# High light + white sand = bad idea?



## UllavL (5 Apr 2015)

Hi, 
I've been waiting for two months for my led-lightning to arrive and in the meantime I've had plenty of time to debate my hardscape decisions with myself. Today I came to think about my decision to have white sand as decor in an high tech aquarium. Will there be a problem (especially in the beginning) to keep it white and avoid algae growth? It's an 84 l with 2 Eheim 350 (1050 l/h). Do you guys have any advice on how to keep it clean? 
(don't mind my sketches of the plants)

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/723/a8NkqL.jpg


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## Julian (5 Apr 2015)

It will turn brown


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## UllavL (5 Apr 2015)

And there´s no way to avoid this? I mean, I've seen high tec tanks with white sand in it as decor...


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## Tim Harrison (5 Apr 2015)

Yep it will turn brown/green if it's left to its own devices...just turn it over or disturb it before the weekly water change and when it starts to become a loosing battle syphon off the top layer and replace with fresh sand.

That's what I did with this...


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## UllavL (5 Apr 2015)

Thanks @Troi! I'll have to do that (great thing that I only used half of the sand I bought). Maybe I'll make the "plant area" somewhat larger so that it doesn't such a big problem...


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## Iain Sutherland (5 Apr 2015)

some sand is worse for browning than others but as troi said, just stir it all up each week at water change and all is well 

IMG_4185 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr


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## parotet (5 Apr 2015)

Iain Sutherland said:


> some sand is worse for browning than others but as troi said, just stir it all up each week at water change and all is well
> 
> IMG_4185 by iainsutherland24, on Flickr


Hi Ian

Which ones are worse? The very white ones? I mean is it just a matter of colour?

Jordi


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## Iain Sutherland (5 Apr 2015)

not too sure jordi, all i do know is when i used cheap sand it was a pain in the ass.... the ada one in the image above was never changed in over a year and didnt really discolour at all.... coincidence, maybe? but id like to think  ada have actually tried lots to see which discolour the most before retailing them...??


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## UllavL (5 Apr 2015)

I've used Jbl's sansibar sand. Any experience with that?


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## tigertim (5 Apr 2015)

good grief never had a problem with plain old Silver Sand from B n Q turning brown or any other colour....my Corrys keep the substrate well turned over.....what you all doing to turn it brown ! ?


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## Christos Ioannou (5 Apr 2015)

I have white sand and get diatoms on it. When syphooned it gets back to white. But then diatoms come back and sand is brown again. Syphooning may leach out ammonia only to make matters worse. I dare not mention leaching of silicates....


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## UllavL (5 Apr 2015)

Would it be a good idea to cover the white sand (for instance with black plastic film) for the first month to avoid initial algue growth? Do you @tigertim think C. Habrosus would be a good choice for helping turning the sand around? (Only want really small fishes)


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## dougstar (6 Apr 2015)

I put pool filter sand in my 2m.  and I have to turn over the sand once a week, It gets more noticeable as time goes by.


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## Christos Ioannou (6 Apr 2015)

at least this thread puts me at ease that I am not doing something _terribly _wrong and most of us have same issue with white sand


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## parotet (6 Apr 2015)

The guy at my LFS (ADA distributor, thus plenty of ADA style tanks in the shop) told me that he changes the sand quite often, not sure how much sand each time and how many times.... But it looks that in these very nice mature tanks with sand, the sand has actually replaced many times.
My only experience was with JBL Sansibar, the worst was not the diatoms (easy to remove and replace) but my mistake of not separating it properly from AquaSoil. At the end it was a PITA to remove everyday little AS grains and shrimps were not helping at all so I decided to  let it mix.... 

Jordi


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## Christos Ioannou (6 Apr 2015)

There is a very nice video showing how to add sand into a tank without creating a mess out of it.
Never done it myself, but will certainly consider following exactly what this guy does when needed.


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## Another Phil (6 Apr 2015)

UllavL said:


> think C. Habrosus would be a good choice for helping turning the sand around?


 Hi UllavL,
Those are one of the Corys that don't tend to dig in the substrate a lot,  The Corys that have more of a hunched back are better (but also larger).
cheers phil


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## tigertim (6 Apr 2015)

UllavL said:


> Would it be a good idea to cover the white sand (for instance with black plastic film) for the first month to avoid initial algue growth? Do you @tigertim think C. Habrosus would be a good choice for helping turning the sand around? (Only want really small fishes)
> 
> 
> Skickas från min iPad via Tapatalk



thers plenty of corys just one size up...the likes of Adolfi dont grow to big or maybe try some aspidoras ?

think the issue on this thread might be the type of sand substrate people are buying....no need for that expensive Ada stuff...i use just silver/play sand you can buy cheaply anywhere.....ofc add a fertilizer underneath when you start of i use Jbl's Aqua basis.


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## UllavL (6 Apr 2015)

Another Phil said:


> Those are one of the Corys that don't tend to dig in the substrate a lot, The Corys that have more of a hunched back are better (but also larger).





tigertim said:


> thers plenty of corys just one size up...the likes of Adolfi dont grow to big or maybe try some aspidoras ?



Thanks both for your advice! I got some aspidoras in my other tank but my experience is that they behave more like pygme corydoras and often inhabit the middle region of the tank. I really wouldn't like to go as big as Adolfi, at least not if it's a schooling fish. Maybe I just have to accept that I'll have to turn it manually


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## EnderUK (7 Apr 2015)

Sharp sand, it's brown anyways


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## limz_777 (11 Apr 2015)

my sun light tank will turn green , no issues on mine 30 cm cube , sand stay the same


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## UllavL (11 Apr 2015)

I'll just have to wait and see what happens then 


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## limz_777 (11 Apr 2015)

btw i am using this , helps alot on sand substrate ,cant see properly in video its has a pre filter to trap moss or plants leaf , best part its detachable


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