Mighty sand of Frustration!!!

hi allll....

just set up another tank and decided to go with sand for the substrate, as i know how difficult and annoying it is to clean with stones.

I filled a clean bucket half way with new play sand, took it out side and blasted it with the hose, over and over again, maybe 10 times or more.

I put about an inch of sand in the bottom of the tank and started to fill with water, ...... yet it was still cloudy. i turned the filter on and left it over night. STILL cloudy.

ive read plenty of threads about sand ect...but im just frustrated that there has been no progress...it hasnt even cleared up a little bit. i expect it to be cloudy for maybe a couple more days, and then maybe it might settle, ....

BUT my problem is, ... when the sand is stirred up, say by an axolotl trudging along, wont that make the water cloudy again......

I chose sand, because i've read so much about how easy it makes cleaning, and personally i believe it looks better....but i definetly dont want it, if its gunna be so frustrating...

PLEASE ADVICE, HELP, ANYTHING to reassure me i've made a good choice and that the Mighty Sand of Frustration can be slayed some how LOL

BTW: eventually after a few weeks of cycling, i hope to add my adult axies to this tank, and have my other tank prepared for juvies....obviously i wont add anything to this tank until its perfect...

oh yeh...and one more thing

doing a complete clean.if the need be...will i have to deal with the whole cloudy waters thing, allll over again.....?

any one, that has had the same problem, or knows what i should do plzzzzzzzz, ....advice, .....ALLL COMMENTS WELCOME.

I really think it will settle after a couple of days. It is more of an aesthetic problem and shouldn't be too much of a worry.

It will take a few days for it to completely settle. Also, you'll probably want to turn off your filter during this time to prevent damage to it from the sand particles plus it allows the sand to settle quicker. Once the sand settles it usually stays settled. Axies trudging along won't kick it up and cleaning the tank only makes it cloudy for a few minutes.

soooooo relieved.......i went and had a look at it, ..and sure enough..it wasnt as foggy as before....
also, i turned my filter off this morning, cuz it didnt really seem to be helping anyway, and i certainly dont wanna ruin it.
Quick question though, how come when you clean it out, for a second or third time and the sand gets moved and agitated, it usually settles like in a few minutes (just curious).... but anywho thanx for the great advice!

:happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy:

When I rinsed my sand, I ended up doing two batches at 20 times rinsing each :O
It was still cloudy but cleared very quickly.

WOAH 20 TIMES!!....i spose that would have taken a while....but it sounds better to spend hours cleaning the sand, instead of waiting days for it to clear up, ..thanks for ur comment

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Not a problem =]

It was only a small amount of sand that was washed, but it cleared very quickly!

What kind of sand did you use? In my experience, pool sand works MUCH better than play sand. I use pool sand in a couple tanks with fish that dig in it and it doesn't make a mess at all.

Hi .. I have just changed to sand from stones for my axoltls tank and I bought a bag of aquarium sand. I washed it a few times, but even with the first wash it looked clean. When I first put it in the bucket to clean some floated on the surface. But after the cleaning, when I put it in the tank I settled really quickly. I find it so much easier to keep the bottom of the tank clean. Hope this helps.

rnocera said:

What kind of sand did you use? In my experience, pool sand works MUCH better than play sand. I use pool sand in a couple tanks with fish that dig in it and it doesn't make a mess at all.

Click to expand...

do you mean pool filter sand?

Is sand realy the perfured substrate for Axolotls? Cause it is so easy to clean? Can you still use an aquarium siphon with sand?

Sorry not to have advice just more questions :/

With a barebottom tank, the axolotls seem to slip and slide around making moving around a bit hard for them, with sand they can get a grip on something and walk around normally.

It is a bit hard to clean. I use my siphon and hold it just above the sand and it does the trick. If you put it into the sand like you would with gravel you'll most likely end up with a bucket of sand instead of water.

I find sand so much more attractive than barebottomed and easyer for the axolotl but some may say otherwise =]

Not a problem, this site is for learning =] I'm sure many others will benefit from the answer of the question your asking.

Thank You so Much =] Everyone on this site has been super helpful.
I was also wondering, this may sound extremly stupid, is it unsafe to use marbles with the sand?
This is purly for asthetics, I'm planning a cupcake themed tank decore and want to use pink sand with some scattered pastel marbles. I read somewhere that they used all marbles but switched to sand. I was just wondering if this would be harmful to my future Axolotl?

Once again thanks so much - Stone

I would say no to marbles. At some point your axolotl will try to eat them. This could be very dangerous. Mel

How big should something be for them to be unable to swallow?

A good rule of thumb is to use anything that is larger than the axolotls head.

Thank you =]
I know someone who blows glass and I might have him make some custom pink marble things for my tank lol yes I am obsessed, and was wondering how big they should be as I have not kept an axolotl and I'm not exactly sure how large their heads are.

LOL, your not alone with the axolotl obsession!!!!

as to the size of the 'noggan' on an axolotl it really depends on its age and size , a typical full grown adult axie, which is approx. about 22-25cm or even as big as 30cm long will have a head size of about 6-9cm wide....but honestly it really depends, cuz females have wider heads then males...

why dont you check out some pics of axies to get an idea of head-body ratio, ....it might give you a better idea...

also........THANX everyone who commented!!!! your all so helpful with giving answers to questions that apply to so many!!!!!!

Also Stone, I think you cupcake theme idea for your axies tank is a brilliant idea!, it would look awesome for an albino axie with pretty pink frilled gills!!

I'm setting up a new tank now with a Star Wars theme, and in a couple of weeks im adopting a black axie and calling it darth VADER!!!!!!! LOL, NERDDD!!!