One of the most common varieties of aquarium soil is coarse sand. Its popularity is due to the fact that it not only carries an aesthetic load, but also serves as a nutrient substrate for underwater vegetation. After reading the article, you will learn about the main features of this material.
Existing varieties
Modern pet stores offer a wide range of such products, so fish lovers have the opportunity to choose the most suitable option. Today, you can purchase several types of aquarium sand, including quartz and river.
In addition, on sale you can find the so-called aragonite. It is an unusually spectacular natural material of white color, obtained from shells of mollusks and fragments of coral. Its main value lies in the ability to automatically maintain the normal acidity of seawater. In the process of dissolution of aragonite, a high concentration of strontium, magnesium and calcium enters the aquarium.
Another, quite popular variety of soil is black sand. The composition of this material contains the smallest grains of heavy minerals. This sand has no effect on the hardness of the aquarium water. It appears due to the natural leaching of light light rocks.
The main advantages and disadvantages of such a soil
It should be noted that coarse sand, often used as an aquarium substrate, contributes to the creation of favorable living conditions for fish. The use of this soil allows you to recreate the environment as close to natural.
In addition, this material greatly facilitates the process of cleaning the bottom of the aquarium, protecting the substrate from the penetration of organic waste. Coarse sand also contributes to better rooting of algae. Plus, it provides great softness to the water. It is also important that many fish love to dig in loose soil, located at the bottom of the aquarium.
Before backfilling such soil, it must undergo preliminary treatment. As a rule, it boils down to a rather long rinse with clean water. Due to the fact that all trash will float to the surface, you will often have to clean the aquarium. In addition, when choosing a substrate, it should be borne in mind that some of its varieties affect the chemical characteristics of water.
What requirements should the sand meet?
River coarse-grained substrate should be approximately the same size. Otherwise, you will not be able to avoid caking. It is important that the diameter of the grains is more than one and a half centimeters. Smaller grains of sand will slow down the metabolic processes that take place in the ground. As a result of this, acidification of the substrate or rotting of the roots of aquatic plants can occur.
It is very important that the coarse sand you choose is safe for the inhabitants of the aquarium. In addition, many experts recommend acquiring dark soil, because the fish become less expressive against the background of a spectacular white substrate.
How to disinfect natural material?
It should be understood that coarse sand obtained from a quarry or from a natural reservoir is subject to mandatory processing. This will protect the inhabitants of your aquarium from pathogenic microflora. To date, several methods of disinfection are known. This can be done by burning sand in the oven.
Water and potassium permanganate are added to a bucket filled with natural material. This must be done until the liquid acquires a dark red hue. After forty-eight hours, the contents of the bucket must be washed under running running water.
Useful Tips
Do not use any natural substrate in the aquarium that releases various soluble substances into the water. Such soils cannot fully replace coarse sand. There should be enough plants in the aquarium so that they provide a comfortable existence to other inhabitants, but they may not be satisfied with shell rock or marble, which is at the bottom. The fact is that the composition of these minerals contains a large amount of calcium carbonate, which dissolves over time in a mildly acidic environment and increases the hardness of water.
In the process of cleaning the substrate, you must act with extreme caution. Otherwise, there is a risk of unintentional destruction of the colony of beneficial microorganisms, as a result of which a sharp increase in the concentration of nitrites and ammonia in aquarium water can occur.
It is important that the size of the sand is commensurate with the parameters of the fish. In modern practice, there are cases when the inhabitants of the aquarium swallowed too small particles of the substrate.
If you plan to breed not only fish, but also algae, then when laying the soil it is recommended to add fertilizers necessary for normal plant life to it.