Think I might be getting a 72 gallon bow front! Questions

[Icewall42]

For anyone that remembers my recent topics, my poor loaches are currently stuck in a 30 gallon--horribly inadequate size for loaches of their size. But I found a 72 gallon bow front aquarium and stand for very cheap so they should soon have a large new home.

I've got a couple questions about setting it up. This time around, I want to use aquarium sand substrate, as I know that's best for most loaches. What brand and type of sand should I buy, and where from? Also, my clown loaches like to root around their gravel and flush rocks out their gills as they are filtering for food scraps. Will the sand be bad for them? Will they possibly choke on it?

I know, too, that you don't use an under gravel filter with sand. How then do you clean and siphon the tank?

Any other loach advice would be great too since I've never had a chance to really properly set up a loach-specific tank. I've mostly gone with the usual gravel and live plants and have monitored the smell of the tank to find out the health of it. Also, my loaches have been used to hard water with slightly acidic (6.0-6.5) pH. I tried using a water softener for them but that was discoloring the water in an unsavory way.

[shari2]

I use pool filter sand in my sand tanks. Vacuuming is easy. The stuff sits on top and you wave the siphon over it and it goes up the tube. If your clowns can sift gravel through the gills the sand should be a nice change for them.

Plants seem to root in it very easily, once established, but large clowns will bulldoze it and can uproot them...they really do like the sand substrate! Add some nice wood pieces, plenty of plants and rock cover and they may do less damage to the plants (or maybe not!).

[angelfish83]

http://www.cichlidforum.com/videos.php

Contains an excellent video right at the top on cleaning and maintaining sand.

[Icewall42]

Pool filter sand, huh? I think I know where I can get that, if that's good for fishies. My clowns and modestas are very rambunctious and very naughty. I've caught them numerous times munching on my plants and moving the rocks covering the roots in an attempt to uproot all my plants. They tend to leave some plants alone if they are in a bigger tank, but demolish the plants in their area. I found out that they won't usually eat the green or bronze wendtii plants, but in the 30 gallon they ruined those too

I also have a nice chunk of bogwood, and I used to have a really nice big piece but I don't think I've got that any more... I'll get more! I rerally want to spoil my poor loachies. Maybe once I get their new tank up and running I'll get a picture.

Oh an thanks for the link, that video clears everything up