New with sand - need help with grain size!

[senemedar]

Since I'm starting with a new tank this Christmas I decided to try my luck with sand as a substrate. I think I'm missing something though, as anything I could find is about £8-£10 for a bag. I've found some sand on eBay (here's the link and I think the price is reasonable. The only problem I have with this sand is... the grain size!
So - what size should I go for? I think 0.5-1mm sq. might be too dense, but don't know really...
I have a few plants I want to put into it, with some root tablets and Seachem Excel to kill the horrible algae...

Any ideas or thoughts? I'd appreciate any input

 

[jsoong]

1 mm sand is actually fairly coarse. ISO grain sizing would rate this as coarse sand, and there are 3 finer grades below that. This should be OK for a planted tank.

I do however, use Schultz aqua soil, which is one size coarser (1-2 mm or extra-coarse). Most of the plant media in lfs are this size. However, lots of people use play sand (at 0.5 - 1 mm or coarse), and they are fine with it.

Incidentally, this is not really a good price for sand ... at almost 20 pounds (that is what $35?) per bag with shipping, that is expensive .... I can get eco-complete or similar for that price. At my local landscape & pond supply place, I buy coarse sand at $30 a cu yard (which is about 1000Kg). I can get small bags (1 cu ft or ~ 80lb) for $2-3 ....