Question: Sand substrate and concern for filter??

I'm thinking about getting sand for my axy's tank since it would look nicer instead of bare-bottom. Also he has these sores on his hands and feet that I suspect are from the glass surface.
Anyway, I'm not sure how it would work with my filter. I have a GEX 6090 Mega Power filter and the intake touches the bottom of the tank. I'm going to go to some pet stores and see how they got around it.
If I remember correctly some stores just didn't have sand around the intake.

I actually just realized I could pull the tubing and the intake up a little more, but there is a limit to it for the suction caps to hold onto the glass.

Basically I'm worried about my filter taking in the sand, my axy could stir it up when he goes up for air too even if I figure out the positioning issue.

Any tips for someone going from no substrate, to fine sand substrate? I know to buy silica based sand and I won't be buying pool filter or play sand just to be extra safe.
And what kind of siphon would you recommend?


Thanks for dealing with all of these questions!!

Hmmm. Maybe post some photos of the sores. Many keepers house their axolotls on bare bottom tanks without issue. It seems a bit odd.

fine aquarium sand should be ok but play sand is also fine to use. Make sure you rinse the sand thoroughly before adding it to the tank. The only thing extra I needed to do with the play sand I purchased was to sift out the larger bits of gravel that was mixed through it. But otherwise it looks great and I have had no issues at all.

I am not sure with your filter. The sand is likely to be kicked around by the axolotls and it is important that you stir up the sand regularly to prevent noxious gas pockets building up so inevitably sand will get under the filter so I don't think you could avoid having sand to some degree in the area of the filter. If you could raise it but it would need to be high enough to not suck the sand up.

Any syphon is fine but just be careful to not syphon too close to your axolotls as there have been cases of axolotls being injured by syphons. But as long as you are careful it should be fine. I just keep an eye on where my axolotls are and work around them and keep the syphon away from them. For sand, I clean it by giving it a good stir up and then I hover the syphon just above the sand surface once it settles to pick up debris but without sucking up the sand.

Some people love sand, some hate it. I like the look, but found it a real nuisance to keep clean. Once of these days I will get some tile, but for now, I have mostly bare-bottom tanks.

When I did have sand, I believe it killed my HOB filter (sucked up and messed up the impeller.) I switched to an Eheim Classic canister filter, which has the intake at the bottom of the canister, and had no problems. Some sand got in, but just settled at the bottom of the canister where it caused no harm.

Skudo09 said:

Hmmm. Maybe post some photos of the sores. Many keepers house their axolotls on bare bottom tanks without issue. It seems a bit odd.

Click to expand...

I'll take better pictures when I get the chance, these were taken in november in his old tank. They are much more noticeable lately though. What could it be from?

If you use sand you should vacuum it once a day. I have 2 small newts 4 to 5 inches. The sand doesn't get kicked around not even if they are mating. It stays on the bottom of my tank . But i only have a 2 sponge filter not much water movement. If you decide to use sand it took me over two days before the water cleared up. After 24 hours i decided to put in that clumping additive. I don't think it helped had to do a full water changes. Glad i didn't have my newts in their. But i would take pictures of your axolot to find out what's up with its feet. I wouldn't think the glass bottom should bother it. Unless he's sliding into things because he cant get traction on the bottom of the tank. Lol

I'll be sure to clean the sand very well with the bucket and water technique before putting it in so it's not all murky. Don't want him getting too stressed out with the dust, and don't want it in my filter either lol.

Canecorsnewt why should I vacuum the sand everyday? If there's no waste or dirt shouldn't I be fine? I did read somewhere that the sand should be replaced every year or so? Or would it just be fine adding more from some getting vacuumed up overtime.

Lsuzuki I'll just have to see if I enjoy it or not, I enjoy cleaning my axy's tank so maybe it'll be added fun for me! Not so fun if my filter breaks though, I'll have to be super careful, maybe I'll put some kind of rock or ornament under the intake to prevent sand getting near it, maybe potted plants could do the trick too.

Didn't catch a good chance to take a better picture of his feet today but I'll share it soon hopefully. He lived on rocks all his life and when I took it out he did seem to have a harder time walking around and propelling up to get air, lots of slipping and sliding. I know black tips mean hes mature, but does it ever go away? He's maybe 4-5 years old now, and the same black marks are on his mouth and some other parts of his body that touch the glass. Would it just be dirt showing the fat/muscle on his hands that make it look like sores? You could say he needs a bath!

You shouldn't have to go to town and clean the sand every day. As long as you clean it during regular water changes (I do weekly water changes), you can spot clean using a turkey baster through the week and just suck up any debris/axie poop as you see it.

A rock or ornament may certainly help so definitely worth trying.

I am puzzled by the feet. They look more like the natural blackening they get on their feet tips but more pronounced and they don't quite look like sores. New photos may help more.

Not the best pictures still but it's what I could get.
In the third image of his foot you can kind of see the red around the black mark.
And he has the black marks on his underside as well.

I went shopping today to look for sand, but wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for..
None of the aquarium sand here said silica sand or said what it's even made of, only the coral ones said coral. Only White-type, powder type, colorado sand. Would It be better to order online? I can't read Japanese well and of course I can't trust any shopkeepers.

I gave him a salt bath today for some white fluff that suddenly grew on his gills. Only did it for 15 minutes like instructed, when I transferred him back to his tank I noticed his hand "sores" were red unlike the pictures I posted before. (sorry these are blurry)

So would these be actual sores from the bare bottom tank or is this normal after salt baths?

Should I continue the bath for tomorrow, should I do a tea bath to sooth his skin afterwards?

And instead of buying sand locally, I'm considering ordering online. Does anyone have any sand recommendations? I'm looking at estes marine sand, I want a natural color as well.

Salt baths are very irritating to the skin so it may have irritated the sores on his feet. Could you post photos of the fungus? For mild fungal infections, good water quality or perhaps a more mild treatment such as Indian almond leaves or a tea bath may have been sufficient to remove the fungus.

It is best to try and work out why there was a fungal infection as these usually occur when there is a breach in the slime coat which could be due to injury or trauma or poor water quality or secondary to another infection. Have you tested the parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH?

There was another thing of white fluff on his left gill that came off during the treatment. Took this photo today, this one actually got worse. Yesterday it was almost completely gone. Probably should've waited to do the treatment but the fluff on his other gill was pretty big I guess I'd say I panicked.

Did the water tests today.

Ammonia: < 0.25mg/l (but very close to 0)
Nitrite: < 0.3 mg/l
I don't have a Nitrate testing kit, can't find liquid ones here and read strips aren't accurate.
Found some kits on ebay that ship to japan so I'll be ordering from there soon.

Ph: Between 7.5 - 8.0, got higher even after a small water change, I'll test my tap next time. It was between 7.0 and 7.5 a couple days ago.
Put in a picture of the tests so you know what I mean, hard to really tell by the colors. (taken in front of my shrimp/fish tank)

I have sand and when I clean my canister filters which isn't very often there is just a bit of sand at the bottom of them. It's only a small amount, sometimes there are some shrimp too so I rescue them back into the tank. The filters should easily catch anything like this before it gets back to the impeller.