# Sand



## salty (Aug 10, 2011)

I would like to do my tank (55 gallon) with sand, i heard you can use pool sand (almost white) or play sand (needs lots of cleaning) or sand blasting sand ,( ? ) has anybody used these sands and if so where do i buy them ? Any help would be great , . My tank has some nice smaller brown stones but im a fish guy im always changing my tanks, thanks.


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## HOWsMom (Jan 3, 2012)

I just picked up an 88lb bag of black blasting sand for $10 at a construction place in Oshawa.

It's DIRTY !! I mean nasty dirty stuff. Tonnes of rinsing needed.
But it looks nice in the tank so far (I'm setting up a new tank).


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## SignGuy (Mar 3, 2012)

I recently picked up a 50lb bag of silica sand @ Cooksville lumber in Mississauga for about $12. Really clean stuff hardly had to rinse it at all.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

i bought the play sand from Lowes (home depot also has them, but different brand and maybe look). I cleaned this for days and days and days... crasy!! But it looks nice . If i would start over, or be getting a new one, i think i would get the expensive stuff from Big Al or John actually if it is NOT sand blasting stuff (dont want to chance it because my fish always like to take some when looking for food). If i had fish that dont care for going to bottom and putting their mouth in the sand all the time, or hiding in it, maybe i would consider it, but the cleanign is gonna be a pain. If i had ciclids or was doing only rocks and sand and black background, i think the easiest and cheapest and excellent option is the pool filter sand... and almost no cleaning involved.


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## k2x5 (Mar 12, 2008)

*Play sand*

I've been running Play Sand (+ Laterite) in my 55g for about a year now.

Picked up 3 bags (75lb) for $1.99ea from HomeDepot during a sale.

I started out trying to rinse all the dust out of it, then eventually just gave up, and threw it in the tank after about 2-3 rinses. I went from small-ish brown stones to sand so I could do a planted tank; so I mixed some of the stones in for a more natural look.

If I was to do it again, I'd layer it with Fluorite or the organic potting oil often recommended. Actually, I'd probably go straight fluorite black; the brown of the play-sand just doesn't have the kind of contrast against plants that I'd hoped for.


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## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

I find play sand is too fine. I prefer the coarser horticultural sand that is available at the better garden centers. It grows excellent plants.


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## Jelly (Feb 28, 2012)

I use pool filter sand and it's great. It took a day and half to clear up in the tank but now it's fine.


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## k2x5 (Mar 12, 2008)

Bwhiskered said:


> I find play sand is too fine.


I have to agree there. Unless you sift out the finest particles, it gets really compacted, and I think it becomes too hard for some finer roots to spread through.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I've tried horticultural sand from a couple of sources when I was just starting up my tank. Unfortunately, all of it failed the acid test.. foamed up like alka seltzer, much the way a kettle full of lime scale will ! Since I wanted shrimp and some other critters as well as plants, I ended up going with black Eco Complete, and later added a bag of black Flourite as well. I wish now I'd just used the Flourite black.. live and learn I guess. Just wondering if any of you have acid tested any of the sands you've tried, as my understanding is that if the substrate has very much lime in it, it is going to mess up your water chemistry ? Unless of course you are keeping fish that need water with high calcium content.


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