I would like sand in my tank....

EEVEE84

EEVEE84

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Hi all!
Currently Klaus is on 'bare bottom' with a couple of big stones but I'd rather have sand in there as I've read it's best and axies love to play in it 'alotl' ;). My question is how can I get the sand in the tank without taking Klaus out (is it even possible)? What sand to use (I live in UK so where and what should I get and for how much?). Also how to prep the sand before adding it? Is the method of putting it in the bucket and running water untill the sand settles and only clear water will b overflowing the best and only option?

I get some wierd sediment on the bottom of my tank to. It's like pale ivory sand but sometimes in clumps. What is it? I suck it up with turkey baster and syphon when cleaning.

I'm in the middle of establishing a cycle to and using tetra aqua safe for water and I used to use waterlife bacterlife friendly bacteria but then was told it's unnecessary so stopped. Also using tetra NH3/NH4+ test. My readings r up to 0.25 but mostly light yellow now and I'm doing water changes every day (my back hurts) ;)
 
You can go to a pet shop and get aquarium sand or get non-toxic play sand from Argos or toy shops

Aquarium sand is quite epensive but wont contain any clay , where as play sand will contain clay (which will need to be washed out ) but is really cheap.

You can add a handful of sand a day to your tank but away from the Axolotl

The things in your tank will get coverd in sand so you will need to move them about a bit after a few days
 
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If you are in the UK and not Poland, I'd recommend the Argos play sand (assuming it is all the same).

I washed mine with a hose - but I can imagine you could do it in a bucket in a sink with a tap if you keep it moving.

I was refilling the garden pond at the time so I didnt mind about the time - I got quite fascinated by the changing nature of sand with water flowing through it.

But it seemed quite clean - and if you get it clean then I dont think it will be a problem to add it a bit at a time. Don't imagine it will create great whirls of dust. I was surprised just how quickly it settles to clear.
 
i originally cleaned my sand in the bath
 
You can add the sand with the axolotls in the tank. turn off all things that can stir the water up, get a bowl or cup, scoop up sand, slowly let the tank water fill the bowl/cup at the surface, move the bowl/cup carefully to the bottom of the tank, pour the sand out, repeat!

It creates less mess as far as things needing to settle and the careful movements wont scare the axolotl. This is how I added sand and it worked out fine :)
 
Thanks for that :) I shall try the cup method soon. Klaus is getting big now and is getting used to wierd stuff moving around him (he used to freak out when I was using syphon or baster but now he let's me clean at a reasonable distance by just moving away with disgust ;) ) so maby cup won't freak him out too much :)

Does the sand need to be wet and straight after 'wash' so it drops down immediately? What about when washing it in the bucket? I understand I'm washing it in tap water which means chlorine and other nasty stuff being added to the sand?

Also can anybody tell me what is that residue/sediment at the bottom of my tank in different places? It looks like dirty White sand clumps
 
The white stuff could come from your big rocks, I'm not very fond of them even though people cook em up.
They tend to release lots of minerals and calcium into the water, even when you think they are perfectly clean this can still settle at the bottom.
I don't know for sure if thats whats happening in your case, but it's a possibility
 
Yeah! That could be it as there's nothing else that could 'produce' that and it is mostly around rocks. I also thought it's sthg from the water? Is it dangerous to lotls?
 
So what about when washing the sand in the bucket under tap...isn't that adding chlorine to the sand?
 
Wash the sand, add it while wet, and then add a water treatment. The amount of tap water still in the sand won't really add much to the tank. A little conditioner will take care of anything. When I do water change, I treat the water in tank and have never had any issues and that's a lot more water than what is in the sand :)
 
Rocks do sound a bit suspicious, I'd take them out to be safe. Adding my voice to the 'I love Argos play sand'.
I washed my sand in tap water, didn't even think about chlorine, and it was fine. Add a load of dechlorinator straight to the tank if you can do that, if you like.
 
My rocks are much much bigger than Klaus' head but I think sand would look and feel much more cozy for him :) haven't looked at Argos play sand but asked my friendly reptile shop and the lady said that the amount of sand I'd need for my tank would cost about £5. I'm still cycling my tank so I'm procrastinating the 'sand in a tank' project as I'm afraid to mess up :/ once I get it though I'll remove most of the stones and leave only a couple of huge ones. Thanks for the tip about chlorine in the sand and 'cup method' :)
 
My tank is only 54L. How thick the sand layer should be? Can I mess stuff up seriousely when adding sand (using wet washed sand and a method described above?) I mean can it get seriousely wrong? Sorry but I'm wert careful and worrying axolotl mummy :p
 
A 15 kg bag should be fine for a 4ft as the sand shouldn't be very deep. Any deeper than around 1" and gas can build up in it which discolours the sand and can kill an axie.
 
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