What sand is best for substrate

O

octofasciatus

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2007
354
0
0
The blue corner
I want to change my substrate to a mix of sand and pea gravel for a more natural look. What can I use that wont mess with my pH too much. My options at the garden centre are builders, silver, coral, kids play sand.Or what about pinching some from the lake and boiling it. I keep mostly south american fish that dont like too high a pH.
Also whats best way to go about changing the substrate over, I was just gonna hoover the old stuff out and put the new stuff in and hope for the best?
 
P

pcfriedrich

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 2, 2008
1,600
19
68
North Central Florida
the crushed coral sand will affect your pH. the best way to go (for your dollar, or I guess pound) is pool filter sand or play sand. usually pool filter sand is a little courser grained than the fine play sand. either one is about $5 for a 50 lb bag in the states, though.

just make sure you rinse out the dust before you use the sand.
 
L

Little Lamb

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2008
11
0
0
Manchester, UK
Hiya Tim,

Out of the options you've supplied I'd probably opt for kids play sand from Argos or ToysRUS. I personally use silica sand in my tank (bought from an lfs) but I know of a number of people who use play sand and haven't experienced any problems. You can't beat the price and it does the job :D
 
WyldFya

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,791
67
132
Moscow, ID
Look for a sand blasting company, and get sand blasting grit/sand. This is very uniform in size, doesn't need to be rinsed at all, and is inert.
 
O

octofasciatus

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2007
354
0
0
The blue corner
Little Lamb;1996354; said:
Hiya Tim,

Out of the options you've supplied I'd probably opt for kids play sand from Argos or ToysRUS. I personally use silica sand in my tank (bought from an lfs) but I know of a number of people who use play sand and haven't experienced any problems. You can't beat the price and it does the job :D
Click to expand...
That sounds like the one for me, many thanks and welcome to MFK
 
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