The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I personally would still buy a type of sand that is specifically used for aquaria otherwise it could have some nasty stuff in it that could effect your aquarium cycling or harm your inhabitants.
Pool filter sand, while not the cheapest, is excellent for aquaria because it has a larger grain size (#20) than play sand or something similar. It also tends to be cleaner and require much less washing prior to use.