Play sand?

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Noviceafter2yea

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I am finally going to take the risk after much deliberation to use sand as my substrate.

The problem is - I cannot find pool filtration sand. Is play sand an acceptable alternative?
 
Do you have a lowes or Home Depot nearby? PS can be used but I'd check the store first for blasting sand or a type of silica sand.
 
Do you have a lowes or Home Depot nearby? PS can be used but I'd check the store first for blasting sand or a type of silica sand.

I checked Home Depot and OSH - neither had the pool stuff. As for blasting and silica sand, my understanding from previous posts, is I should avoid those.

Did I misunderstand?
 
Plenty of people use it, if you have live plants I would probably avoid it. I have silica sand in both my tanks, other than my Ciclids blowing sand into my HoB columns I've never had an issue. Just try and get a more dense silica. PS is just dirty and I'm not a fan of the brownish tinge it has. Some May like it though.
 
Plenty of people use it, if you have live plants I would probably avoid it. I have silica sand in both my tanks, other than my Ciclids blowing sand into my HoB columns I've never had an issue. Just try and get a more dense silica. PS is just dirty and I'm not a fan of the brownish tinge it has. Some May like it though.

No live plants. Have HOB filter. Is there a particular size when you say more dense silica?

Probably should have included the following:
20 gallon
4 julii cories
3 bleeding heart tetras
2 platies
1 dalmation Molly (very much a bully when food is around)
1 male guppie

Water readings fine - 0, 0, 10-15 N3, 8.1 ph, 79 Fahrenheit
 
Find a pool supply store. You get about 50 pounds of pool filter sand for 10-12 bucks. A rinse and good to go.
 
my pool sand experiance

Plenty of people use it, if you have live plants I would probably avoid it. I have silica sand in both my tanks, other than my Ciclids blowing sand into my HoB columns I've never had an issue. Just try and get a more dense silica. PS is just dirty and I'm not a fan of the brownish tinge it has. Some May like it though.

Hi I am a newbie of only around 6 months into the aquarium life. I love it, I have pool sand in my 20 long gal. and i have to agree with CoronaBule, it does get dirty. I personally have not had a brown tinge to it. But about 1x a month i fold the sand and when i go through this process, i remove the fish and do a large water change because the water gets so dark and mucky looking, your chances of hurting a fish are pretty good because its so dark you can not see through it. i syphon vac the top and spots here and there each week to keep it tan and clean looking along with giving it a beach kind of feel. A downfall I also have had is that sand and most live plants do not mix well, i was advised because the sand does not have any air for the roots to breathe. I am to new to know if this is actually true of the salesman trying to sell me a bottom surface filter (which i did NOT do). people who have experience please jump in and correct me if i am wrong.
 
This is what pool sand does after a few days. I replaced most with silica but you can tell where play sand still is. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1414807398.359306.jpg
 
This is what pool sand does after a few days. I replaced most with silica but you can tell where play sand still is. View attachment 254430

Thank you for jumping in, wow there is a huge differance, the Silica is beautiful. I have not heard of it before, as i said though a newbie here and only sharing what i have noticed with play sand.
 
I use blasting sand and it is planted and I have no problem. I have it in my small 20gl and eventually we want to change over our 55 from gravel to sand


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ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1414808894.724501.jpg

Black blasting sand. Yes it does sort of get dirty- but it stays in pockets. (You can sort of see one towards the right) it makes it easier to clean honestly- all in one spot. In gravel this would all be going in between the little pieces.

The only thing with sand and plants is you should do root tabs under the appropriate plants- but you would still need to do this with gravel. My plants are growing fine


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View attachment 254435

Black blasting sand. Yes it does sort of get dirty- but it stays in pockets. (You can sort of see one towards the right) it makes it easier to clean honestly- all in one spot. In gravel this would all be going in between the little pieces.

The only thing with sand and plants is you should do root tabs under the appropriate plants- but you would still need to do this with gravel. My plants are growing fine


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That looks awesome too. This is why I've delayed - I can't decide between all these cool,setups!
 
Plenty of people use it, if you have live plants I would probably avoid it. I have silica sand in both my tanks, other than my Ciclids blowing sand into my HoB columns I've never had an issue. Just try and get a more dense silica. PS is just dirty and I'm not a fan of the brownish tinge it has. Some May like it though.


Many of my club members use Black Diamond blasting sand in our planted tanks. My rimless tank in my albums is using BD

Member San Francisco Bay Area Aquatic Plant Society


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Many of my club members use Black Diamond blasting sand in our planted tanks. My rimless tank in my albums is using BD

Member San Francisco Bay Area Aquatic Plant Society


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is that safe for Cories?
 
Yup! Sand is actually better for cories and other fish with "whiskers" as it is easier on them :)


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I like the black more just because I am kinda "spooky" but that part aside- I think the colors other than white don't show the gunk/debris as much in between cleaning :)


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