Best substrate

Which is the best substrate to use in a community tank(4Ft). Is sand a good choice?? Does a sand substrate promote better water quality??Otherwise which is the most suitable substrate to use in a tank with pangasius, silver dollars, balas, and other non-aggressive common fish.

 

With pangasius and silver dollars i am guessing no plants. I would just use normal inert silica sand that you buy R40 for 40kgs at Builders in the pool section

 

I would opt for fine silica sand...plants seem to be in their element in it

 

yea i use it to cap all my planted tanks

 

Pool Filter sand

Do I have to wash the pool filter sand before adding to my setup.If yes, then how do i wash it?

 

just throw a bucket half full with the sand and ad water and turn it inside the bucket untill the water starts looking clean.. there is alot of dust and fine particles in these bags of fine sand that you need to get out, otherwise it will cloud up your tank for quite a while before it all settles down again

 

Hope you have time on your hands because cleaning silica sand takes yonks. Be glad you don't have to clean river sand as that takes even longer and is more messier

 

What happened to gravel beds? I see u'l all have the sand for substrate.

 

Sand substrate

HellRaiser,Can you explain this a bit more in detail. Its not too clear to me. Does the dust float to the top?Should I buy pool filter sand or a specific type of silica sand?Sabi,I prefer a sand substrate scattered with a few large pebbles. (I think has more of a visual appeal than the regular gravel). I guess most community fish would like it too, since the surface will be smoother, and will thus prevent injuries or scratches to the bodies of bottom dwellers, loaches, etc.

 

@sabi - Plants love sand, not really ol-school gravel. Besides, sand just looks so much better

 

Yip, I second the pool filtersand, go for the finest you can find.

 

Plus sand is bit cheaper than gravel, here it is R40 for 40kg, where gravel at the LFS costs you R20 for 5kg...

 

Silica / Pool Filter sand

How much is silica sand selling for in Durban? Which stores can I get them from?

 

You can get Playsand at Reggies. Also very cheap. I might be wrong but I think it's pretty much the same thing as pool filter sand.

 

no no no no no do not use playsand. your filters suck it up as it is WAY to fine and isnt inert. Pool Filter sand = silica sand... its R40 per 40kgs at builders

 

On the topic of substrate, I put river sand into my 60l and I've noticed that about 1cm or less from the surface is unsettled. It is very loose and is easily disturbed. Thank god I chucked in a decent level of river sand for the plants to grow in. I must admit that river sand looks absolutely stunning as a substrate. I'm now waiting for my plants to take off

I would assume that the 'looseness' I've described above would also apply with playsand should you put it into a tank, but hey...I've never tried it, I'm just wondering

 

Subtrate washing

I was just now thing - Is there another way to wash/rinse silica sand before adding to the aquarium?

 

a bucket and a hose pipe is the only way

 

Nee wat Asgar, it's hard manual labour all the way bru One small bucket might take up to 20 - 30 rinses before you can put it into your tank. It really is a lot of effort but it's worth it in the end