucket fills up, you dump the floating mess off and just keep going. You know when to stop when you swirl up the sand for a bit and it all settles immediately when you take the hose out.


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## JimInAugusta (Mar 16, 2007)

I did the Home Depot sand. Cheap and effective. I like the live sand used in reef tanks even more but you will pay a lot for that indulgence. Keeping it clean is easy and the fish really do love shoveling it around. I used to use only gravel and the fish seem much happier digging through the sand.


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## Lively (Jan 13, 2009)

JimInAugusta said:


> I did the Home Depot sand. Cheap and effective. I like the live sand used in reef tanks even more but you will pay a lot for that indulgence. Keeping it clean is easy and the fish really do love shoveling it around. I used to use only gravel and the fish seem much happier digging through the sand.


You can get the "dead" sand cheaper - but still expensive! I have marine sand in my Jack tank, I think it is the best sand out there!


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