In nature, and is found in both saltwater and freshwater environments, so most fish will be familiar and feel comfortable with a sand substrate in the aquarium….

Standard aquarium sand or gravel can be used, but crushed coral, coral sand or crushed oyster shell will help maintain the proper pH and alkalinity to support good health and color in your African cichlids. A 1” to 2” bed is best, as many species love to dig!

Tank Size: Cichlids grow to a large size, so the bigger the tank the better. Substrate: The bottom of the environment should be sand. Larger Cichlids like Oscars are fine with gravel.

• CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Bahamas Reef Sand.
• Stoney River White Aquarium Sand.
• CaribSea Natural Moonlight Sand.
• CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink Sand.

Play Sand is a much wider range of particles… Since fine sand particles are a danger to our aquariums, I highly suggest you do not put them in the aquarium. At $8 per 50 lb for Pool Filter Sand, I see no reason to risk our filters and/or overwork ourselves by using Play Sand.

It’s the dirty little secret of the aquarium trade: You can get certain supplies and equipment cheaper at the hardware store than at a pet shop. Playground sand is a perfect example: If you us sand for your aquarium, play sand works fine, with a few caveats.

It will give your tank a much more natural appeal. Sand leaves your houseguests feeling like you are maintaining a micro ecosystem and not just an ordinary fish tank. Many fish will benefit from sand as substrate. A little-known fact is that many species of fish actually consume sand.

Sand and gravel can be used together in aquariums, but if the gravel is put down first it will end up on top as the sand gradually settles to the bottom. Sand can’t be used with gravel when using under-gravel filters as the motor won’t be able to suck the water through both the gravel and the hard-packed sand.

No, you should never add fish to cloudy or sandy aquarium water. The sand will get in the fish’s mouths, their eyes, and can get stuck in their gills too.

Bacteria Bloom (cloudy water) will occur 2 to 4 days after fish are added to the tank. The cloudiness, caused by initial bacteria growth, is not harmful to tank inhabitants, and will clear on its own.

In some cases, cloudy water can be harmful to fish, but not all the time. Here’s what you need to know about cloudy water in an aquarium. There’s a break-in period for all new aquariums, and this is when most aquarists will see the first instance of cloudy water. Also, it’s very important to not overfeed your fish.

Just in case you are wondering, YES, you can put a sand substrate in a freshwater (tropical) tank. And, YES, you should wash the sand before adding it in your aquarium. If you do not clean a new substrate, all the dust will go right into your water when you fill up your aquarium, which will then make it cloudy.

The easiest way to clean fine sand is to use a siphon or vacuum to suck up any unwanted debris. First, you will want to disturb the sand a little to try and get the feces and other compounds to the top of the pile. It will be much easier to vacuum it up this way.

How to clean fish tank gravel without a vacuum

1. Prepare a smaller tank or a clean container to hold your fish.
2. Use a siphon or a cup to transfer some aquarium water into the container.
3. Using a net, gently get your fish out of the water and transfer them into the container.