# Sand "beach" with Eco complete



## banderbe (Oct 10, 2005)

I was thinking about making the front 1 to 2 inches of my tank silica sand, and the rest of the horizontal tank depth of eco complete, sloping up to the back.

What's a good way to lay that down in the tank? Do I use a divider of some sort to put the sand and EC in and keep them apart? If so do I take the divider out after everything's in place? 

Anyone here done this kind of a "sandy beach" look in your tank?

I think it would look nice and my M. altispinosas would love it since they "eat" sand. 

I just don't want it to look bad with time if the two substrates should start to mix.


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

You can see just how I did it on 
THIS THREAD.
I would say do at least 2", if not more. It's pretty much a pain to maintain, and I have since planted the sandy area because there was so much algae growth. HTH!


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## banderbe (Oct 10, 2005)

esarkipato said:


> You can see just how I did it on
> THIS THREAD.
> I would say do at least 2", if not more. It's pretty much a pain to maintain, and I have since planted the sandy area because there was so much algae growth. HTH!


How was the sand a pain to maintain?


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## 99RedSi (Jul 31, 2005)

esarkipato said:


> You can see just how I did it on
> THIS THREAD.
> I would say do at least 2", if not more. It's pretty much a pain to maintain, and I have since planted the sandy area because there was so much algae growth. HTH!


Do you have new pics you can post either here, esarkipato, or in your journal thread? I do see that you attempted to post an updated pic to your journal thread but it isn't displaying (I see a blue question mark instead).


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## malkore (Nov 3, 2003)

Sand and eco are going ot mix, whether you want them to or not.

it sounds like his sand was developing algae, probably partially due to it being brighter substrate and reflecting more light rather than absorbing it like the dark eco complete.


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

banderbe, the sand is a pain to maintain because 1) the flourite ends up in the sand, and that is a huge pain to get it out. 2) there is algae growth on it that makes it look like crap. An updated picture is below. . .

Yea malkore, that sounds like what is going on. The result is a "dirtier" looking sand, with green algae growth. My light is not very much ~ 40 watts, so I guess the plant growth in the rear didn't soak up enough nutrients. 
Here's a new pic:








As you can see, the sand looks much dirtier than previously.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I have done the sandy beach look... it looks fine for a few days, then rapidly deteriorates, like Ernie described.

I used a plastic strip glued to the bottom of the tank to keep sand and (in my case) gravel apart. That part worked pretty well. Also keeps plants from growing into the sandy area.

The sand I used was playsand from HD, and it was too fine, very ugly, and eventually I took it all out and replaced it with flourite.

Fine sand isn't a good substrate for growing plants either. It's pretty sterile, and fish poop and detritus collects on top, which doesn't help plants.

All in all... try it... but I can't recommend it. Looks good for a photo, but the maintenance to keep it pristine isn't easy.


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

I just did a sandy beach on my 55gal. about a week ago. I did it on one end though for my freshwater clams. Worked and is working out find for me.

I used a triangular shaped piece of driftwood for the Border/Divider and filled in the gaps underneath with some small rocks. Pushed the Florite gently up to it, then the sand and it all worked out fine.

I have a piece of driftwood rising up vertically out of it with 2 anubias attached to rocks and 3 compacta swords planted in it. I've added seachem plant tabs and jobe spikes to the sand and the rest of the tank.

It takes up about 15% of the floor of the tank, but adds a good subtrate for the clams to live in, breaks the monotony and adds a different texture to the scene.


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

Ahh, but I see you already have some sneaky gravel bits trying to invade your beach. You will be suprised at how fast this happens!


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## 99RedSi (Jul 31, 2005)

Naja002 said:


> I just did a sandy beach on my 55gal. about a week ago. I did it on one end though for my freshwater clams. Worked and is working out find for me.
> 
> I used a triangular shaped piece of driftwood for the Border/Divider and filled in the gaps underneath with some small rocks. Pushed the Florite gently up to it, then the sand and it all worked out fine.
> 
> ...


Reply to this post in a month with a new picture so we can see how it looks after some time has passed.

This is inspiring, thanks!


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

99RedSi said:


> Reply to this post in a month with a new picture so we can see how it looks after some time has passed.
> 
> This is inspiring, thanks!


Not a Problem. Don't be afraid to send me a PM as a reminder should I forget.....

Those Pebbles occurred during planting and can be moved back very easily. Considering that the "Beach" is isolated on 3 sides--I dont really expect it to be much trouble. My bioload is small and I intend to keep it that way. I don't expect to be having any gravel-moving cichlids, etc. At the moment I have 3 Chinese AEs, 4 5" SAEs, 3 Bamboo shrimp and some clams. I would like to add some ottos and maybe something schooling and/or color-full like Cardinal tetras. We'll see.....

I want a tank that is well kept, but I'm not looking for anything "Pristine." 

Right now, my main concern is getting my ferts right and things automated. The way things look I think I have a K or Mg deficiency. I have been adding extra K and just added the first dose of Epsom Salt tonight. Some of the leaves have holes and the anubias are growing like crazy (for anubias that is), but the leaves don't look right.

