best sand

[cappa565]

hey guys, wanting to put some sand in my tank for my geophargus topajo to sift around!! whats the best sand to put in thats not gona harm the fish and affect water quality?

 

[Brookster123]

Pool filter sand.

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[gilpi]

Yeap, pool filter sand. Fifty lbs bag for about 12 bucks at your nearest pool supply store.

 

[TMaier]

I just got garnet sand! $16 lbs. places that sell blast media or water filtration media is where I found it. Online shipping is too $$$.

 

[cappa565]

thanks guys, ive been looking it up on the net and so many different people saying different things!! really dont wanna harm my fish!! is there a process i should go through to get the sand ready or just heavily rinse it

 

[Ingy]

Garnet (sand blasting media) and quartz (pool filter sand) are both silica based minerals. What does that mean? Nothing more than the fact that glass is also a silica based mineral. None of them are going to leach silica into the water coloum unless your water becomes extremely acidic (i.e. melt you hand and steel acidic).
So if you want a sand substrate, pick whichever catches your eye. Play sand is also granite based normally (the grey stuff), just smaller than PFS in size, and much dirtier. The small size means it may blow around in the aquarium if your filter flow is too high.
PFS needs very little if any rinsing as it is pre-rinsed (hey, its supposed to clean water right), Sand blasting media needs more, and play sand needs lots.

BTW I have PFS from the local hardware store in my tank.

 

[GuppyGuy333]

well i use national geographic brand black sand and i love it.
i don't know about your fish specifically but I know it doesn't hurt the barbels on my corydoras and doesn't harm my soft-bodied corydoras.

 

[kmny34]

My red head tapahos love the pool filter sand that I use. I got a 50 lb bag for $10 at Menards.

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[FlakRiot]

I have used 2/16 sand from the pet shop near me it looks like play sand and I have used the national geographic sand. Just rinse your sand well or you will end up with cloudy water for a few days. I wanted to do the bright orange sand because it was just so offensive to my eyes I couldn't look away but then I realized I would probably be changing it out after a week. They also had purple which was cool. Just get whatever you will enjoy looking at. Try to avoid really fine sand, the kind that is like a powder (it's the kind they sell for hermit crabs and such), you have to stir that up regularly to avoid anaerobic bacteria. From what I have read they can create hydrogen sulfide which can kill off your tank.

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[cappa565]

I have used 2/16 sand from the pet shop near me it looks like play sand and I have used the national geographic sand. Just rinse your sand well or you will end up with cloudy water for a few days. I wanted to do the bright orange sand because it was just so offensive to my eyes I couldn't look away but then I realized I would probably be changing it out after a week. They also had purple which was cool. Just get whatever you will enjoy looking at. Try to avoid really fine sand, the kind that is like a powder (it's the kind they sell for hermit crabs and such), you have to stir that up regularly to avoid anaerobic bacteria. From what I have read they can create hydrogen sulfide which can kill off your tank.

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i just bought some aquarium sand!! i washed it for.maybe an hour, didnt cloud water and fish seem to love it!!

 

[FlakRiot]

Nice!

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[ElanaJoy]

Hi guys. Just came across this trying to do some research. Everything I had read about PFS is that it would have no effect on my water... I went to Leslies poll, got a big bag, and changed out my gravel. Well, don't you know, my ph kept creeping up. I did a little test in a vase with a scoop of sand and low PH poland spring water, and sure enough, it was raising the PH. Now, I did use the sand I had scooped out of my aquarium. Phase 2 is to go get a scoop of the dry sand from the bag, because perhaps there were buffers already in the aquarium sand. I had rinsed it with my high PH well water before placing in aquarium... I will try to remember to post the results!

 

[ElanaJoy]

Hmmm, I think I may have been to quick to blame the PFS, I just did a half hour experiment and saw the water creeps up with or without the sand...

 

[TMaier]

Not all PFS is the same. What type is it? I used 100% quartz.