home depot sand

[abomb]

hello
i am setting up a tank with sand in the bottom and was wondering a quesiton on wich sand i should purchase. HOme depot usually carries two sands play sand and tropical sand. However all home depots in the area are out of tropical sand until summer. They said this sand was white in color. SHould i purchase the play sand or go to a fish store and purchase a sand that is whiter in color??? this is only a 20 [acronym:fbbfb6c40e="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:fbbfb6c40e] tank. will the play sand wich is 1/3 of the cost of sand at fish stores be as apealing??

what are some opinions of people who have purchased these kinds of sands. Thank you

Adam

[Menagerie]

I have only purchased the play sand. It's okay, you will need to rise it well.

[TankGirl]

I believe the seasonal sand is a buffering sand (Southdown?) that may not be something you want for your tank anyway, depending on the type of tank you are setting up.

I like pool filter sand, since it has a slightly larger grain size and looks a wee bit more natural, but play sand is great, too and I really love sand tanks. Take Menagerie's advice to rinse it well, and even then it can still cloud your tank for a few hours.

[dsmalls]

Sorry for the semi-hijack, but how do you handle (or stop) sand from getting sucked up by the (presumably [acronym:de0e3897a3="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:de0e3897a3] filter)?

Can you put some filter floss around the intake? Would you rubberband it on there?

[TankGirl]

The preferred "AA way" to handle it is to get an AquaClear Mini sponge and cut an "X" into it with a sharp knife, and shove that onto the intake tube, replacing the strainer.

This is porous enough not to restrict water flow too much but fine enough to trap any grains of sand. It does need to be taken out and rinsed because it acts as a prefilter and gets gunked up, depending on your fish load. Some people use a piece of pantyhose with a rubber band, but I find that to be so fine it gets clogged daily and is a pain, but it does do the trick also.

[Drake]

I think you can get play sand at Lowe's for a couple dollars for a 50 pound bag.

[Menagerie]

The preferred "AA way" to handle it is to get an AquaClear Mini sponge and cut an "X" into it with a sharp knife, and shove that onto the intake tube, replacing the strainer.

That's the best way I know of!!

[Gordinho80]

i was looking at the sand at home depot, the package read Tropical Play Sand...at the very bottom, it states "Not intended for aquarium use"

i went to a pool supply store and bought 2 50lb bags of Pool Filter Sand...larger grain than the [acronym:894aebc6c0="Home Depot"]HD[/acronym:894aebc6c0] sand and chemical free...bags were $5.99 each...thats under $15 for 100lbs of substrate when places like Petco and PetSmart charge around $15-20 for a 25lb bag of gravel...

[Frank_the_Tank]

Originally Posted by Gordinho80

i was looking at the sand at home depot, the package read Tropical Play Sand...at the very bottom, it states "Not intended for aquarium use"

if I remember right, that's just something they have to put on there for conflict of interest, there's no danger.

[foma2000]

im so over sand i just dont care anymore