Send me a reminder--and I promise not to "Clean-it-up" first....LOL


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## h20 plant (Dec 21, 2005)

What if you mix sand and pea gravel together? Has any one done this? I know the sand would eventually sink to the bottom but would this create a better environment for plant roots? Just wondering since i have a low light tank with pea gravel and dont want to change the whole tank for specialty substrate.


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

h20 plant, 
why do you want to add sand? Are you needing a deeper substrate?

I did this on my first 20g tall aquarium, and it worked well. I did get a breakout of BGA, probably unrelated.

Also, the sand will only take a few weeks to settle down underneath regular pea gravel.


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## h20 plant (Dec 21, 2005)

No I have enough substrate but was only wondering if there would be any advantage to doing this?


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

Well, that's what I thought with my first tank, that the root hairs would appreciate a finer substrate on the bottom. I'm pretty sure now that it wasn't really adding much to the substrate. A more effective measure would've been adding ferts instead of inert sand 

Sorry for hijacking the thread, Banderbe.


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

malkore said:


> Sand and eco are going ot mix, whether you want them to or not.


I'm with malkore, out of painful experience I'm afraid. Resign yourself to periodically replacing that sand with fresh sand, untainted by Eco complete, or forget it.


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## julesann (Sep 28, 2005)

I hate to barge in, but I don't want to start another thread with so similar a situation. 

I have 29 gallon with fluorite (2 bags) and was planning to top with playsand because I have cory's and a pleco that has already ripped open his tummy on sharp substrate. I was planning to add it this week!

General concensus? Don't do it? Cause algae, mixes with gravel sized fluorite and eventually settles to the bottom? Am I hearing you guys right?


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

It will only provide temporary relief for your cories and pleco. I'm telling ya, it will sink faster than luke skywalker's ship in the swamp .

If you decide to do it, for whatever reason, I gotta make the plug for pool filter sand. slightly bigger grain size, which offers less compaction. You can find it at local pool/spa stores. (50 pounds for $6-7!)


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## BrentStl (Nov 5, 2005)

As for the sand sinking guys, I think it all depends on how much you use and the size of the grain. I've been using paving sand no. 2 from Home Depot with a great deal of success over the top of AquaSoil in one tank and now Flourite in another tank. You just need to put a good deep layer in. Lowe's stocks a different brand of paver sand which is slightly thinner and lighter in color, which I prefer.

Since you're using eco-complete and you have a clown pleco (typically drab color), why don't you look into some of SeaChem's OnyxSand. I've been dying to try some of that out. The black sand will really help bring out the color in your pleco and maybe make him venture out more.


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## BrentStl (Nov 5, 2005)

Gotcha Ernie!

Leveling Sand - ("step 2") from Lowe's... $2.39 for more than enough for my 29g

There are a handful of slightly larger chunks, but any sifter would pick them out if they get on your nerves.


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

BrentStl said:


> Gotcha Ernie!
> 
> Leveling Sand - ("step 2") from Lowe's... $2.39 for more than enough for my 29g
> 
> There are a handful of slightly larger chunks, but any sifter would pick them out if they get on your nerves.


Nice!

But hey, at least I'm supporting local business with my $7 purchase!


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## h20 plant (Dec 21, 2005)

Since this post has turned into a mixed substrate post I will go ahead and post a related question. Right now I have pea gravel, ass said before, and I want to do a better substrate but dont want to completely replace every thing and put my rams at risk. So would doing a mix of Florite and the gravel help at all or would it not be even worth it? I also want to do a 1g tank with plants would I need 100% florite for this or could i use pea rock? Any recommendations on updating the gravel cheaply without throwing the whole H20 chem off. I really need to get better lighting first but cant spend that much money on a new light. Ill ask this too, does any one know a good way to create good reflector inside a white box which would still allow me to slide the top off for light changes. Or any other ideas would be great as is its 2-14watt florescent tubes.


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

*Requested Update*

Well, here's a 2nd pic--1 month later as Requested:

First pic from 2-2-06:










New Pic-3-2-06:










The Swords have grown and I have added a few plants, but this Sand area has not been a problem at all. I think the main reason is because it is isolated on 3-sides and the 1-side that meets the Flourite is divided. I don't have any life in the tank that will move the substrate around--except maybe the clams--and that isn't much. The sand has the dirty look to it, but I think that the clams are much happier in the sand than they would be in Flourite.

So far, its working well.... :thumbsup:

BTW: Do those look like Compacta Swords? That's what I bought, but I'm starting to think that maybe they aren't Compactas.....


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

Thanks Naja, that seems to be working out well so far. As mentioned, having the glass on three sides is the biggest help here.

The dirty look is a little easier on the eyes, too!

(no idea about the swords)


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

the 3 gallon i used to have had about an inch or two of sand in it from a volleyball court. it seemed to work well once i boosted the light on it up from the 6 watts to the 13. but it was kinda skanky looking as it didnt get cleaned very much or well.


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