Cheap Aquarium Sand
First off, deciding if you want sand as your tank’s substrate requires taking a few things into account. Sand is not a good choice for a planted tank if using rooted plants, it’s also undesireable if you have an undergravel filter system. Another thing to keep in mind if the tank is made of Acrylic is the extra care that sand requires.
The benefits of a sand bed typically outweigh most of the negative aspects. Most fish seem to prefer sand as the substrate, and some actually require it to feel at ease and for natural spawning behaviour. Tanganyikan featherfins, sandsifters & shelldwellers all significantly benefit from a sandy substrate, and it’s been noted that some fish use sand to aid in digestion. Sand also has a very nice, smooth look and it’s very entertaining to watch the fish “work the sand”; they really seem to enjoy it!
There are quite a few readily available sands that are commonly used for aquariums. They are Silica (also sold as Blasting sand, used in the sandblasting industry); Play Sand (sold at most building/hardware centers for sandboxes, brickwork, etc.); Black Beauty (it’s actually iron slag, not sand, but is used quite often); Coral Sand (sold primarily in fish stores and aquatic supply shops); Aragonite (also sold at fish shops and aquatic supply centers); Black Tahitian Moon Sand (another sand available through fish shops & aquatic supply centers).
Silica sand Play sand Black Beauty
Coral sand Aragonite Tahitian Moon
Silica sand is a lighter tan and is very uniform and fine in grain size. It cleans very easily and provides a nice look , it’s very afffordable and can usually be found for 10 dollars or less per 100 lb. sack.
Play sand is also very affordable and is darker and less uniform in grain size & color than Silica sand. It contains a fair amount of clay and can be quite dirty compared to Silica sand. As long as you take the time to thoroughly rinse the sand it makes a good substrate.
Black Beauty is another affordable sand used for sand-blasting and is sold at home supply/hardware outlets. It’s not really sand but powdered iron slag. It can be quite sharp so it’s not recommended for fish that sift a lot of sand such as Tanganyikan sandsifters. Furthermore, these very fine particles contain iron, which means they are not inert.
Coral Sand is an off white color, lighter than the previous sands, and less uniform. It’s a bit rough to the touch but is a good choice if you need to stabilize your PH or improve your buffering capacity. It’s fairly expensive compared to the previous types but less than Aragonite.
Aragonite is a sandy substrate available in several colors and grain sizes, it’s similar to Coral sand as far as buffering goes, so it’s a good choice if you need help with buffering. It’s quite expensive, so you may want to consider another choice if you have a large tank to fill.
Lastly, a newer sand is now available that is a nice black color, very uniform and much safer than Black Beauty. It’s Black Tahitian Moon Sand, it’s a great choice if you want the black sand, but it’s expensive (similar to Aragonite).
Once you’ve decided to switch to sand and have picked out the variety, you need to prepare it for the tank. I recommend only a 1-1.5″ depth of sand throughout the tank, it can take a lot to maintain a real deep bed and can cause problems which I’ll explain later on.
With the exception of “Live Aragonite” (sand that’s pre-seeded w/ living organisms/bacteria) you’ll need to clean your sand. Don’t cut corners here; it’s time well spent. Get a 5 gallon bucket and a garden hose with sprayer attachment. Pour about 2 gallons of sand into the bucket and fill the bucket with water, pour the excess dirt film from the bucket, then really churn the sand while giving it a high pressure spray, this will get most of the dust, etc, off the sand. Pour the dirt film again and repeat until you’re pouring clear water. If you choose Play sand or Black Beauty this can take several tries before it’s clean enough. I get a 30 gallon trash can and line it w/ a couple trash bags to pour the clean sand into. Just repeat this process 2 gallons of sand at a time until you get all the required sand clean.
Aul. steveni ”Mbamba Bay” sifting sandIf you’re switching from gravel to sand there’s a couple ways to make the switch. If you have a small tank and want to remove the fish while doing the change-over that’s fine. Larger tanks w/ a lot of fish is easier if you leave the fish in while changing over. I like using a large filter bag to load the gravel into, you can also use a spaghetti-strainer bowl or nylon hose. Anything that’s safe and porous will do. If you don’t have much bacteria filtration in your tank you may want to keep some seeded gravel in a filter bag or nylon hose so you can aid your sand substrate in establishing bacteria levels, just put the bag near the filter intake and you should get good results after about 5-7 days.
When the gravel is removed BE SURE to shut down any impeller operated pumps & filters. You’ll have a lot of sand floating around and it can really do some damage to your equipment. When adding the sand if you’ve left your fish in the tank, be careful not to add too much at once. It can clump together and become a “depth charge”, splashing a lot of water and stressing the fish, just be patient and careful here. Once your sand is added and you’ve got it leveled out and the tank arranged to your liking, go ahead and turn on your pumps/filters.
