Sand

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

If I am not mistaken, there was an oil tanker accident on the Spanish coast a few years ago. There are many reasons not to use marine sand in a freshwater aquarium, pollution is one of them. Boiling will not rid sand of all pollutants, it will mainly sterilize it.

I use play sand in my tank. As guppy pointed out, some sands are crushed rock, whereas others are dug up from a sand pit, i.e. a dry river bed. Rub the sand between your fingers and you will feel if it's smooth or sharp. Or check it out with a magnifying glass. For the most part, playsand is from sand pits.

Oh, and introduce some trumpet snails, they will help you keep it clean and well aerated

HarleyK

 

[rumblesushi]

thanks harley - but what exactly is "play sand"? I'm not sure that term is used in Europe

 

[HarleyK]

It's what kids have in their sand boxes to play with
Others here use pool filter sand. Same thing, with less clay. If you go planted, I'd use play sand. If you have big diggers, go pool filter sand or pre-washed playsand. You can also go to your local construction company and ask if you could get a bucket of sand. Make sure it doesn't have sharp grains.

HarleyK

 

[rumblesushi]

ah oke

I'll have to have a look around, Spaniards are quite basic, I'm not sure the kids have the luxury of playing with sand

 

[cmersits]

What are some good sand substrates to use for a fresh water set up?

Will Sand Box Sand be okay? I also hear pool sand is good too, where do I get pool sand?

 

[rottbo]

pool filter sand is better because its real course i have heard that play sand is almost impossible to keep clean and will invade and kill your filters

 

[eh1421]

pool filter sand all the way
you can get it at any pool supply shop

 

[DiXoN]

i use aquarium sand in my tank i went to the lfs bought a couple of bags and it was easy as that.
when i had my fish house i used playsand as it was cheaper

 

[Miles]

I prefer Pool Filter sand over the play sand.. The pool filter is a little larger, and dosnt get blown around as easily.. The white silica sand compacts easier too, and can cause 'dead zones' in your substrate..the white silica play sand also shows algae worse..

 

[limz_777]

man i just started a aquarium sand subsrate, it very messy, fish swim past, clouds of
sand formed,the tank seem to be cloudy all the time, do anyone have pics of pool filter sand?