# Keeping sand from becoming anaerobic.



## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Flourite Black. They sell it at petsmart at 6.50 for five pounds


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I personally can't stand white sand b/c it's impossible to keep clean. The people I know who've used it and kept it looking nice for long periods of time did things like vacuum it all out, clean, and put it back on a regular basis.

If I were to use inert sand, it would be pool filter sand.

Flourite black sand is another story, however... I quite like it.

If you don't have any rooted plants, you might as well stick with only 1" of sand, and then shouldn't have to worry at all about anaerobic spots.

If you want to go deeper than that, then consider adding some Malaysian Trumpet snails to keep it aerated. They're poop machines and white sand wouldn't stay white for long, though...


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Flourite Black. They sell it at petsmart at 6.50 for five pounds


Flourite Black... isn't quite white. :icon_wink

Thanks though.


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

lauraleellbp said:


> I personally can't stand white sand b/c it's impossible to keep clean. The people I know who've used it and kept it looking nice for long periods of time did things like vacuum it all out, clean, and put it back on a regular basis.
> 
> If I were to use inert sand, it would be pool filter sand.
> 
> ...


Oh man, that sounds like a chore. Regular basis... as in every week? 
Will shrimp like amano's keep the sand clean? (Do they even eat anything besides eating algae?)

How dark is pool filter sand? A link would be great!

Yeah I'm planning for only +/- 1/2" at the front to +/- 1" at the back. The tank is only 9.4" tall anyways.


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## Grey Ghost (Jul 18, 2010)

If you have a leslie's pool store near your town they sell 50 pound bags of silica sand for $7. As for the color, I would say it's a light tan not white.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

FlyingGiraffes said:


> Flourite Black... isn't quite white. :icon_wink
> 
> Thanks though.


Oh I'm sorry. I should have read better. They also make it in a light color. It is a great grain size, and I've never had any problems at all with it. And to keep it from going anaerobic, you can use MTS snails.


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

My amano shrimp definitely did not clean the sand  They are known as great algae eaters but I never saw them eating anything!


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## Zareth (Dec 13, 2010)

Malaysian trumpet snails!


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

Thanks for all the help guys! 

I decided to just go with a glosso carpet on aqua soil so I don't have to deal with sand maintenance. :icon_wink


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

lol, you went from sand to aquasoil in 2 days, nice! 

But in my experience (for the people looking through this thread using the 'search feature') is that if you have malaysian trumpet snails and a depth of less than 2 inches, the snails will keep any spots from going anaerobic. And as for keeping white sand clean, get a herd of corydoras, they'll keep the sand very clean and white.


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## BonesCJ (Jan 13, 2003)

My plan is for a sand depth of 2 inches and lots of MTS, Have had them in all my planted tanks find they are great little workhorses that breed like rabbits. Arizonas hard water gives them some super tough shells


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## S4UCE (Feb 20, 2011)

Any issues with the MTS getting stuck in the filters?

Also, would pool filter sand mixed with flourite still be at risk for going anaerobic? I suppose the proportions of each would influence this.


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