Best Sand Substrate

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ironhulkthordad

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 26, 2015
Messages
30
Ok so I have to get some sand for my 80 gallon. It is 24x48x16. I am going to need about 200 lbs of sand.

I saw online doing alot of research many different opinions from people. Especially about not getting aquarium sand. Alot of posts people replied too said that the pockets in play or pool sand can be dug up even in the slightest which will create a gas and kill your fish / tank.

I have done a 30 gallon tank with play sand and a 65 gallon with expensive sand. I've heard people say pool sand. I am not sure what I should go with cause this tank is going to be a long term permanent tank. I am hoping to do a nice white sand this time.

Any and all suggestions would be great. I think the key is to also try and save money as it would be a few hundred dollars Canadian if I go with the expensive sand but I also don't want to go cheap and risk the death of my tank.
 
I can vouch for pool filter sand. It's white, stays compact (even during water changes) and it's cheap. As long as you rinse it off first it's great and won't cloud your tank.
 
I've never experienced gas pockets from sand or dead fish. 200lbs of sand seems about twice as much as you'll need. How deep are you wanting it?
 
Pool filter sand is nice when you want to vacuum the substrate and you don't suck up more sand than debris. It has a pleasant appearance and hides fish waste well. It's fairly inexpensive.
 
I personally love pool filter sand. I use it in most of my tanks and have never had anything negative to say about it. Cheap, looks great, easy to clean.
 
If you want color sand, PFS is great.
If you want black sand, Black Diamond blasting sand is great.
 
I've used play sand for years. Never had an issue, but I also use Malaysian trumpet snails to keep the sand aerated and don't go deeper than about 2 inches.

I've switched every tank over to black diamond blasting sand recently because it looks amazing. It doesn't compact as much. More air bubbles in the beginning. A little harder to keep plants where they're supposed to be before they get firmly rooted. I just threw a handful of trumpet snails in, so we'll see how that goes once they start breeding.
 
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