# what can I add to play sand



## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I have just play sand in my tanks right now and would like to improve the substrate for my plants. I would also like to darken the substrate a little if possible.

But I do not want to empty the tanks, take out the sand and do layers of stuff.

I just want to add a little something and mix it in a little by hand.

I was thinking of just trying some topsoil, after rinsing it very thoroughly like I did with the play sand before putting it in my tanks. I rinsed the sand enough that I had no problems with brown water and sand in my filters hardly at all.

so any ideas?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

We usually add top soil *under* the sand, as the sand prevents the soil from turning the water muddy. If you already have an established sand bed, then you can either dose fertilizers in the water column, or add root tabs.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Any soil you add on top is going to make mess.. there is no practical way to wash soil the way you would sand or gravel. You'll just get mud. If you simply want a darker colour, you might get away with adding a darker coloured gravel on top of the sand. It will have to be a good bit coarser than your sand if you want it to remain mostly on top.. if you simply add darker coloured sand of similar texture, it will all mix together over time and any colour change will be very minimal, possibly not even noticeable. 

Because most substrates tend to settle with time, the finest grains end up on the bottom, and coarser ones tend to remain on top. So you'd need to use gravel that's noticeably coarser than the sand, for it to have a chance to stay on top. But you'll still get some mixing, especially when you plant or uproot anything.

If your main issue is colour, I think adding a darker gravel layer on top is probably the only way you will be able to change it to any real degree, though you will see the two layers at the tank edges of course. I don't think you'd be able to hide the fact you had two layers. But no kind of soil is going to do what you want.


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

Clayballs with fertilizer beads in them (homemade root tabs). I don't have the link to the instructions right now. Give it a search.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I looked that up, sounded intriguing.
http://aquaria.net/articles/DIY/plants/clay-balls/
I would not mind giving those a try.. though it means buying potters clay.. Hey Mlevi, wanna split some potters clay  ?


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