# Sloping with sand do's and don'ts



## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

Hello, my first post after many years away from the hobby. Recently I was given a nice 25 gallon tank with cabinet. I've collected some crushed granites and currently tossed them on a dirty bath towel inside my tank(see pic). Originally I was planning on doing Flourite and call it a day, but after seeing these stone sitting on a light beige towel and loving the look I think I'm going go with light colored sand, currently looking at the CaribSea Crystal River sand(see pic), but would definitely welcome any suggestions that cost less or cost nothing(like my stones). 

I have a 30X12 floor plan to work with and want to do a major slope with just my stones and sand(large granule), any suggestions to keep it stable? Also, it will be very low tech, currently planning on a field of Anubia nana, should I do some fertz on the bottom?

Thanks again, excited to be coming back to this awesome hobby.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Anubias is more commonly grown attached to rocks and driftwood, not planted in the substrate. 

I, personally, do not like light colored substrate. A dark or blended substrate is more subtle and shows up the plants, rocks and fish better. Many fish will turn pale when kept over a light colored substrate. 

Similar sand to the color you have now includes pool filter sand (check your local swimming pool supply), play sand (not the best for aquariums, too much fine matter, it can compact in the tank and reduce water movement under the substrate, leading to anaerobic conditions), other sand that you might find in masonry, brick, rock, soil or landscape yards. Watch out, some of these materials will be ground limestone or related materials and these will raise the GH, KH, pH and TDS of the water. Not a problem for hard water fish, but not great if your plan includes most Tetras, Barbs, Rasboras and so on. 

Sand does not hold fertilizers very well. A clay based material has high Cationic Exchange Capacity, which means it holds ferts in a way that plants can use them, sort of a reserve of fertilizers, available as needed. Montmorillonite Clays are good in aquariums for this reason. The clay particles are compressed together into chips, yet the high CEC of clay is still there. Kitty Litter, Oil Dry and similar materials are the lightest in color, most similar to the towel. 
Safe-T-Zorb is the same material, but in the colors of soft greys and tans. Very subtle, but still lighter than most browns and blacks.


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

Thank you Diana for all the info, very helpful info indeed. Guess it helps if I described my plan for this tank a little more. 

I'm attempting a biotope type with minimal plants(Anubia nana tied down on small stones), going to run the tank like a discus tank(high temps, soft water, neutral to slightly acidic PH), still deciding on the fish. Might utilize some driftwood for the tanin. See the google image below.


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

anyone used these before?


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## 180g (May 20, 2014)

welcome back to TPT!


I haven't but make sure to read ingredients to make sure there's no additives.


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## WalaxR (Jan 16, 2014)

I've heard from friends that oil-dry breaks down and turns to mush very quickly as opposed to safe-T-sorb which stays nice and firm.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

If you're just going to have ferns like Anubias in there, why not pool filter sand?

I've heard good stuff about the PFS from Ace: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11683357


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

Thank you, 180g

WalaxR, I actually ordered a small 8 lb bag from amazon for about 3 bucksand going to read through the ingredient and test it out. I'm long way from getting this tank set up, so I'll have a bit of time to play with it.

hi lauraleellbp, long time no see. I was originally planning on using sand but was told they collapse pretty easily. I'm trying to do a 4 inches bed on the front and 8 inches in the back, trying to focus on the scape and slope and rock placement and all that fun stuff.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Welcome back! 

Why would the CaribSea sand work different from PFS?

I think you're going to have to be careful to avoid anaerobic development with that deep a bed, use something other than sand as a base.


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

leaning heavily toward either oil dri or STS


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## 180g (May 20, 2014)

hey laurel I just got my pool filter sand for my 180. if any one wants to see how it looks


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

I don't know if this will help much, but if you are going to do a slope, a substrate with angular particles will probably work a bit better then a substrate with rounded particles.

It might not make a noticeable difference in our aquariums, but rougher-grained substrates have a slightly higher angle of repose then similar sized but smooth-grained substrates.

So, I imagine something like blasting grit, or safe-t-sorb might work a bit better then pool filter sand. Though, not sure if it would work well enough for us to notice the difference...


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I have several tanks with filter outlets that blast the front glass hard enough to keep the substrate swept away, and toward the back of the tank. Easy to do with STS and other angular montmorillonite clays, since they are fairly light weight. 
Filter outlet would be centered on the back wall, aimed right at the front glass. 

Another way to help make that steep slope is to make a retaining wall out of rock and 'mortar' it together with the black expanding foam sold for ponds and waterfalls. Makes a solid barrier that is natural looking. 
Loose stacked stone will not hold back substrate.


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