sand in freshwater tank?
by Aquaboy on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 | 2 Comments
i am buying a 20 gallon tank and i want to add sand to my freshwater tank
but which sand do i buy for fish like tiger barbs
how long does the water stay cloudy
and how to clean it before putting it in
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You need to buy freshwater aquarium safe sand. It is usually a coated silica sand. Do NOT use any marine/beach/reef sand or industrial sand or play box sand.
Most pet stores sell colored aquarium sand and plain old white as well.
I prefer in freshwater tanks to mix the two, it creates a nice effect with larger gravel pieces.
As long as the sand is water neutral the Tiger Barbs won’t care. They are mid swimmers and do not really care what is on the bottom.
As to cleaning it, I like to get a nice size bucket, fill with water and allow it to just run over the side and vigorously mix the sand to wash it. Then add it in small water filled cups. Very little mess this way.
I used ordinary play sand for my tank and everything is fine (shrimp, neons, mollies, corys etc.) just put in a bucket with a hose and when the water coming out is clear its ready to go, no need to buy the expensive stuff, but if you want to be really safe then you could.