# Cheap Sand?



## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

Hey guys, looking to put some sand into my 125 bare-bottom tank. I'm looking to do it cheap, so maybe pool filter sand or sand blasting sand.

Can you guys give me an idea for how much you guys spent on sand per pound? I'd like to know if I'm getting a good deal or not when I phone around. 

Know any places where I can get white silica sand?


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

Home depot. King's play sand. $7 (or less) for 45lb . Just 2 bags will be enough for a 125g.


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## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> Home depot. King's play sand. $7 (or less) for 45lb . Just 2 bags will be enough for a 125g.


Can't argue with the price, but there must be a better alternative to just plain play sand. Isn't that a brown color? Willing to pay a bit more than $7 for better stuff.

Anybody use sand blasting sand or pool filter sand? White lightning sand?


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## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

I did some phoning around, here are some options I found.

$12.61/50lb bag of white lightning sand from Spectrum Abrasives (quite a drive from me). It's off-white apparently.

$10/50lb bag of pool filter sand from a pool supply nearby.

$10.71/50lb bag of white silica sand from a landscaper. 


Based on ease of cleaning, I should consider grit size as well. Can anybody share their experiences with these sands? Thanks.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

I use pool filter sand. It cost about $10 for 50lbs if I remember correctly. 


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk


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## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

matti2uude said:


> I use pool filter sand. It cost about $10 for 50lbs if I remember correctly.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk


Thanks for the reply. How do you find cleaning it? Is it OK? Any gripes?


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

MichaelAngelo said:


> Can't argue with the price, but there must be a better alternative to just plain play sand. Isn't that a brown color? Willing to pay a bit more than $7 for better stuff.
> 
> Anybody use sand blasting sand or pool filter sand? White lightning sand?


Mine is white. Just check it when you buy it.

Pool filter sand is good, just harder to find since it's off season


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## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

Fishyfishyfishy said:


> Mine is white. Just check it when you buy it.
> 
> Pool filter sand is good, just harder to find since it's off season


I found some pool filter sand. Is that just silica sand that has black specs?

I'm leaning towards the white silica sand from the landscaping company now.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

An 88lb bag is $10 or less ( $7.50 for 50lbs) around here.That is what I paid for black blasting sand, and I believe the silica is slightly cheaper. Try a construction supply store.


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## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

BillD said:


> An 88lb bag is $10 or less around here.That is what I paid for black blasting sand, and I believe the silica is slightly cheaper. try a construction supply store.


Whitby's not too far from me. where'd you get yours from? I'm having problems finding anything close.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Silica sand. $10 for 100 lbs.

I bought mine at http://www.capbrick.com/ in Burlington, but any similar Building Supply Yard Company worth a damn should be able to sell you this.

It looks fine alone, but I mixed in a small amount of some very finely crushed CaribeSea aragonite sand, to give it a white sparkle effect.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hey Will, is your sand white like filter sand? Do you have any pics by chance?

Anyways, if you want a sand that you DONT have to clean for hours / days (and still get murky water in the begining), and if you dont mind the whitesh color (for dark fish, white is good actually), then i recommend Fitler Sand.

I woudl have gone with it myself, except i have fancy goldfish (and others) in a nicely planted 75 gallon aquarium, and wanted the more natural looking play sand, that is more brown. The cleanign was horribly long, but the end result was satisfiying. I didnt want to go with blasting sand, as i was afraid of the chance that the goldfish would get internal damage from continuously putting their mouth in it, and i was considering dojo loaches (didnt happen) which would have buried in it and play sand is the softer of sands. If i were doing it again, i may have gone out ($$$$) and bought the dark tahitean moon sand, and would not have bought a black more goldfish (woudl have gotten the calico type instead), and have a black background, and both plants and goldfish would stand out. However, my current setup looks more natural, so happy with it too.

Good luck


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

It's off white powder sand, like, well... silica sand. Tank pic. Finer than PFS.
It's so fine that everything sits on top of it, and so if your flow is strong and filtration is adequate and positioned well then it all ends up in your filter. Never once had to clean the substrate. The frontosa did sift through the top layers though.


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## MichaelAngelo (Jul 6, 2009)

Will said:


> It's off white powder sand, like, well... silica sand. Tank pic. Finer than PFS.
> It's so fine that everything sits on top of it, and so if your flow is strong and filtration is adequate and positioned well then it all ends up in your filter. Never once had to clean the substrate. The frontosa did sift through the top layers though.


That's a beautiful tank. Man I think frontosa are gorgeous fish *jealous*

Oh decisions decisions lol. Thanks-you so much everybody for your feedback! I really appreciate it!


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