my sand is grey, help please

[Naws]

I just bought some pool filter sand for my new aquarium today, the problem is that it looks nice and white when its dry but when i rinsed it it turned gray

is it going to look like its original colour when I fill the tank with water or will it stay like this? I want it to look nice and white like in all the pictures i see

 

[veetors]

I used pool filter sand and it didn't change color... What color is the bucket that you are using to rinse it out in?

 

[fearlessfisch]

Check it with your lighting before throwing it away. Put some in the tank with a little water over it; you don't have to fill the whole thing to see. A good bulb can make a huge difference. If you still don't like the color when it is in water and under the light, you may have to look for a different type of sand. For what it's worth, I use inexpensive play sand from Home Depot, which looks beige/yellow in the bag but is bright white under my lights. It is very fine, though, so requires a lot of washing.

I had to re-buy sand once. I bought what looked like a nice blackish color in the bag, but in the water and under my lights it looked like rust.

 

[jsoong]

Rocks & sand often look different in water compared to dry ... I had some river rocks that are dull gray dry, but turned into nice greens & browns when wet .... so it works both way.