Thinking about new sand, what color sand should I get?

[Bajormatt]

I currently have 100lbs of black sand in my tank and I'm thinking about changing to maybe a whiter sand, and ideas on what would be the best and most cost affective?


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[master.k.]

Cost affective would be (Home Depot)Regular play sand , But u need to wash it down to a clean sand witch is a pain but I relly enjoy the looks of it in a cichlid tank has that lake appeal ell natural look . cheep 3.50$ 50lbs I would thaink 1-1/2bags would do a 100gal Its what I do in my fresh watter tanks no sham at all

 

[cl0wn knife]

coral sand always looks nice with decent texture

 

[jrthor_85]

I have a 50/50 mix of home depot play sand and #5 crushed coral, about 70lbs of each in a 125. I really enjoy the look and it's plenty small enough for some fish that like to filter sand when I feed them.

The only two problems I have with this setup is going any bluer than 6500K bulbs make the living room look like a space lab or something with the glow, and the second is the lighter color sand mix really shows off any algae or grime that grows on the glass below the substrate. It's not difficult to clean, it just requires an additional step to cleaning that tank.

 

[LilBabyEmma]

Use the bigger pool filter sand it's what I use and the fish love it and it don't get blown around


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[TheBigBadWolf76]

Cost affective would be (Home Depot)Regular play sand , But u need to wash it down to a clean sand witch is a pain but I relly enjoy the looks of it in a cichlid tank has that lake appeal ell natural look . cheep 3.50$ 50lbs I would thaink 1-1/2bags would do a 100gal Its what I do in my fresh watter tanks no sham at all

How would one go about cleaning the sand? I'm thinking about changing mine to play sand as well.

 

[master.k.]

Basically What you are doing is rinsing it clean , The sand rite out the bag when U add watter to it will cloud up/Dirty sand Mud if U will .... What I do is get a home depot bucket fill it 1/3 with the sand then its off to the bath tub rinsing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over Well you get the point , Eventual when you rinse the sand "CLEAN" the sand will settle in the bucket leaving behind clear clean watter on the top of the sand ...
Agitating it with your hand/string the pot will help Good luck . I say it take about 30min+ to clean 50lbs but for the price its like a sore peter you cant beat it ..

 

[anarekist]

100lbs of sand?! good lord, that will take forever to clear out when you want to change it.

 

[jrthor_85]

Basically What you are doing is rinsing it clean , The sand rite out the bag when U add watter to it will cloud up/Dirty sand Mud if U will .... What I do is get a home depot bucket fill it 1/3 with the sand then its off to the bath tub rinsing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over Well you get the point , Eventual when you rinse the sand "CLEAN" the sand will settle in the bucket leaving behind clear clean watter on the top of the sand ...
Agitating it with your hand/string the pot will help Good luck . I say it take about 30min+ to clean 50lbs but for the price its like a sore peter you cant beat it ..

^^ This. It doesnt take as long as it sounds. You can wash about 1/3 a 50lb bag at a time, and each wash is less than 10 mins from bag to tank. I did it outside with a garden hose. fill the bucket, turn on the hose, and push the hose to the bottom of the bucket. Tilt the bucket like 45degrees, and you'll have brown water rushing out that clears up real quick. Once the water out of the bucket is clear, dump it in the (hopefully empty) tank. It'll still take a few days and water changes for everything to clear up and settle.

 

[sellfish]

Just remember that play sand will do nothing to help buffer the water.