I went to Big Als, and got some 'Marine Sand', which I was told is usable for freshwater aswell. The sand is doing fine: plants are doing well in it and its not bothering the fish either. The sand did not foul the tank in any way either, and all the measurable quantities are normal and within safe limits.
So, I added some golden kuhli loaches, six of them. I was expecting them to be burying themselves in the sand, but so such behavior so far. They hide under rocks, in plants and in the decor, but no burring in sand.
Anyone have any ideas, or know if there is any other substrate I should be using either? I wanted to use sand from the beach in lake ontario, but I just got the sand from big als instead. Anyone know if its ok to use natural stuff in the tank like real plant wood from my backyard, or sand and rocks from the lake?
Cheers
Piyush.
Marine Sand for loaches
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Marine Sand for loaches
PIYUSH
What he said . pool filter sand is 5.00 for 50 pounds and inert. Marine sand is far from inertMarine sand shouldn't be used in soft freshwater tanks. It's not inert. It will leach calcium into the water making the water much harder.
You should use inert sand. Most people here will use pool filter sand.
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There are a number of sands out there marketed as "marine" when in fact they are completely inert and preferable by my standards because of the large, rounded grain size-I use it (in this particular case Estes brand) in all my freshwater tanks.
As stated, though, true CaCO3 based sands are out of the question.
As stated, though, true CaCO3 based sands are out of the question.
Natural materials can be used in aquariums with a few cautions.
Anything from a freshwater environment might carry disease and parasites to your tank.
Things from a salt water environment are not as likely to bring parasites that can live in fresh water, but better safe than sorry.
Things from an area that is mostly dry, not even a seasonal wet land are safer.
Rock, sand, gravel, pebbles: Any rock that is calcium or magnesium carbonate (such as marble, limestone, Texas Holey Rock, Coral, Coral sand and "sea shells" (from fresh or salt water) can raise the KH, GH and pH in a fresh water tank. This may be fine for an African Rift Lake tank, but not for Loaches.
Crumbly rock that will continue to fall apart in your tank is not good.
Driftwood: There are a few trees that are poisonous, but if it really has been drifting in water for several months or longer the toxins are likely leached out.
Tree Prunings can be used, but know what is safe and what is not.
Any sort of wood may have tannins and other organic acids. In general these are not harmful to the fish, but some material has so much the water will darken. (I could not see the back of one tank for about a month because of tannins- it looked like really dark red wine) Eventually the tannins will lessen, and just tint the water a clear brown to yellow tone.
How to sterilize:
1) Clean the material with warm water and a stiff brush. You will be removing any mud, debris, and in the case of the wood, any soft spots.
2) Rock etc. may be bleached. Then rinse and soak in water with a double dose of dechlorinator, rinse and soak again, perhaps several times until you can no longer smell chlorine. Wood might be bleached, too, but I am leery of some lingering chlorine, deep in the wood.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used. Rinse well and leave it (the rocks or wood) in the sun.
A very strong salt solution can kill a lot of things, and will rinse quite clean with the rinse-soak-rinse routine. As long as you are diligent about the rinsing the tiny lingering trace of salt is not an issue even for fresh water fish.
Other materials to sterilize the tank decorations might be found at an aquarium store, but be sure you find out how to neutralize them, and how to test that they are really gone.
3) Rock and wood can be boiled. Put the material in a pot of cold water (I use a roast pan that is big enough to span 2 burners) and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 15-30 minutes for small stuff, much longer for larger stuff. Turn off the heat and let it cool by itself. Rocks can explode if they are subjected to a sudden change of temperature. The boiling will help the wood to soak up water and sink in the tank. If the boiling water gets dark with tannins you can change the water and boil the wood several times to try to reduce the tannins.
4) Wood can be baked.
a) Soak it the best you can, perhaps several days in a garbage can for larger pieces.
b) When it is soaked, bake it until it is dry. The water turning to steam as the wood bakes will kill quite a lot of potential disease or parasites.
This does nothing about the tannins, though.
You can have fun with the kids when they ask, "Whats for dinner?"!!
Anything from a freshwater environment might carry disease and parasites to your tank.
Things from a salt water environment are not as likely to bring parasites that can live in fresh water, but better safe than sorry.
Things from an area that is mostly dry, not even a seasonal wet land are safer.
Rock, sand, gravel, pebbles: Any rock that is calcium or magnesium carbonate (such as marble, limestone, Texas Holey Rock, Coral, Coral sand and "sea shells" (from fresh or salt water) can raise the KH, GH and pH in a fresh water tank. This may be fine for an African Rift Lake tank, but not for Loaches.
Crumbly rock that will continue to fall apart in your tank is not good.
Driftwood: There are a few trees that are poisonous, but if it really has been drifting in water for several months or longer the toxins are likely leached out.
Tree Prunings can be used, but know what is safe and what is not.
Any sort of wood may have tannins and other organic acids. In general these are not harmful to the fish, but some material has so much the water will darken. (I could not see the back of one tank for about a month because of tannins- it looked like really dark red wine) Eventually the tannins will lessen, and just tint the water a clear brown to yellow tone.
How to sterilize:
1) Clean the material with warm water and a stiff brush. You will be removing any mud, debris, and in the case of the wood, any soft spots.
2) Rock etc. may be bleached. Then rinse and soak in water with a double dose of dechlorinator, rinse and soak again, perhaps several times until you can no longer smell chlorine. Wood might be bleached, too, but I am leery of some lingering chlorine, deep in the wood.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used. Rinse well and leave it (the rocks or wood) in the sun.
A very strong salt solution can kill a lot of things, and will rinse quite clean with the rinse-soak-rinse routine. As long as you are diligent about the rinsing the tiny lingering trace of salt is not an issue even for fresh water fish.
Other materials to sterilize the tank decorations might be found at an aquarium store, but be sure you find out how to neutralize them, and how to test that they are really gone.
3) Rock and wood can be boiled. Put the material in a pot of cold water (I use a roast pan that is big enough to span 2 burners) and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 15-30 minutes for small stuff, much longer for larger stuff. Turn off the heat and let it cool by itself. Rocks can explode if they are subjected to a sudden change of temperature. The boiling will help the wood to soak up water and sink in the tank. If the boiling water gets dark with tannins you can change the water and boil the wood several times to try to reduce the tannins.
4) Wood can be baked.
a) Soak it the best you can, perhaps several days in a garbage can for larger pieces.
b) When it is soaked, bake it until it is dry. The water turning to steam as the wood bakes will kill quite a lot of potential disease or parasites.
This does nothing about the tannins, though.
You can have fun with the kids when they ask, "Whats for dinner?"!!
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
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