Question: Any1 know where i get sand and slate (AU)

[nina89]

I have been having so much trouble finding freshwater sand here in aus and was hoping someone thats been in the same situation may be able to help. I know theres a few aussies on this site and im sure some of you were able to get there hands on some sand. if so plz plz plz tell me there website.

okay so I've had my 2 axies for around 6months, at first i new nothing but thanks to all you guys that make up the axolotl section on caudata i now know plenty. I'm ashamed to admit i'm using gravel.(3mm) its the smallest i could find. I have it so it only covers half the floor of the tank and my axies come to the surface to be fed so it is safe for now. I would put no substrate but i read that it can be stressfull when they have nothing to grip to so i thought a little bit of gravel is better than none.

I jst bought some polished river rocks to replace the gravel. And am now looking at what options are available. If i am unable to find sand i plan to use slate flooring. any info or tips on prep would be great. e.g how long should i leave the tank to sit before the axies go back in? any other ideas and tips are helpfull, thanks

again a big thankyou to everyone for all your help, cheers!

 

[DavidF]

Hi Nina

I bought yellow sand from the hardware store. I'm pretty sure it was washed river sand. What ever sand you get, you'll need to wash the dirt and silt out of it. Put some into a bucket and run the hose until the water runs clear. It is actually a pretty lengthy process but if you put it into your tank without cleaning it properly then your tank's water will go cloudy/muddy.

Good luck

 

[albert]

Nina,

I have used normal 'play sand' fully washed with no ill effects - I am sure such stuff would be available in stores in Aus.

 

[MereB]

I hate to say it but you can get sand pit sand from bunnings. Any landscaping place will happily sell you washed river sand or white sand or play sand and the bags are usually a 20kg minimum but our tank only needed 2/3 of 1 bag... we bought 3 but they were only $4.50 a bag so my boys had fun with the other 2.

Otherwise the more expensive rout is to find a good aquarium store and buy the SAND (not gravel) they sell for aquariums more expensive but they come in such pretty colors as well as the natural looking one :happy: for what it's worth I'd avoid reptile sand as it's usually hydrophobic and VERY dusty.

Whatever you get just make sure your rinse it as described above until the water is more or less clear or all that fine particulate will make your water filthy as well as anything you have in the tank that it settles on

 

[blackdog]

it only covers half the floor of the tank and my axies come to the surface to be fed so it is safe for now. I would put no substrate but i read that it can be stressfull when they have nothing to grip to so i thought a little bit of gravel is better than none.

No, it's not better than none. Please get rid of the 3 mm gravel immediately. If they are a little uncomfortable for a few days with a glass floor, that's one thing - but it wont kill them. 3 mm gravel might.

You go get rid of that gravel now, i'll wait here for you to get back and finish reading this post

Ok, you're back? i bet you feel better now all that killing 3 mm gravel is gone, what a load off your mind.

I jst bought some polished river rocks to replace the gravel.

Only if they are bigger than the axies head. They can be a pain to clean around too i'm told (i havent used them, don't know for sure)

And get rid of the 3 mm gravel, it's not safe.

And am now looking at what options are available. If i am unable to find sand i plan to use slate flooring.

I just used Tahitian moon sand. There is lots of info around this site. Some conflicting reports regardign tahitian moon - some say it screws up the parameters. i was confused about it myself.

I posted here - http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ate/71202-suitability-tahitian-moon-sand.html - to ask about it, and found the brand i bought has been tried and loved by many - i'm now on the tried it and loved it crew.

It is very fine (lots of axie foot prints in it, cool) settles well, has not effected the parameters of the water in any way, and it is a dark, rich black - offsets the colour of my golden albinos prefectly

I bought mine here - Age of Aquariums - CaribSea Instant Aquarium - Tahitian Moon 9kg - good price (be warned, it aint cheap) i used 2 bags for a 92 x 42 x 42 tank.

I cant help you with slate. But i know you should get rid of the 3 mm gravel.

how long should i leave the tank to sit before the axies go back in?

Until it is relatively clear. think of it as smokey room, if you could still see a fair bit of smoke, you probably wouldn't want to spend much time in it.

I found that after a thorough rinsing, the tahitian moon had very little dust, it sank straight away, and my axies could have gone in alomost immediately.

It held a lot of air, and i got a some air bubbles full of sand floating, and a some around the edge of the water level, but that all disappeared after just a couple of days.

I was amazed just how clear the water was in fact. I had made arrangements for my guys to be out of the tank 24 hours or so for the water to clear, with tha tahithan moon, i needn't have bothered

And of course, get rid of the 3 mm gravel.

any other ideas and tips are helpful

personally, i wouldn't bother with cheap sand from bunnings. You have to wash it too much, too much dust. Unknown elements in it. It could have metals in it. ok, it's cheap and easy, but.... just not the way i'd go.

oh, and did i mention get rid of that 3 mm gravel?

Bren

 

[nina89]

@blackdog, yes im quite sure you did mention it a couple of times, im at work at the moment but as soon as im home i promise you they will be out of there. Also the river rocks are perfect size, my axies are over 20cm and there still bigger than there heads.

I knew bunnings had play sand but i thought if was unsafe. I dont mind the cleaning considering its so hard to find sand but i dont want to risk it.
I was wondering if i set it up in my new tank with the new sand first and test it for the next couple of weeks, if all readings stayed normal would that mean it hasn't contaminated the water and brought something bad with it?