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 gal 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 HOB 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 HD 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]

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

 

[KaiserFish]

Home depot play sand works great. I use it in 2 different tanks. Can't beat 3.97 for a 55lb bag of sand.

 

[aimeeo]

Can you use sand in any aquarium? Even with plecos or algae eaters or cory cats? Does the tank cloud when the fish stir it up? Is there any way to get colored sand?

 

[KittyKat013]

Sorry to hijack the topic, but, how many lbs of sand is needed for a 10 gallon tank?

 

[TankGirl]

Caribsea and Seachem have sands of different colors, and all you have to do is pay attention to their buffering potential. The only problem I know of is the potential difficulty dwarf frogs can have with sand (thanks, FawnN) as there is anectdotal evidence that they may ingest it and perish.

Otherwise I am not aware of any fish having trouble with it, and many really prefer it.

 

[aimeeo]

Thanks for the info on dwarf frogs. I have had them in the past and was considering getting more. I'll make sure to stick with gravel in their tank.

Does the tank get dirtier with sand or with gravel?

Can you use a gravel vac on sand?

 

[TankGirl]

The tank does not get dirtier, assuming the same amount of waste is accumulating, but you do see it with sand, whereas it falls into the crevices of gravel and you don't see it - out of sight, out of mind! That's why I prefer sand in general, because I can see the debris easier and get it up more effectively. I use a gravel vac (there are hundreds of posts about using a gravel vac with sand) but I don't dig around in the sand with it.

Multicolored sand or more natural-looking sand that has darker brown bits as well as very light tan bits hides unsightly detritus better than solid colored sand.

 

[aimeeo]

Okay, so can anyone tell me if it is okay to use sand with fire-bellied japanese newts? I know that this is not a fish, but since we are on the topic of sand

Also, so the only water creature that you can't put in a tank with sand is African Dwarf Frogs, right? Plecos okay? Cory cats okay?

 

[TankGirl]

Plecos and corys and most any catfish will like sand, as it is more comfortable for them and makes it easier to scavenge.

Don't know anything about newts, sorry!

 

[aimeeo]

Thanks. I'm going to go ahead and post a thread about them.

 

[aimeeo]

One more question....how do you figure out how many pounds of sand to purchase? Is there an amount per square foot?