Habitat - Indoor :: substrate question

[ddh0000]

Hello, I've elected to use sand as my substrate, but I have a few questions. I want a sand that is white, but dense enough to settle soon after being disturbed as to not damage my filter. I was looking at the Quikrete Medium sand used by some of you, but I don't like the color, any similar sand in white? Or, for thsoe of you who have aquarium grade sand, does it settle quickly? Would a prefilter prevent the aquarium sand, given its smaller and finer size, from being sucked up if kicked around by my future turtle?

Thanks!

[Chrisbarnett]

Nice choice. I have had sand for a while, love it.

You can get white sand from Petsmart in 20lb bags.. What size tank do you have?

I have aqaurium grade sand, and it doesn't have an affect on how quickly it settles. What determines that is how well you wash the sand. I was my sand for about 15 minutes under high pressure from a garden hose in a 5 gallon bucket and dump out the water constantly to get it clean. The longer you wash it, the less cloudiness you will have. It takes my tank about 30 minutes to an hour and a half to settle out.

You should turn off your filter while your sand settles, as well as when adding any sand.

About the prefilter, They are not necessary. You should put your filter intake at least 3" from the top of the sand, I prefer 4". That way, if your turtle kicks it around, it doesn't reach the filter intake.

Depending on how coarse the prefilter is, it could filter out sand grains before they reach your filter.

Good luck.

[mat012]

I have sand too. Like Chris said you dont need a prefilter. I have one though and it helps with the dust. Very few sand particles actually get kicked up but you may have some residual dust that continues to come off the sand for a while. I have noticed a big difference in the fine filter pads in the canister since I added the prefilter. I also have mollies and didnt want the fry to get sucked into the filter. The prefilter keeps that from happening.

[Fuzzy Hamster]

mat012, what is your prefilter made of and where is it - at the input of the tube in the tank, or actually in the canister itself?

I'm not planning on using sand but do expect to have some fry in the tank at some point and was wondering how to go about preventing them from being sucked into the filter.

[Chrisbarnett]

I'm not Melissa, but I know what she's using haha.

It's a foam pad, you can get them very coarse or on the finer side. They can compromise filter strength a bit, but not much. The Prefilter goes on the outside of the intake in the tank.

In your case, since your only trying to filter out fry from the intake, You should get a pretty coarse prefillter. Like 10-20PPI (Pores Per Inch).

You can buy the prefilters made for your filter, or use ones made for the Aquaclear filters, or make your own. It is very versatile.

[hoojib88]

I've got sand and here's some advice so you don't have to worry about waiting 400 days for your sand to settle.. Pour your new water on a dinner plate or your basking platform this will prevent a lot of excess sand kicking up. I never have to wait for my sand to settle. It'll kick up a little bit of sand but not much. I've also washed my sand a whole bunch. Like the first time I got it I washed it for at least an hour and I still had some cloudiness. Just Yesterday I took my tank outside and used a hose and cleaned out everything and now oh my gosh it's awesome!! My water was completely clear after I put the water in. Well except for the murky new tank syndrome. But yeah good luck! Just make sure you the crap out of it and you'll be fine. I just used sand box sand from the local hardware store.

[mat012]

Chris knows me so well .... I used the foam made for aquaclear power filters and cut it to size. I basically trimmed it to a cylinder shape and cut an "X" in the center so that it would slip over the intake strainer. A serrated kitchen knife and scissors did the trick. Very high tech - haha.

It works really well. Making your own is cheaper and it was hard to me to get a sense of the size of those online. Couldnt find a prefilter locally. So I was concerned I would order one that woudlnt fit the strainer, pay for shipping, etc.

Here's the foam - its easy to find (petsmart here)

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2754076

I bought the 110 size. There was enough foam to make at least two to three prefilters.

[Fuzzy Hamster]

Thanks. I already have Aquaclear media for my fish tanks, so I'm good to go.

[mat012]

Fuzzy,

here is a link to a guy that sells them. Have you seen this site - I love it!

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/ ... 1217898703

the fish auctions are really fun to see.

[Fuzzy Hamster]

Wow. Thanks again for the link. I didn't even know that such a site existed....and he ships to Canada....even better!

The pics (& filters) are good. Nice to know that stuff like that exists. I could even use a pre-filter like that on my Aquaclear for a baby tank. I used to use pre-made foam filters, the kind with a tube and an air pump/stone for filtration, in my birthing tanks.

Btw.....my daughter's name is Melissa ...lol...

[ddh0000]

I think I will purchase some white aquarium sand then. Any particular type you guys buy? I read on this forum to avoid the calcium carbonate sand, is this true?

Thanks

[Chrisbarnett]

Just get what you want from Petsmart.

I would avoid calcium sand, but someone used it here with no problems.