Nonetheless, the grain size is not optimal and the grains are not uniformed, so the problem is not solved completely. Some people use it in their aquariums although it is not what it was designed for at all! The good thing about this sand that its grains are quite large (0,018-0,022 inch or 0,45-0,55mm) and it is less likely to have an issue with hydrogen sulphide gas. It is advisable to find out everything about your water parameters ( nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, calcium, copper levels, KH, GH, pH and etc) after filling using ready-made tests. For better calibration, you can clean it through a sieve, separating along the way fragments of shells. Nevertheless, if you managed to find good sea sand, it will serve perfectly for your plants and shrimp or fish breeding purposes. In some cases, it can be even illegal to take sand from beaches! Be careful. Unfortunately, sand, which is picked up on the beaches, usually has a very bad quality (polluted, dirty, too many unwanted chemical components, too many shell grits, crushed corals, not enough beneficial bacteria, etc). This way you may collect some beneficial organism in with the sand but who can do it by themselves. The real sea sand is best to collect pretty deep in the ocean, let’s say about 30 to 60 feet down. The main concern is that it is difficult to find good sea sand by yourself. There a lot of talks on the internet about this type of sand and there is no conclusion about it as well. If you want to reduce the contrast, you need to use a substrate with a slightly grayish tint. Therefore, you may not worry about water hardness increase.Īnother advantage of the black substrate (compared to the snow-white ground) is that it looks more profitable because all kinds of living organisms look brighter in the underwater world. You can use black quartz sand in the aquarium without restrictions because it does not alter the parameters of the water. The color of sand grains comes from ilmenite, magnetite or hematite minerals, which are present in the sand in different proportions. Large-fraction river sand allows oxygen to get to the entire sand bed (helps oxygen circulation), that is really important for aquarium ecosystem. If so, it is not good for bottom dwellers. On top of that, in some cases, it can be sharp. Otherwise, it will take you a great deal of work to disinfect and clean it really well.Īnother downside with river sand is that it can give off color for a long time. Shallow places are the best spots to collect that.
Sand for goldfish aquarium free#
There is only one condition it should be free from clay.
If you are looking for a cheap and simple substrate, then the sand from the river is your choice. For the planted tank iron levels should be from 0.1 to 0.5 ppm (parts per million). For example, red or yellow color means that this sand can contain a large percentage of iron. The color of the sand indicates the chemical composition of its particles.If you do not do that, you can get sand in your filter and it will either stop running or grind stuff away inside, causing it to not work properly at best. You can either place a large smooth rock between the filter and the sand or you can get a piece of sponge or something and put that in the intake. Otherwise, it will suck up the sand and possibly break your filter. Your filter intake should not be too close to the sand.A layer of 0,5-1 inch (1-2,5 cm) suits most underwater plants(for deep substrate-rooted plants it is better to have at least 2 inches). If you have large size grains, they will trap all the debris inside and increase ammonia level eventually. As a result, you will get toxic gas pockets.
The small are the grains, the worse is the aeration in the substrate. The optimal fraction for the aquarium is 0,06-0,08 inch (1,5-2 mm). Microscopic grains and large pebbles are not good for the tank. The main characteristics of the sand substrate for the aquarium: What is Better for Shrimp and Fish? ” right here. You can read more about “ Sand vs Gravel vs Bare Bottom. It will help to understand what you can expect. In order to make the right choice, it is better to know the pros and cons of the sand in the first place. I suppose I should begin by highlighting the fact that nowadays the majority of shrimp(or fish) breeders prefer to have a bright mixture of artificial substrates rather than the natural products like sand.Īs a result, people who decide to start this hobby usually ask – is it still relevant? Can I use the sand in my aquarium or should I choose manufactured substrates? Of course, the sand is relevant and it will be so until sand exist! That cannot be said about the most popular artificial ones today.Īnyway, enough lyrics.
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