struggle

My axies seem to have a real struggle getting over the slate and large pebbles I have in my tank. I tend leave a patch of bare floor in my tank and that is the place that they tend to choose to sit (unless I get new plants then they tend to climb up and sit in the weeds ). I'm thinking that to combat this problem I'm going to put in a sand substrate so its flatter for them and space out the slate like stepping stones. However here is my dilemma, Im unsure of how much sand I should put in the tank. The guy at the fish shop said that I only needed enough to cover the floor, but I was going to put in about an inch can any one help??? Thanks, Hannie x

hanniebumblebee said:

However here is my dilemma, Im unsure of how much sand I should put in the tank. The guy at the fish shop said that I only needed enough to cover the floor, but I was going to put in about an inch can any one help??? Thanks, Hannie x

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Hi Hannie,

The less depth of sand the better and I agree that one only needs enough sand to cover the floor.

An inch of sand is fine, I wouldn't make it any deeper though. Having very deep sand runs the risk of gas pockets developing which will foul your water if disturbed.

With using slate I think you've got the advantage that the structure will be secure no matter how much sand is at the base. I think you will be able to utilize less than an inch of sand with ease.

Running the syphon through the sand while doing 'spot cleans' and water changes will help prevent the gas building up under the surface.

I personally have a centimeter of sand depth at most in my tanks and this is enough to enbed large support rocks for the caves and gives the axies enough sand to snuffle, dig, root through and walk on.

We're looking forward to seeing pictures of your design when complete!

Hi there. I have set up my tank and got my sand the other day. i bought 3 bags of 8kg sand and only needed 2 bags to fill the bottom of my 200l tank nicely. i would say it is probably around 1 inch thick which i think is a nice depth.

Claire