play sand?

[bsmall05]

could i use regular play sand to add to my substrate or do i have to buy aquarium sand? i already have 5lbs of aquarium sand but i want to make it thicker (the 5lbs didnt add up to a whole inch after rinsing). my dad has a bag of play sand at home and i was curious about using it. thanks for the input!

 

[nealio]

for fresh or saltwater?

 

[bsmall05]

freshwater 10g tank

 

[f8fan]

Yup, a lot of people here use playsand for a substrate. It's a pain in the you-know-what to rinse, but it works really well.

 

[bsmall05]

thanks f8fan! now i just need to figure out where to put the fishies while im rearanging things!

 

[FishGeek]

Hey Kelly I have a Bone to pick with you But anyway. I have Playsand in both of my FW tanks. The key is rinse it (I use hot water, not sure if it matters) and rinse it and rinse it and...well you get the idea. LOL. Put the sand in the tank. Fill it up half way with water and then drain it again. Keep doing that till its fairly clear. Then just let it sit ans settle.

 

[echoofformless]

Use Quikrete Medium Sand. $5 for fifty pounds at Lowe's or Home Despot. Needs no rinsing - it is already kiln sterilized, rinsed and screened. And the grains are larger than play sand so you get no filter clogging or compacted sand bed issues. Plus it's a little darker so it looks nicer IMO.

 

[bsmall05]

thanks for the tip echo, i will definatly look into that!

 

[Big Vine]

Use Quikrete Medium Sand.

echo,

Do you have a picture of this in your tanks?
I'm just curious...trying to get ideas for a new setup, and may consider using this stuff if I like the looks of it. Seems like a good deal for only $5.00

Big Vine

 

[PlecoCollector]

For the play sand; I didn't have a very large tank to fill, so I took a large bucket outside, filled it 3/4 with sand, then rinsed it with a hose. To do so, I filled the bucket with water, moved the sand around with my hands, then dumped the dirty water off the top. I repeated this at least 10 times, and when I eventually put it in my tank, the water was clear in less than 15 minutes.
Keep in mind that sand can be difficult to clean, since syphons just suck it up and that waste collects on the top, dirtying the color. After awhile, I wasn't a fan and changed it out for fine gravel. Just my experience, I know quite a few people like it

 

[fish_chic]

echo,

Do you have a picture of this in your tanks?
I'm just curious...trying to get ideas for a new setup, and may consider using this stuff if I like the looks of it. Seems like a good deal for only $5.00

Big Vine

yeah echo i would love to see a pic of your tanks with this sand. i am trying to see if i like the sand thing or should just go with fine gravel. (if you don't mind sharing)