The Puffer Forum

Ok, I have lots and lots of questions about.... you guessed it! Sand!

Alright, well the hubby agrees the tank will look nicer with sand, and knows that my flounder would really appreciate it as well. Before I get too deep into it though I would like to be sure I have everything figured out.

Ok, one, how many times a month should the sand be stirred? I do weekly W/Cs so should I stir it every week?

Two, Is there anything wrong with black sand? If I got any I would probably get this stuff because it's the kind available at my LFS: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... and_20_Lbs

Three, what type of sponge would you recommend putting over the intake of my Aqua Clear HOB filter? Where could I find the right kind?

And finally, four, how many bags do you think I'd need to cover my 35 gallon?

Thanks- I want to do this right!

personally i'd use normal sand, or a very fine layer of thoughrally washed play pit sand

i'd only have 1cm of aquarium sand/river sand as well as it doesn't go anaerobic (bad) as fast as a deeper layer

i'd stir it up weekly as it's not worth the risk of it going bad as ive had it go bad my self and that was an inch deep and i had it go completely anaerobic when i had 3 inch of the stuff

whats the sponges job going to be? stopping sand getting in filter? if so use a poly pad

and the amount of bags depends on size and depth

Well I usually give it a thorough stirring every water change but I have done also tried a light stirring without removing the decor one week and then a thorough with all decor removed the next with no problems either and my sand is about 2" in depth.

I haven't had problems with either routine but the tank does seem to get dirtier quicker after a light stirring.

I would go with proper aquarium sand, I believe play pit sand would compact down a lot quicker.

I reckon black sand would look good in a tank.

I've heard of people having problems with the contents of play sand killing their fish. I won't use it myself. I think pool sand is supposed to be safer but I'm still leery of using it. I am using the Tahitian Moon sand in the 55g I'm setting up. I love the look and plan on stirring it weekly during maintenance. Disposable chopstick attached to the siphon, baby!

I would recommend 1 bag for a 35g. I bought 3 bags for the 55 and after 2, it was plenty deep enough, but ended up using all three because I had already cut the 3rd bag open and hubby didn't want to chance it getting all over the house. So its deeper than I wanted, probably close to 3 inches deep.

Hilly wrote:I would go with proper aquarium sand, I believe play pit sand would compact down a lot quicker.

yes but as it's only <1cm with the weekly stir it'd be fine, and its ok as long as it's thoroughly washed

TheDragonLord wrote:

Hilly wrote:I would go with proper aquarium sand, I believe play pit sand would compact down a lot quicker.

yes but as it's only <1cm with the weekly stir it'd be fine, and its OK as long as it's thoroughly washed

For the cost of aquarium sand is it worth taking that risk. Besides if you wanted to plant it (fake or real) or your puffer wants to bury themselves I don't think 1cm coverage would be enough.

Hey thanks for the info everyone.

Well, I went to home repair shops like Home Depot and Lowes, and all of their play sand actually had a label saying 'not for aquarium use'. I went there looking for pool sand and they didn't have any. Do you know where they sell it? I don't know if I would want to use it though, like Hilly said, the risk isn't really worth it. Especially when talking about risking the lives of these special fish.

As for the depth of the sand, I want to be sure my flounder will be able to fully cover himself, and I was thinking about adding real plants some day (of course I have the broad choice of java moss & java fern... lol.
I'm glad you're using the same sand I was looking at Boxermom. I can't wait to get some, it's going to look so good and make my puffs stand out very nicely while letting my flounder blend in.

Hmmm, so... How deep would you recommend the depth of the sand for both my Flounder and live plants? My puffers are F8s so they won't burrow into it, although I know my smallest one will enjoy laying on it curled up in his sleeping ball

Does 1" sound too shallow?

Oh, TDL- Where can I find those Poly Pads you were talking about?

OL , i think the depth for your sole depends on its size now and how big he is going to get ? oh and if he digs a lot you shouldnt have to stir it as much. Im about to buy that sand from big als looks good.

Well, I know he will be about 6" in diameter, but I'm really not too sure how 'tall' he will be when laying flat on the bottom. I'm pretty sure an inch should do it. Hopefully the plants would be OK with that depth, I don't want to go too much deeper.

I think I'll buy 2 bags just because 1 doesn't seem like it would give me an inch of cover for the whole tank.

I hope you'll post some pics of that tank you're panning on putting the sand in, I'd love to see it!

No problem, but only if you show yours as well!

its a five gallon, and IM hoping for about 4 pairs of dwarf seahorses in there, some base rock , seahorse trees and some fake corals. PS what ever happend to your puffer yoshi ?

Wow, your tank is going to be gorgeous!


As for Yoshi and his 2 buddies, I was trying to find a large enough tank to put them in (they were in a 20 long...). Well, because of a mix of factors including money, time, and the fact I was trying to rehouse the catfish we rescued as well, I ended up giving them to a friend of mine. Originally I was going to buy his tank, but we got into talking about the fish I was planning on putting in it and he offered to take them. They're definitely better off than me keeping them in that 20 or giving them to a LFS, so I'm happy for them. That was a few months ago, I think I posted a thread on it somewhere, but I'm too lazy to find it

Now it's just my F8s and their tankmates. They're just as cool though- a little more skittish but still smart lil' puffs. Plus, they won't need a 90 gallon SW setup!