Ive never had sand yet in an aquarium but thats fixing to change real soon ..Is there any tips or anything i should be warned about? I do have a canister filter so what can i do to prevent the sand from getting sucked up in it?

Get a pre-filter (basically a large sponge I use car wash sponges) on your intake to prevent sand from getting into the filter. Be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse and when your done rinse again!

I rinse my sand in a 5gl bucket. Fill it half way and stick a water hose in it and tilt the bucket and rinse till the water comes out clear(swirl the hose around and get creative with enough water pressure to get the impurities out). Also its best to unplug your filter for about 2hrs till the sand settles at the bottom(this would be a good time to clean your filter if needed) and thats what i do to all my 12 tanks. Also, KMX posted a video of "how to clean your sand" some where, I'll try and find it. If you do this you wont need a prefilter, I have HOB's and canister's and neverf had a problem.

Its easier to add the sand(after cleaning) then the water and a few hours later the filter.

ok sounds good...One thing i will never get again is colored gravel the paint evenually comes off and though its never bothered my fish that i know of it definalty dont help them any

If you use pool filter sand be sure to strain it and get the big rocks out cause this will scratch your glass big time

Depending on how deep your bed is, the pre-filter is definately a plus.

Stir up the sand bed when you do water changes. I use a bamboo skewer or chop stick. This will help break up anything that is sitting on the top of the bed as well as keep it aerated. Depending on your stocking, you can achieve the same thing with MTS, loaches and cories just to name a few.

To remove the detritus that sits on top, don't use the gravel vac. Instead, just use the hose. You will be able to cover more ground, remove more gunk without removing a ton of water.

sand will give u bad lines of dirt alone the glass.......donty know about u but it annoyed me till it was removed from my tank

I agree with above - I have sand in all my tanks now, and prefer it. I use a chopstick to keep it stirred, and that is especially true along the edge of the glass.

One thing to keep in mind about sand is that you only need a very thin layer, unless you are keeping plants or fish species that dig or make sand beds for spawning. A thick sand substrate makes maintenance harder and is not necessary. I try to use only enough to cover the bottom without it showing through.

Lesley Pool supply. 50 pound bags are cheap and are large grain which stays on the bottom even if the fish sift. Beach sand is sold at some fish stores stay away this is small grain and is murder on filters. I use no prefilters but I keep all filter intakes about 4 inches off the bottom. No problems with impellers ever. Sand is the best substrate IMO no gravel vac needed everything stays on the surface. Do stir occasionally though like posted above.

Quarter inch! C'mon - live on the edge.... (saves money on sand, too!)