cleaning play sand

[fishnutham]

All i can say is dirty dirty lol!
I picked up a few bags to try out rather then my stand by of pool filter sand .I must have spent 1 hr washing 5 pounds to try in a betta tank .
Looks good but there must be an easier way to clean it rather then the bucket method.

 

[fireman36701]

Look into the Pillow case Method or the bottle method...I used both in my 55 setup...

Pillow Case method: put sand in pillow case insert hose in case hold until water goes clear...

Bottle method: fill 20oz bottle with sand place in water filled tank open end up...wait till bubbles stop then turn over and pour out all sand keeping everything submerged...once the sand is all out turn the bottle back open end up and out of the tank...pour this water out should have all the fine particulates and dust...

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[otmmy]

Ugh I know I had to wash 100lbs of the dam stuff.I just put it in a bucket in the driveway and put the hose in the bottom and stirred it around and let most of the garbage overflow over the top of the bucket.It took about half the day to clean it and was still messy when I put it in my tank.I will never use again but at the time it was the cheapest I could find. I could find and pool filter sand anywhere in the whole city and went to about 5 different stores before I even found the play sand.

 

[fishnutham]

Im only using it for small projects. To much work.

 

[freshisbetter]

If its not too late, I highly recommend Estes Stoney River Premium Aquarium Sand. It's Silica like pool filter sand and doesn't need washing and extremely white if you want white. Good grain size that doesn't get pulled into my overflow. I have tried many types of substrate and this is by far the best I have used in terms of convenience out of the bag.

 

[johnnytaboo]

I have to admit, I've used play sand, pool filter sand, and quickrete (spelling?) sand, and the play sand is by far the most difficult to clean; however, it is the whitest, cleanest looking sand once it's settled.

Freshisbetter, I'd be curious to see a tank shot of the Estes Stoney River Sand, if you have one. How does it compare price-wise?

 

[freshisbetter]

It was $5.99 per 5 lbs at an LFS. I used six backs to skim a 110g high discus tank and four bags would have been enough. I am sure it can be ordered for much cheaper.

 

[freshisbetter]

Tank before the sand.

 

[rob1984]

one thing i always thought and was unsure bout is the play sand which is much smaller particles then PFS...but when a fish swats his/her tail or gets into a scuffle, it will stir up the play sand and take awhile to uncloud in a tank ? i know my PFS settles really quick if they swat there tail or scuffle with one another

 

[Corydoras Keeper]

Look into the Pillow case Method or the bottle method...I used both in my 55 setup...

Pillow Case method: put sand in pillow case insert hose in case hold until water goes clear...

Bottle method: fill 20oz bottle with sand place in water filled tank open end up...wait till bubbles stop then turn over and pour out all sand keeping everything submerged...once the sand is all out turn the bottle back open end up and out of the tank...pour this water out should have all the fine particulates and dust...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

I like the idea of putting play sand into my tank but the bucket cleaning way isn't possible so that pillowcase method might come in hand in the near future.