H.D Play Sand

[Kasakato]

Can I use the play sand for planted tank? Next week I will be changing my graval to something else that looks better with plants. My tank already has fish in it and is already cycled. I can move the fish to another tank for a while if needed. And how do you wash out the "junk" in it?

 

[BASSNMAN]

Play sand works fine. To clean it, get a 5 gal bucket, put in a couple of inches of sand in. Stick in the hose and tilt the bucket to about 45 degrees. Turn the sand over with your hands, allowing the water flow over the side until it stays clear. It is easier to do small batches at a time till you get it all clean. I like to lay it out in the un for a day before placing in the tank. Keep the cats away. You can put a layer of laterite under the sand for best result with plants.

 

[Kasakato]

Theres no sun/heat here in Canada in the winter. Only snow. Can I skip that?

 

[Cafe Jeff]

What brand sand did you buy at HD, a curious Canadian asks. Jeff

 

[Kasakato]

I havent bought it. I was just thinking about it.

 

[Cafe Jeff]

It can be surprisingly tricky to find over the holidays. Jeff

 

[Kasakato]

O Great :|

 

[Cafe Jeff]

Home Hardware had some though. Jef

 

[shawmutt]

Home depot play sand, also called carribean play sand, is an aragonite sand made from crushed corals. It will buffer your water and keep the pH higher than you want, frustrating attempts at keeping pH levels low enough for healthy plants. In some guides I have read ( http://www.rexgrigg.com/pg1.htm for one) they specifically council against the use of aragonites.

For your size tanks, I would recommend buying sand from the lfs. I have done both, and found that for my tank (30 gal.) the "fish-ready" sand works best. It was more expensive, but saved me a lot of time. One rinse and it was ready; there was minimal clouding.

 

[BASSNMAN]

Home depot has 2 kinds of sand. One type is almost white and is very fine. What you want is plaster or ordinary sand. It is mostly quartz.

 

[TankGirl]

You can also use pool filter sand, which will not buffer your water. It is stupid cheap, too. Don't know how many pool supply places abound there in the frozen north, tho.

 

[Kasakato]

Well there are lots but there are closed now