I have about 100 lbs. of old Southdown sand from an old DSB set-up! I placed all the old SD in a spare 35 gal tank with just a small canister filter & kept the SG around 1.021 just to keep things alive! I don’t plan to re-use the SD for any more of my SW tanks. However I’m thinking of setting up a planted African cichlid tank, Can the SD be reused for a planted tank? And will any of the bacteria survive a slow switch from SW to FW?
Southdown sand for planted tank
- Thread starter dwall174
- Start date
The bacteria is not the issue.
The reason we use southdown in salt tanks is do to the grain size for the bacteria plus it is calcium carbonate based and therefore provides calcium carbonate to the salt tanks.
At FW ph values it should act much like a calcium reactor and basically become a solid mass over time.
My gut feel is to use silica based sand.
I also hear the planted African cichlid tanks can be a challenge as the cichlids eat the plants.
perhaps others can help here.
Bob
The reason we use southdown in salt tanks is do to the grain size for the bacteria plus it is calcium carbonate based and therefore provides calcium carbonate to the salt tanks.
At FW ph values it should act much like a calcium reactor and basically become a solid mass over time.
My gut feel is to use silica based sand.
I also hear the planted African cichlid tanks can be a challenge as the cichlids eat the plants.
perhaps others can help here.
Bob
Well the African Cichlids like a higher PH around 8.0 so that may not be a problem!beaslbob":2jl3351p said:
Whats the fun of it if there's not a challenge!beaslbob":2jl3351p said:
My main reason for using the SD besides the fact that I have it anyway! Is to help as a buffer for the higher PH the African Cichlids like? I have read that a lot of people use crushed coral in their African tanks to help with the PH, I just figured that the SD would also help?
Sounds good to me!beaslbob":jm7nt8fq said:
I'm also a believer in letting a tank balance its self out! I have a 45 gal tank with angels & silver dollars that's going on 5 years with the same fish. It’s not what I would call a planted tank, However I buy a couple amazon swords for it every couple of months! Yea the fish eat the plants mainly the silver dollars, However I feel that it helps out the tank in the long run.
I think the challenging part will be finding the right type of plants that will tolerate the higher PH & harder water! From what I have read about the African Cichlids they like a PH around 8.5 & dKH of around 12! Almost like saltwater but without the salt. 8O
Most plants will grow well in hard water, it's the cichlids you need to worry about. Anubias and java ferns are popular in such tanks. Southdown is perfect for such a tank as it will help raise hardness, it's used by many african cichlid keepers. Here's a tank my friend setup which I think is somewhat similar to what you may be looking to do:
http://www.greenstouch.com/africanlakes.htm
Hope that helps
Giancarlo
http://www.greenstouch.com/africanlakes.htm
Hope that helps
Giancarlo
Thanks and very interesting.
BTW I don't know if he mentioned it or not but that rock looks exactly like the limestone rock being quarried here for $20/ton. I loaded up a trunkfull before they told my I couldn't. then they didn't even charge me for that.
One rock in a FW planted tank was turning almost totally white and may have even been dissolving.
BTW I don't know if he mentioned it or not but that rock looks exactly like the limestone rock being quarried here for $20/ton. I loaded up a trunkfull before they told my I couldn't. then they didn't even charge me for that.
One rock in a FW planted tank was turning almost totally white and may have even been dissolving.
Thanks for the link Giancarlo!!!
That brings up another question! What types of rocks are best to use for an African tank? I have a bunch of flagstone & bluestone that I have leftover from making a landscape border & I was thinking of & using some of that? Of course scrubbing & boiling it first to make sure it’s good & clean!
Actually Jay and I picked up a bunch of rocks under a highway bridge a few months back, it was a weird place to get rocks but were a great addition to our tanks. Although I believe this tank was setup prior to that filed trip so I'm not sure where he got them from. But seeing with such a tank it doesn't really matter if they contain calcium you have a lot to choose from.
Giancarlo
Giancarlo
doublette":1p10gk6y said:
crypts as a general rule prefer soft acidic water
the whole mbuna group will destroy plants very quickly, and the haplochromines will dig 'em out
aulonocaras (peacocks) should do very well w/plants, as should the julidochromis families
anubias barteri, coffeefolia, lanceolata, and nana, should do very well, and can also tolerate the occasional uprooting-their leaves are relatively thick and waxy, and grow from a rhizome, so a substrate isn't even necessary, they can be tied to rocks w/monofilament-their only drawback is their slow (relatively) growth rate
hth
It won't get that hard on you, I asked my friend who is using southdown in his cichlid tank and he still needs to add baking soda to keep the right hardness. I would think once the PH reaches 8 or so it's not going to dissolve any more carbonates from the sand.
Hope that helps
Giancarlo
Hope that helps
Giancarlo
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
