Sand? Using Play Sand in Tank

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britt190

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Joined
Apr 19, 2014
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26
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Uk
Iv heard some where of people using kids play sand in there tanks. Or am I just going crazy. Has anyone actually done this and if so what were the results.


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Iv heard some where of people using kids play sand in there tanks. Or am I just going crazy. Has anyone actually done this and if so what were the results.


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Yeah I use Play Sand in my 60G African tank..

There is no downsides to it at all, but then there are no upsides either.
Live sand or buffering sand will benefit the aquarium but Play Sand is purely aesthetic.

Some people say that anaerobic bubbles can build up in the sand because it is so tightly packed but this will only happen if you use a very thick layer.

Also it's insanely cheap.


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Yea, the price is why I considered it. I can get 15k of play sand for £2.99 where as the same amount of aquarium sand, I'm looking at between £15-£20. It's a 190L corner community tank so for me to get a decent layer on the bottom I'm going to need quite a bit of the stuff. If I churn it up quite well when I do water changes it shouldn't be that bad. Also I know it's going to take a heck of a lot more washing before I put it I'm. Iv got gravel at the mo but I'm thinking of switching things up a bit. I just don't want to loose fish by choosing the wrong sand.


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Meant to say if I churn it up quite well when doing water changes the anaerobic air bubbles shouldn't build up too much. I could also get some khuli loaches that would dig through it and disturb it.


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Meant to say if I churn it up quite well when doing water changes the anaerobic air bubbles shouldn't build up too much. I could also get some khuli loaches that would dig through it and disturb it.


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Yeah, well I keep Mbuna... I can place the sand wherever I like but if they aren't happy with it there's not much I can do to stop them ☺️


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I have it in my aquarium and love it. Honestly it took me longer to rinse the gravel than the play sand. I got 50 lbs of play sand for $3.50.


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Play sand will work. The only downside to play sand is that it is very fine. Which means you have to wash it more. It also means that when it gets stirred up lots of fine dust ends up in your filtration system. Further, it is more easily compacted. None of this is really a huge deal but I like to use high quality pool filter sand. It is a little more costly than play sand but still far less than aquarium sand. It is silica based so it is totally inert and tends to have a larger grain size.
 
I've used play sand and pool filter sand and I prefer fool filter sand. It takes less rinsing and I agree with the other pros the above poster listed.
 
I use play sand in mine. Great for plants, but is hard on HOB filters. Be careful about disturbing it, as it does silt.
 
Ohhh Ty. I have the rocket filter in my sanded aquarium.


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My fish seem to like the sand too. After several tries with the siphon I can drain and clear sand pretty good now. Few more times and I should be doing just fine.


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It does take practice. You can't just shove the vac into the substrate and plow sand like you can gravel. You have to vacuum from an inch or so above without disturbing the sand.
 
We use the black diamond blasting sand.

I debated between that and play sand. We went with it just because of the black. Like people said rinsing is key and does take a while. I love the way it looks though. If you get some bottom feeder like you mentioned or snails or a combo of both it should stir up the sand enough to not worry about gas bubble.




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I have 2 Cory cats, 2 Oto's, a few ghost shrimp, and a small pleco, that only grows to 4". I also have 2 bumble bee goby, I'd like some pretty shrimp but idk how that would work out. I think at 4.00 each that's kind of high price. What are your thoughts. I'd really like these cleaners to get the glass the film on it drives me nuts


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I looked for black blasting sand (black beauty) including Black Diamond, but found nobody with it. I had to go with play sand.
 
It does take practice. You can't just shove the vac into the substrate and plow sand like you can gravel. You have to vacuum from an inch or so above without disturbing the sand.


Nahhh, just suck up everything then throw it back in when you're done.
Saves the useless hassle.


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