What type of sand?

[_dan_]

i have a 10 gallon tank, and i want to put sand in it, but i dont know what tpe or grain size i should get. as for fish i want to put into it, i dont know i want to wait until the tank has cycled before putting fish into it. Any suggestions on what name brand or type would really help

 

[Madame_X]

I just used lava sand in my cichlid tank, which we got from the Home Depot garden department. I liked it because its sort of dark red and black, and has some coarser bits in it. That tank has been up and running for almost a year and I've had no problems with the substrate.

You can just use plain old "play sand" from Home Depot or Lowes, too. The stuff you would put in a kid's sandbox.

Whatever sand you use, rinse it thoroughly. The small particles will cloud your water.

 

[TankGirl]

Pool filter sand is good, as well, and is slightly more coarse than play sand so it tends to cloud less and doesn't get into your filter as easily (good idea to put an AC mini sponge over your filter intake to protect your filter anyway).

Unless you are setting this tank up for African shelldweller species, then likely you want a sand that is inert, and won't buffer the water and raise the pH. Most play sand and pool filter sand is going to be quartz based and will be inert, but keep that in mind. Home Depot is a great place to shop for sand, like Madame_X mentioned.

 

[_dan_]

i was thinking of keeping bettas (female) and maybe a few tetras and a pleco is this alright with sand?

can i have live plants in the sand or do i need something with more nutrients?

 

[TankGirl]

Sand is fine for live plants, and you can use root tab type fertilizer for root-feeding plants.

 

[tropicalman]

If you want to get serious about growing plants then you need a lot of things like better light, substrate such as argonite, and possible co2 injection. But, if you just want a nice plant that's low light and low maintenance, try java fern. Just tie it to something heavy like a small stone and it does it own thing. Don't try to bury the "root" and it'll be OK.

 

[_dan_]

ok, thanks, any ideas on how deep the sand should be? im sorta new to the whole sand thing and live plants so any info at all would be really great

 

[TankGirl]

I would say 2" deep. Crypts do very well in sand and with low light, assuming there is a fluorescent fixture on this 10gal.

Java fern, as tropicalman mentioned, will rock in that tank, too, as will anubias sp. Both of those can be tied to things, which makes tank maintenance a bit easier.

 

[Wes910]

in my tank i used agranite....i got from my lfs its crushed florida coral. it cost 30 bucks for 40 lbs i think it raise ph tho....i got african cichlids in the tank

 

[nodoubt471]

i wouldnt use agranite in the tank _dan_ is talking about, you are correct about that stuff raising the pH which is fine for your cichlids but not for a community tank.

 

[krap101]

im using aragnite with my brichardis. it looks great. a whitish sand and its pretty large but there are smaller grains 2. only problem is it raises ph. but my brichardis kinda need that so it works out great. lol i have about 75 lbs of sand in there. at home depot theres aragnite 7$ for 50 lbs.

 

[_dan_]

i just want something that i can use with a few easy plants and good for bettas (female) and maybe a pleco and some tetras. i was thinkin of just goin to the beach and boiling some sand it would make things so much easier, but i figured that the plants will need more nurishment... so im still stuck... home depot...or the petstore... so many disions....

 

[tropicalman]

Either way dan. You can buy a 50lb bag of play sand or river rocks from Home Depot for about the same money that you will pay for a 5lb bag of gravel from a lfs. It's all the same for just a few low maintenance plants. It's more a matter of what you think you'd like to look at IMO.