Hi! I have this community tank with female betta, neon tetras, some otocinclus, and fire red shrimp. Initially I had all white sand (aqua soil underneath), and loved it, but got tired of sucking waste off the bottom of it every day. I was pretty obsessive about it and would sometimes do a cleanup with a turkey baster multiple times a day because I couldn’t stand the look of it against the white sand. To remedy this, I had the brilliant idea to add a cap of black sand over the white, leaving just the “pathway” you see here. Well, the pathway doesn’t stay clear which is now driving me crazy. AND I didn’t even consider the fact that when I do an actual vacuum, it’s going to be an absolute mess.
The shrimp have already done a number on it in the last few weeks (moving rocks/plants) and I have plans of moving them to their own tank, but I have a few females with eggs so im waiting until that runs its course before I make the move.
Is there anything I can do about this other than rescaping the whole thing? I just rescaped about a month ago and it’s still settling in and really don’t want to do it again.
All suggestions welcome & appreciated!
Posted by Lazy_Concept_9814
19 Comments
I know it might not be what you wanted, but I really like it. Personally I’d let it play out for a while. I really like the mix of sand colors that’s happening. It doesn’t look so pristine as to be unnatural. That being said, I’d you don’t like it, no I think you’d have to re-scape.
No advice but man that is an awesome looking tank
You can also try and add some flow that runs along the path from the filter. That actually kept my beige sand pretty clear of waste when I had it.
It looks great! And you shouldn’t need to gravel vac the sand, at least the white sand. If stuff builds up on the white sand use a long pipette and gently blow away any buildup with it. my tank looks similar and there’s just really no avoiding the sand mixing a little. Still looks awesome! Imo it looks worse when the sand is “perfect”
honestly, before reading your text, i saw this and thought it looked really cool. sorry, not an idea to fix it but it doesn’t look that bad
You’re overthinking it. Nature isn’t perfectly arranged either – it looks great!
get your ocd checked out!
Looks fucking awesome and natural. Don’t play god let nature do its thing and it will turn up more beautiful than before
I just orgasmed over your scape…
I like it, it doesn’t look sterile and boring like some tanks
Maybe some light colored pea gravel on the path to hide the mixing of the sand? I love love this setup though. Well done.
You could try lining the pathway with little pebbles on either side, that should at least reduce the amount of black sand getting in 😊
I think you have to abandon the idea that you can control nature, or that nature can be as neat and tidy as an art installation.
I think you should consider reducing your expectations of what’s “clean” in a natural environment.
I know it’s probably something you feel good about controlling, but it’s not something that is ultimately under your control.
It’s hard for me to make suggestions because I feel like there’s a lot going on psychologically with your distress in this situation, but I’m not going to sit here and armchair diagnose anything.
But I do feel like the answer to this problem is not in the tank, the tank is beautiful and the biosphere is healthy. The answer to your problem is something you need to negotiate with yourself, I think.
Maybe spend some time reflecting on why it’s so important to you that the substrate of your fish tank is visually pristine at all times, to the point it causes you distress if it isn’t. It’s the distress that concerns me, because I sense you are distressed about it and I’m not trying to invalidate that.
The distress is not good, you should be so happy and proud of yourself for this beautiful tank!!
I use a turkey baster for my paths and small corners. Works just as good and you have alot more control. Also, my corys have been keeping my substrate looking clean since I got them. I dont depend on them, but the way they look around in the substrate and fan around when they are after somrthing in the substrate, keeps my sand nice and clean.
Love your setup!
I am just a beginner myself but just a thought… Would lining the sand path with small pebbles help in keeping them separate and neat for longer?
I personally think it looks beautiful like this! Like a natural landslide
Let nature do its thing
First off, the tank looks great!
The only real way to fix your cookies and cream sand is to re-scape unfortunately…
Here’s a tip for if and when (eventually you do) use mesh bags off Amazon and put aqua soil in them before capping with sand so that fine particles don’t bleed upwards as easily. Use darker sand, red-brown to black work well as the finer particles that make it through the mesh look more natural.
If you still want white sand do not put any aqua soil under it (in bags or not it will bleed) edit: only put it where you want plants
Keep in mind that nature is super messy. You’ll never get your tank perfect. You may think you achieved equilibrium and then your plants overgrow or you get a snail explosion. These aquascapes are good for photo shoots unless you have time and patience to maintain. If it’s a question of OCD, I’d drop some light colored gravel onto the pathway. That should solve the mess and sand mixing issues.