Sand switch/mix

[cglover226]

right now i have very fine sand in my tank... it ends up getting blown around so that there are empty spots in some places and mountains in others.. i tried to angle the powerheads differently but i want flow throughout the eintire tank- top and bottom... can i try switching out the sand with a heavier thicker grain of sand or mix both?

 

[natclanwy]

I also use very fine sand, grains are much smaller than sugar granules. I currently have about 2600gph of flow in my tank and good flow from top to bottom and through my LR and my sand doesn't move. It is a fine line though between moving and not, if I get a snail that decides to park on the sand bed too long I get a sand dune as soon as it moves the the sand goes back to normal. When you first position your powerheads it will move your sand there is no getting away from that, you want to aim them so that it doesn't dig large holes. Once you aim them wait a day or so before you move them again and see where the sand settles out to if they are still digging an unacceptably large hole then move the culprit PH to a slightly different angle and leave the others alone.
I think I am suffering from diarrhea of the keyboard

 

[snakeblitz33]

I've had all sorts of substrates over the years. One of my most favorite is sugar sized sand. Of course, you will have to have flow over the substrate, but you don't have to blast a powerhead on it. What I would do is put a low flow powerhead at the top of the tank and angle it down to the substrate. The flow isn't that great, but it will move any detritus from the area.
Good luck!