Habitat - Indoor :: Sand Substrate With Pleco?

[Daniel3507]

After doing some research on a sand substrate i think im going to do it but the only thing im worried about is the fact that i have a pleco and im wondering if it will do any harm to it. any help is greatly appreciated

[Daniel3507]

i was just at the pet store and it got me wondering if i could use and undergravel filter if i put sand in the tank.

[mat012]

I wouldnt use and undergravel esp with sand. I would think it would clog. I love the sand but in the beginning and on occasion if the turtle kicks it up puts out a good bit of dust. Read on this site too about filtration. There is some advice about undergravel filters in general. Most here use either hang on tank or canister filters.

I have sand and a pleco. the pleco manages fine. He will even eat the algae disk off the bottom, so I assume he can spit out the sand.

[Daniel3507]

i have a canister filter but i figured the more filtering the better. chances are i'll probably end up going with sand.

[mat012]

Yeah - I have become a filter nut too. I have been looking at the Magnum 250 HOT in addition to the canister. I like the idea of the micron filter. Some OCD coming out ...

You wont regret the sand. I love it and the turtle can dig and play, The fish have a good time hunting for food. It looks great. I am very happy with it.

[Daniel3507]

i like my water to be clean. i cant stand the blue green colored water that i have now. im changing my water soon. it hasnt even been a weak since my last change.

im having trouble finding the right sand though. well, enough of it anyway

[mat012]

I think you have an algae bloom (green water). Check this thread out from a fish site

http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465

You might want to pursue the Magnum filter. I think it would help. You can also use this filter with diatomaceous earth or diatom powder. It provides finer filtration. It is supposed to whip green water and parasites. Here are some more sites.

http://www.aquariumguys.com/aquarium-di ... lters.html
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... 1&keepsr=0

I am just starting to research the diatom filters, but will probably get the magnum eventually. Like I said I love crystal clean water too. And this seems to be a good option. Chris suggested using an ultra fine filter floss in the canister. Would be a cheaper way to try and tackle the problem to start with. But if the problem is long term you may just want to have a diatom filter ready for occassional but serious clean ups.

On the sand I bought quikcrete medium sand from Lowes. Others here have used playsand. Some fish purists will only use the aquarium sand from fish stores. But the sand at hardware stores is widely available and cheap. I got 50lbs for $6. This is vs the $30-40 for a comparable amount of aquarium sand.

Others probably have more experience and other solutions too. Let us know what happens. Good luck!

[Daniel3507]

i read the post on the filter floss and found it real interesting. thanks for all your help. ive even thought about uv sterilizers

[Daniel3507]

decided to go with a UV sterilizer. http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... lizer5watt

70 bucks at big al's and 56 at dr fosters and smith so im going to give big als a call and take advantage of the low price guarantee where they beat the price by 5%