Lane Mountain Silica sand

[THemple]

Anyone ever use Lane mountain Silca sand from Lowes as a subtrate? I have a 30gallon currently housing 3 Marbled Crayfish (Marmorkrebs). Want to change out of colored gravel and convert to sand, anyone have luck with this stuff?

 

[JimA]

I just got done a couple weeks ago putting it in my 240 it looks good, took about a day for it to clear up. For that size tank though a bag of PFS would make more sense, the lane mtn bags are 100lbs suppose if you have multiple tanks??

Hope that helps you.. I will say 100lbs for 8 bucks a bag is a killer deal! I used about 150lbs for my tank, would have been about 70 bucks worth of PFS

 

[THemple]

It helps alot! No problems with your water? Your fish tolerate it okay? I also have a 65 gallon tank housing a red eared slider, very messy turtle and I do not think sand would be a good idea. Currently he has volcanic rock as a subtrate, easy to clean.

Thanks again.
Tim

 

[JimA]

The fish love it, guess it depends on what you are keeping? Mine are Tropheus pretty picky fish but so far no problems.

 

[THemple]

In my 30 gallon I'm raising 3 Marbled Crayfish (Marmorkrebs). Thye love to dig and re-arrange the tank, hoping this subtrate is not too small. What type of filter do you use? I'm getting ready to shift my tank over to a canister, currently using a HOB does well
Thanks again for your input on this sand. You cleared up my questions, will give it a try, looks like I will have plenty of left over.

Tim
Belfair, Wa

 

[JimA]

It's finer than PFS once it settled it did fine. If you fan the btm it will blow around a bit. I am using 2 aquatop 400s and a FX5. I also have a couple of power heads as well blowing into the tank and so far so good!

 

[Anthraxx]

ive used it on and off for years now. really love the stuff but as with all sands it needs to be rinsed very well. the more care you take in rinsing the less shifting and "dusting" you will have in your tank. ive done the noob thing and just dumped sand into a tank, let me tell you it takes FOREVER for the dust to go away. the silica sand is actually rather heavy and "most" manages to fall back into the tank even while vacuum sucking the top. either way for the money its the way to go, just be cautious about leaving your tank lights on too much each day. it can cause diatoms to form on the top layer of sand (a nasty green film)

 

[THemple]

Thanks JimA and Anthraxx you both have helped me make my decision. Cannot wait to get started. Being a federal employee I know what I will be doing during our furlough days! JimA your tank looks great!

Tim

 

[censeoflife]

If your fish love to move the sand allot, this stuff eats impeller rods.

 

[THemple]

Ended up being the best thing I've done. Works great!!! Crayfish love it, no problems with HOB filter. Not 2 weeks after changing over my crays started to berry, now 2 crays have turned into 100 +. loving the sand!!!

 

[Nick_87]

I just bought a bag my self so well see how it turns out. looks good.

 

[Anonymous]

I have also used on african cichlid  tank.  Its awesome.

 

[Anthraxx]

im going to caution you guys, if you allow excess nitrates to build up or have excess food you will sooner or later battle it out with diatom algae blooms. if you dont keep up on keeping this stuff clean it will get everywhere. just thought id caution as it seems i am now fighting it all over again in my 20g (third time doing a complete change cuz i cant stand it )

 

[Anonymous]

im going to caution you guys, if you allow excess nitrates to build up or have excess food you will sooner or later battle it out with diatom algae blooms. if you dont keep up on keeping this stuff clean it will get everywhere. just thought id caution as it seems i am now fighting it all over again in my 20g (third time doing a complete change cuz i cant stand it )

Once I got myself a powerhead to circulate the water. I didnt get that problem anymore plus got 3 plecos doing algae grazing.

 

[censeoflife]

Earth eaters keep it clean too.