Online store link--sand for Cory tank?

[mvigor]

I'd like to make my switch to a nice sand substrate in my 10 gallon cory tank as easy as possible and apparently the hardest part is going to be finding the sand locally.

Instead I'll order it from online today.

Will you please send me a direct link to a web site selling a good sand to use in a 10 gallon tank with 6 Cory catfish? Please tell me if you're actually using the product you're linking and why you like it.

I appreciate it!

 

[tkos]

Have you looked into playsand from a hardware store like Home Depot?

 

[mvigor]

My initial web searches for aquarium safe sand all seem to say things about how the wrong sand type can dissolve in the water, change the PH, be too light and try to float, etc.

I'd just like anyone with a known good product name to make a recommendation. Plus I'd prefer a nice, uniform, large-grain-of-sugar-sized sand. If it needs to be pool filter sand, ok, but I'd *LOVE* to know for sure which specific product to try from anyone with personal experience using it. All links accepted and appreciated!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have pool filter sand so I can speak from experience. In our 150 gal tank we have one type and in the 55 gal we have another. You can really tell that they are different brands. I'd check out your local pool supply store and look for white sand that is rounded (since you have the Corys). It is a heavier sand and won't float. It is going to be cheaper to buy locally than online because of shipping costs.

I've used Este's sand and it is nice and smooth but is very light. It gets kicked up easily and can take a little while to completly sink. I'd recommend the pool filter sand over the lfs sand mainly because of cost.

Where in IL are you?

 

[mvigor]

I live in Quincy

I know I have driven past at least one Pool & Spa store, so I'll have to walk in there tonight. You say it would be best to stay away from Este's...thank you. I'll be sure to remember that.

I definitely need to get the Cories something rounded because the rocks they are in right now are hurting their barbels.

 

[tkos]

Make sure the sand is silica based. The argonite sand (sp?) is sometimes sold as well and is useful in cichlid, brackish or salt tanks as it does dissolve.

Pool sand is also a great choice.

 

[mvigor]

The silica issue is what confused me so much I think. Many product listings for aquarium sand online claim "Silica Free!" as though that's a good thing. Beyond the reports that silica dust is bad for human lungs, is there any reason I should not get pure silica sand? 1 2 3

 

[Fishyfanatic]

There are a few brands of the pool filter sand that has rough edges, but not many. Most are nicely rounded. The Este's gravel is a great brand beacuse it's so clean. The sand is also VERY clean but it just doesn't settle very well and clumps. PFS doesn't. I recommend it alot basically because it doesn't get sucked up into the filter. It can be kicked around by fish and will just sink back to the bottom. With gravel vacs you can pull it up into the gravel vac tube, and it will just fall right back out of it. It's easy to scape. And very easy to clean. I sanded the first 55 gal with Este's sand and alot of it kept running out of the bucket. I lost alot of sand. Plus at $1 per pound, I spent $70 on sand. I just sanded the new 55 gal for $10.

 

[mvigor]

I'm thinking about just ordering this product from online then.

It's selling for $1 a pound when you buy 25 pounds.

 

[Toirtis]

I would be concerned that the coloured stuff may not be aquarium-safe (chemically) since it was not manufactured for such. Pool sand and sandblasting sand work just fine, and considering I pay $7/90lbs of the latter, I would imagine you could get similar fairly locally.

 

[mvigor]

Well I went to the local pool store and they gave me a broken bag of Pool Filter Sand. This stuff was coarse and rough and wouldn't have been any better for the 6 Cories.

In desperation I grabbed a bucket of sand from the kids' play sand box in the back yard. This is sand that my father buys literally by the dump-truck load for his brick-laying business. I cleaned it up with the garden hose in their little kiddie pool and then switched out the gravel for the sand last night.

It took all night for the water cloud to clear up completely, but by morning it was clear in there again. I haven't tried gravel vacuuming yet, so I can't say how that is going to go. Hopefully I did the right thing for the fish.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Some PFS is rough. That's why you have to look for the smooth ones. We got lucky and found it on our first try. I can't help you with the gravel vacs because I've never used play sand. Just make sure the sand wasn't contaminated before you put it into the tank.

 

[mvigor]

The sand shouldn't have been contaminated after the cleaning I gave it. I sprayed it down with the garden hose in the kiddie pool until it was quite clean.

At any rate I intend to to 30% WC every night for a week or so just to be safe.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Sand can be contaminated by being treated with chemicals prior to sale. When purchasing play sand you have to make sure it has never been treated with chemicals before putting it into your tank.

 

[mvigor]

Well that stinks. Hopefully even if it had been treated those chemicals have evaporated after 2 years outside. I also don't think the delivery company could afford to treat the sand as my father pays like $20 for an entire dump truck full.