live sand help for fresh water tank. is it possible?

Question

I have a 30 gallon freshwater tank that is already established. i have about 20 fish total in side all doing very well.
my question is if it is possible for me to change the gravel that i have to live sand or is it only for saltwater? and if it is possible for fresh water will that possibly kill my fish from the change?

Answer 1

Don't put sand in freshwater. Not only will the "live" part die, but it is too difficult to clean and can get in the fishes' gills and act like little shards of glass and cut their gills, causing infections and possibly death. Stick with the gravel. You can find fine gravel that resembles volcanic sand beaches if you want to go for that look.

Answer 2

All that "live" sand usually contains is beneficial bacteria that take part in the nitrogen cycle - converting ammonia and nitrite to nitrate. If you have an established freshwater tank, you have bacteria in your gravel that are performing the same function already

There really isn't any need for you to add any this. True "sand" is hard to clean, and if what you get is made of crushed shell (as most marine substrates are), you run the risk of having it change you pH - the shell is to keep the pH of saltwater from going below 8.0). You also risk adding something to the tank you wouldn't want. I was in a Petco earlier today and saw a stack of "live sand" with cyanobacteria ("red slime algae") living in it!

Answer 3

Live Sand is for Saltwater fish, It generally has a bit of water in the bag, and it's saltwater. So putting it in your tank will increase the salt content.. if you you sensative fish it could kill them.

You can put sand in your freshwater tank.. but don't use the stuff labeled "Live Sand"
I personlly think live sand is nice looking in both Salt and Fresh. The only think with sand is that it's light, so it can cause a cleaning issue.
Usually in a Salt tank you would have startfish and snails to sift the sand and clean it of ditritus. I don't believe fresh water snails will do that. So you will need something like Ghost or Peppermint shrimp for freshwater.

Answer 4

While live sand CAN be used in cycling a fresh water aquarium I have to agree with Copperhead again here. Why? If your tank is already established? If you are just looking for a sand bottom, there are really no benefits for adding live sand vs. regular sand to your established tank.

Also, Crabs and squirts can live for months in bags of Live sand. Even thru the introduction of fresh water. Including algaes.

Your PH is the factor here. Some live sands contain more ground shells adding to the calcium and perhaps altering your PH.

If you just want to change your tanks gravel, use regular sand that is washed.

As mentioned, it is more difficult in a fresh water environment to clean sice the fish waste is different than that of salt water fish. If you must go with sand, I would suggest a larger grit, for easier cleaning.

Good luck and I would go with regular sand not live sand.

Answer 5

no you should not use live sand.

changing your gravel in general should not kill your fish though. Just remember that a lot of your nitrifying bacteria are thought to accumulate on it.

So either change it gradually, one segment of tank at a time...or keep some of it, put in some tights/hosiery and stick it back in the tank for a while after the change, so that you don't lose your cycle.

Answer 6

you can not use live sand for fresh water tanks. But you can use beach sand so i have seen on this site but I herd it was a pain in the a$$ to clean.

Answer 7

Live sand is generally for saltwater. They are fine granual substrates for freshwater, but I would just use the regular type.