Capping Layer

[Dixie-SR]

Hi, I’m intending on setting up a planted tank and am going to use a decorative sand towards the front of the tank so as not to cause any issues with the soil substrate which is to lie from the middle to the rear. My question is if the sand is too fine could it be harmful to the fish? If so, what would be the smallest particle size you would recommend?

Thanks in anticipation
Steve

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

I’ve never heard of sand being so fine as to cause harm to fish. Generally sand is considered the best substrate for bottom dwelling fish so as not to cut fins or gills etc. If you buy a sand recommended for aquariums then you’ll be fine. If you want to source it yourself, I’ve used wild collected river sand and beach sand (in a marine set up!) without problems. Although if you wild collect you WILL get random organisms appearing in your tank.

As for capping, I’ve had poor results trying to cap an aqua soil with sand. My Fluval stratum migrated on top of the nice pale sand and I couldn’t stop it. Aquatic compost I’ve had better results capping as it’s heavier. Just worth considering before you dive in. 👍🏻

 

[Dixie-SR]

Thanks for your comments. I asked the question having read a review on a fine sand, which the purchaser blamed on the death of several of his fish. With regards to the substrate, I’m not looking to cap it as I expect the plants to camouflage it. The sand is to be a decorative addition to the front of the aquarium.

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

Thanks for your comments. I asked the question having read a review on a fine sand, which the purchaser blamed on the death of several of his fish. With regards to the substrate, I’m not looking to cap it as I expect the plants to camouflage it. The sand is to be a decorative addition to the front of the aquarium.

If you get any bottom dwellers, don’t underestimate their ability to remodel your tank to their own taste! Even the tiny ones. 😄

Im sure others will be along soon to add their experiences.

 

[Spartacus]

Hello Steve,

If it helps I capped lava soil with a layer of Tropica aqua soil (both in separate mesh bags)

For the sand I used Unipac silver sand which is extremely fine. Couldn’t be happier with the end result - Think the only thing I would change is planting stem plants into the “thin” sand layer was problematic but doable.

I wanted a nice sand for Corydoras - this one is like powder so they should be happy 😊

I can’t say if it was a good or a bad way of doing things technically. I hope it works out!

Thanks,

Murray

 

[Dixie-SR]

Murray, what was the purpose of capping the lava sand with the Tropica aqua soil? As both were in mesh bags, I take that the capping sand, as well as being decorative, was used to anchor the plants until the roots penetrated the bags.

Regards
Steve

 

[Spartacus]

Hello Steve,

I was thinking that if I had everything in mesh bags and no matter how hard the Corydoras dug into the sand they couldn’t take up soil or gravel.

I wanted it to just be sand and not sand with aqua soil bits on top as I find that to be messy.

I watched a Josh Sim workshop and someone asked if he would normally put lava soil in bags he said yes so I went down that route also.

Having a thin layer was a problem (no point buying tweezers I had to push the plant rootball into the ground hold it there then flick the sand over the rootball to secure it in place.

I spent weeks looking at sand and it always came back to the silver sand. I just wanted everything to be a certain way and I am thrilled with how it all turned out.

To give you an idea of the grain size I have attached a close up.

Also using mesh bags means that when I go to rescape and assuming the root mass of what little planted (most of my plants are epiphytes) if they haven’t turned the goodies inside the mesh bag into a woven mess means I can reuse the lava in the future. In short I just wanted to keep everything contained as I can’t stand the mess of loose bits of soil I think it looks messy 😊

Using a mesh bag of lava as the bottom layer and a mesh bag of aqua soil on the top layer meant it was very easy to build a form of terrace for my island style. I was putting a lot of Seiryu in the scape and wanted a solid base! It defiantly was secure 😊

Any questions fire away 😊

Thanks,

Murray

 

[Wookii]

having read a review on a fine sand, which the purchaser blamed on the death of several of his fish.

Absolute nonsense fortunately. Any grade of sand is fine, just avoid the sharper types if going for a larger grain size. The finest silver sands can be problematic as they can compact and reduce water circulation through the substrate, but that's only an issue where you have a deep substrate, for a physically isoslated decorative front layer it can be kept to a couple of centimetres deep.