Another thing to keep in mind: If you’re cleaning your sand with very cold water, or leave the sand overnight in the cold, the sand can cause a quick temperature drop when added to an existing tank and shock the fish. Be sure to keep the sand in room temp for awhile to get the sand temp back up or add some warmer water to the sand. This usually isn’t a problem, but it’s something you should be aware of.
Cyr. moorii sifting sandMaintaining the sand bed can seem like a challenge to those that haven’t tried it. It’s actually very easy once you’ve gotten used to it. Here’s the procedure I use and it’s worked well over the years:
Every 2-4 weeks, depending on your fish load and available time, a good skimming of the sand should be performed. A small vinyl hose works well, about the inner diameter of a garden hose. Just hook the hose up to a faucet pump and siphon up the surface detritus. You may siphon a lot of sand the first couple of tries, a little practice is all it takes. Just keep the end of the hose about ½” away from the sand and quickly siphon up the fish waste. No need to remove or re-arrange the rocks, just get all the visible sand areas. Try to get the entire “visible” sand floor.
Every 8-16 weeks, again, depending on fish load, a good churning of the sand bed is required. Trapped food and gasses can become toxic over time and these need to be released periodically. You’ll notice that there will be a statification of the sand bed. The bottom “trapped” layer of sand will turn a dark grey-black in time, and once the layer is churned up and the waste & gasses released, it will eventually turn back to the original sand color. You’ll even notice a bit of “rotten-egg” odor when churning the bed, this is normal and are just the gasses being released. At this time you should also move rocks and churn the sand under them. You may want to do half the tank at a time so there won’t be as much disturbance. You’ll have quite a cloud of debris, so you’ll want to let it settle and do a good skimming again. Be sure to keep all impeller-operated equipment off during the churning procedure.
One last note, when keeping sand in Acrylic tanks, be extra careful when cleaning the surface and using algae-cleaning magnets. A single grain of sand between your cleaning sponge or magnet and the acrylic surface can be very damaging.
Hope you enjoy sand as your substrate! ?
How to: Sterilize Rock for Aquariums
Boiling rock for 25 minutes will work. I usually use potassium permanganate overnight and neutralise the potassium permanganate with hydrogen peroxide. The oxidative action of permanganate not only sterilised the object but also cleans it.
Let us rationaly examine just what could be living in those rocks.
1) Parasites by defination need a host to survive, so unlikely any rock will have a large number of parasites.
2) Bacteria. Sure they can survive in soil and on the surface of rocks, but a simple washing and overnight immersion in any strong oxidant like chlorine or potassium permanganate is sufficient to kill all parasites and bacteria. You can neutralise with sodium thiosulfate or hydrogen peroxide. amquel will work as well.
3) spores. Very few bacteria can produce spores. again simple procedure outlined above is sufficient.
So unless you are dealing with teflon coated “aliens”, that can produce “molecular acid”, I would not boil any rock.
I’m curious as to why my wife’s six-year-old male cat likes to bite my head. He sits on…
Wow—I assume (since it doesn’t bother you) that these are inhibited bites that do not hurt. While I can’t know for sure why he bites your head, I suspect it has become an attention-seeking behavior. When it works (you turn your head in response) he stops, as he’s received the desired attention. When you ignore the behavior, he escalates to your forehead. I’d suggest you find a way to channel this behavior into something a bit less potentially dangerous. Since he’s not been stopped and perhaps even inadvertently encouraged to continue, I’m concerned that at some point the “love bites” might become more serious. A cat bite to the head/face region is something to avoid!
We have two cats, a male (Max) and a smaller female (Polly). At the moment Polly is…
Polly appears to be the “top cat” and Max defers to her. That’s not unusual in multiple cat households. One feline typically controls the interaction in a given territory—in this case, the food buffet.
Feed the two cats separately. Feed Polly first (because she IS the top cat and deserves this privilege!). Then as soon as she’s done, move her to another room while you feed Max. Alternately, simply feed the cats at the same time, but in separate rooms with the doors shut. Meal feeding works best in these situations.
Alternatively, when you must leave food out during the day and can’t supervise the kitties, you may be able to devise a feeding station that makes use of the different sizes of these felines. Purchase a translucent storage container with a lid, that’s large enough to contain Max and his bowl. Cut a Max-size hole in one side, that’s only large enough for his slim form to enter but keeps pudgy Polly out. You can leave Max’s food bowl inside this container for him to come and go, munching at leisure, while Polly can’t get inside.
