New fish tank set up question?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shelley67
  • Start date Start date
S

Shelley67

Guest
Hi
I have recently bought my daughter a five foot fish tank and she has used it as a second tropical tank for her ever expanding fish. The problen I have though is she has decided to have sand on the bottom and now even after water changes and extra filtering products being put in the tank is still now cloudy. We have a 6-8 inch pleco and he moves round a lot digging himself a whole under his rock cave. Will the tank always be cloudy with sand or is there a solution with out having to change to gravel (which would make me happy but unfortunatly not my daughter).
Any advice greatly received thanks.
 
Before you put sand in your tank did you wash it through first. This would get rid of dust and other matter before putting it in your tank. However the sand shouldn't always be cloudy, but a large plec doesn't really help matters. Apart from replacing the sand with a fine gravel that you can buy now the only thing I would suggest is buying 'Filter Aid'. This is a medication that clumps together all the fine matter circulating round your tank so you filter has a better chance of catching it. Most fish shops sell it and it would be on the shelve next to fish medication. Hope this helps.
 
I'm also not a great fan of sand, though certain fish benefit from it's use as a substrate.

The plec unfortunately is like a pig in poo and it doesn't care about stirring up the sand and clouding the water; it's not like it's bothered if you can see it or not and it will be enjoying itself. You will also find there is an annoying problem will plec cr@p that would be easier solved with a gravel vacuum.

How about a bit of negotiation? The plec lives under the rock cave, so convert that area to fine Roman gravel. Won't cure the problem, but it will reduce it. Likewise a piece of slate on part of the sand. I'm thinking you could maybe strike a happy medium that will suit you and your daughter.
 
It's not the sand that's clouding the water - the particles are heavier than water and will stay put. I love sand and find it easier to care for than gravel substrates.

The cloudiness could be caused by the sand not being rinsed thoroughly enough before it was added to the tank (it needs to be very very rinsed!) or it could even be a bacterial bloom caused by having heavy waste producers like plecos in a relatively new tank - was the tank cycled with this substrate in?
 
Back
Top