sand with catfish?

[fishfreaks]

what do you think? im tired of all the crap in the gravel..i was thinking it wouldnt be a good idea since our one catfish tends to dig under the ornaments. i thought maybe that would stir up the sand too much? also we have a hot magnum on the tank, if we could use sand, would we have to change the filter?

[Fishnut2]

I use ALL bare-bottom tanks...but that is my preference. It's definitely NOT the only way they'll breed. I feel that sand/gravel/or BB is a personal choice. It depends a lot on what you want to accomplish (easy maintenance/plants/show tank)

[Osiris]

They will like the sand, dig themselves homes as well, nothing more then a pleco would. They'll like it!

[fishfreaks]

cool, thanks! i just thought they would stir up too much sand when digging. do we need any special pump? we currently have a HOT magnum on there.

[Osiris]

hmm no, i never bothered with prefilters like some suggest on filters haven't had any problems with impellars for couple years now, should be good but if running the micron cartridge may want to remove that and use the media basket and shove it full of blue fiber stuff from marineland since sand will clog that micron cartridge in 24-36hrs

[fishfreaks]

we have the media containers already on there, not the micron cartridge, although we always have used the white cotton. ive never seen the "blue fiber stuff" at my lfs so ill check the net.

[fishfreaks]

alright, here is what ive found so far, im not exactly sure what your talking about. http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products.../Itemdy00.aspx

editr these? http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/...id1=1965;pcid2=

[Osiris]

yea the blue bonded stuff is it, doesnt clog as quickly. But does the job well.

[fishfreaks]

oh ok, thanks is it like the regular foam sleeve? just slides over the media container?

[Osiris]

yea u can get those are the "cut to fit" ones that is what iw as talking about to place inthe media basket or u could use the wrap outside ones sleeves and keep the white cotton stuff inside.

[Orbital]

I have aragonite sand in my 75 gallon that houses cichlids and 5 synodontis type catfish. No probs what so ever. HOB filters will probably need a pre-filter if you have the intakes lower, just in case.

Something like these:

[fishfreaks]

does that sponge go on the intake orbital?

[Orbital]

Yepper, thats the main purpose of the prefilter. Does not allow sand and larger particles to get into the filter. Also adds some extra media for the good bacteria.

[fishfreaks]

oh ok great! thanks

[euRasian32]

You should be okay with the HOT on the 55, assuming that your intake hangs down less than half way. If the intake is close to the bottom the prefilter is the way to go. If you buy "aquarium sand" the cat won't cause too much problems sifting through it. If you go with "sandbox play" sand then just make sure you rinse well. Even after rinsing thoroughly, the particles are still smaller than aquarium sand and will take a moment to settle, thus allowing the intake to suck up unsettled sand.

A heads up tho, get a separate net to scoop out the poop that will rest on the top of the sand and in corners. My fish is only five inches but you'd think it was fully mature after scooping poop every other day. Or you can sweep the top layer if you so desire.

[fishfreaks]

thanks for the info. the intake is about 3 inches away from the gravel, but i can fix that no problem. i will probably just go with the prefilter. how much sand do you think well need for a 29 gallon?