Last June I adopted a four-year-old cat from a shelter. She is very timid, and now that…
Oh dear—if this shy cat never before had a positive experience with a dog, I’m not surprised by her behavior. A puppy, especially high-energy and BIG breeds like Labs, can be overwhelming for even a confident cat. You don’t specify how much “plenty of time” might be—but obviously it’s not been enough for your cat. I would expect a cat in this situation to eventually learn to tolerate (but probably not closely interact) with a friendly dog, but that conservatively might take months, not weeks, to accomplish.
Here’s what I’d suggest. Create some “dog-free zones” in the house where your cat knows the pup won’t disturb her. Use baby gates to confine the pup in a safe area, especially when you are not there to supervise. Provide lots of “second-story” areas in the form of cat trees or the backs of furniture so that your cat can always get out of nose-sniffing range. Remember that your cat was there first, and is older, and MUST be the animal in charge, or there’s a risk the dog may at some point injure the kitty accidentally. Teach the pup to look at you whenever the cat appears (say, “It’s a TREAT cat!” and give a tasty treat), so that the association for her presence is positive. This also helps him learn to look at you, rather than chase the cat, when she appears. And that takes the pressure off of the kitty.
When my German shepherd, Magic, first arrived as a pup, he was confined to the kitchen…
It will take time and lots of patience. Ideally, teach the dog to ignore the cat. Once she feels that he’s not paying attention to her, she may start to come closer simply to investigate this creature. Give her lots of positive attention, especially away from the dog, to reassure her that she’s still the top cat in your heart. There are many more tips and suggestions in the book, PETiQuette: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multipet Household.
I have a mom cat that had a baby ten months ago. They have lived together just the two of…
Are these cats spayed and neutered? If not, have this done immediately. I suspect that your boy kitty made unwelcome advances to the mother. In a feral cat colony, the intact boy kittens at this age often are sent packing, and start to pal around with other bachelor boys, while the girls usually maintain close relationships.
You can re-introduce the cats, but it will be tough going if they are still intact. Keeping them separated actually is a very good idea, so that they don’t “practice” being angry with each other. The mother cat should be treated as the top-cat, so allow her free run of the house while keeping the boy confined. Basically, treat this as a first-time introduction so they can meet and get acquainted all over again with paw-pats under the door.
After several days, use a hand towel to rub the mother cat all over (especially her cheeks) to collect scent, and then rub that towel over the boy. This helps them smell more alike, so they’re more willing to recognize each other as family. Only then, open the door and allow the boy to come out, but supervise interactions. Let the cats meet (or ignore each other) at their own pace. Be ready to interrupt any hissing/altercation immediately, by tossing a towel over top of one cat and separating them. Do not allow them to fight. It may take time for them to become reacquainted and accept each other. Good luck!
My wife recently developed an allergy to cats so we had to find a new home for our two…
I really don’t have enough information to provide specific advice. The cats likely feel very stressed and upset to be in a strange environment, and perhaps use urine (their own scent) to make themselves feel more secure. It might also be that they see or smell strange cats outside the house, and that’s prompting the behavior. Or possibly the stress has brought on a bout of cystitis that needs to be addressed by a veterinarian (always a good idea to have a vet check in these cases).
The new family should invest in a good odor-neutralizer product that thoroughly cleans the urine stains. Otherwise, the lingering scent inspires the cats to return to the scene of the crime and re-baptize the furniture. Also, I like the pheromone product Feliway as a stress-buster for cats in these circumstances. It comes as a plug-in, available from pet products stores or over the Internet. You might also try providing a couple of scented Tee shirts that you and your wife have worn but not washed, to put in the cats’ beds as a comforting reminder.
Is it safe to let my two FIV positive cats live with my other cat?
This is a tricky question. There is always a chance that the FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus or feline aids) positive cats could infect your other cat. The virus is found in high numbers in saliva and is most often transmitted through bite wounds. It is possible although less likely to be shed through shared dishes or mutual grooming. So general, in non-fighting housemates, chance of transmission is low but there is a chance. One thing to consider and discuss with your veterinarian is the FIV vaccine. The downside of this vaccine, like any vaccine, is that it does not prevent disease 100% of the time. The other concern is that if vaccinated, your other cat will test positive for FIV. The question that arises then is a positive test due to the vaccine failure and disease or just the vaccine. I applaud you for thinking about adding two FIV positive cats to your household. They can live good long healthy lives and need homes as well. I would just advise you to follow your heart on this one and make the best informed decision you can.
My one year old cat cleans herself very well, except for the area below her anus. Could…
This is likely not diet related unless she is having soft stool. If she is having softer stool that gets stuck in her fur or around her anus, your first step should be consulting your veterinarian. Another possibility is that she may not be interested in cleaning back there. She may also not be able to reach if she is overweight. Keeping it clean with a warm cloth is a great thing to do, just be sure she does not stay damp.
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