Which sand is better? Please have a look.

[Kashif314]

Never had sand in my tanks ever. This time want to have sand instead of gravels. The store near me has two kinds of sands.





One is very fine particles like salt. Below is like sugar. They call it crystal sand or something. Both are of the same price. Which sand you think is good for the tank? Also is sand better than the usual gravel stones?

Please advise. Thanks.

 

[Fat Homer]

A few things you may want to consider:

1: how strong the flow in your tank is, coz the stronger the current, the more likely it will blow your substrate around, especially if its a finer substrate and your flow is aimed directly at the substrate...

2: this can be good or bad depending how you look at it, but debris will sit on top of the sand, which can make cleaning easier but may also be a lot more obvious because it all sits on top... add to that the fact the sand is quite light colored means it will really show up if you dont keep up with vacuuming the the junk out...

3: how deep you make your layer of sand, if its i think over 2” deep you’ll need to stir the substrate during water changes to release any anaerobic pockets of gas that can build up from waste being trapped between the sand particles...

4: do you run a canister filter or similar? If you do, just make sure the intake is high enough off the substrate layer so that the sand particles dont end up going through the propeller potentially causing it damage over time (which is something i’ve done before oops)...

Otherwise, its really up to you which type of sand you prefer... i myself use quite a fine sand like the one in the first picture, which honestly took quite a while to completely settle, as the fine dust particles can be a real P.I.T.A to deal with, but any bottom dwellers would probably enjoy as its more smooth and less likely to scratch up any fish if they like digging for example...

 

[Niki_up]

I like the one in the first picture bc the second picture looks like sharp glass

 

[TwoHedWlf]

I'd say the second one is better. The first looks more like coral sand, which will probably be a lot lighter, will blow around everywhere, get sucked into your filters etc and will massively increase your PH.

The second looks more like silica sand, and is a bit coarser and heavier. So it won't effect your PH and won't get sucked up or blown around all over the place.

 

[RD.]

Agree with our friend from NZ, the first substrate shown appears to be more like crushed coral, or calcium carbonate aragonite sand material, the second, silica based sand, which will be more inert and will not affect pH, hardness, etc. Personally I don't like either, try a pool supply biz for a more natural colored pool filter sand, which will also be silica based, and probably a LOT cheaper than your LFS. Good luck.


BTW - most glass is made up from and mostly consists of, silica sand.

 

[duanes]

As Fat Homer stated, if flow in the tank is strong, it can blow light weight sand around, getting it into filters and pumps, and ruining impellers, and impeller shafts.
Very light colored sand can (if there are not enough other dark objects in the tank)cause fish to wash out(lose color) many fish instinctively blend with colors around them.
And sand seems to keep detritus on its surface, in plain sight, so if you don't mind frequent vacuuming with water changes, this (to me) is a good thing because the more junk debris is taken out of the tank, the better water quality will be.
I happen to use Pool Filter sand when possible.
It is graded to be heavy enough to back wash, so not as easily stirred up, into ruining filters,
it is usually chemically inert (doesn't alter pH),
and more neutral in color, I don't like my substrate to be brighter than, to wash out, or distract from the fish.

 

[Uglyknob]

Neither. Have PFS now and am switching on my new tank. It is impossible to keep clean, like a white car. Everything shows on it. It looks good for about 12 hours after you clean and then meh. JMHO though. Going back to BDBS.

 

[TheNonEuclidean]

Or go to home depot and buy a few bags of all purpose sand and pea gravel. Mix together and rinse thoroughly. Substrate for under $10

Mind my tannins in the photo.

 

[Kashif314]

A few things you may want to consider:

1: how strong the flow in your tank is, coz the stronger the current, the more likely it will blow your substrate around, especially if its a finer substrate and your flow is aimed directly at the substrate...

2: this can be good or bad depending how you look at it, but debris will sit on top of the sand, which can make cleaning easier but may also be a lot more obvious because it all sits on top... add to that the fact the sand is quite light colored means it will really show up if you dont keep up with vacuuming the the junk out...

3: how deep you make your layer of sand, if its i think over 2” deep you’ll need to stir the substrate during water changes to release any anaerobic pockets of gas that can build up from waste being trapped between the sand particles...

4: do you run a canister filter or similar? If you do, just make sure the intake is high enough off the substrate layer so that the sand particles dont end up going through the propeller potentially causing it damage over time (which is something i’ve done before oops)...

Otherwise, its really up to you which type of sand you prefer... i myself use quite a fine sand like the one in the first picture, which honestly took quite a while to completely settle, as the fine dust particles can be a real P.I.T.A to deal with, but any bottom dwellers would probably enjoy as its more smooth and less likely to scratch up any fish if they like digging for example...

I like the one in the first picture bc the second picture looks like sharp glass

I'd say the second one is better. The first looks more like coral sand, which will probably be a lot lighter, will blow around everywhere, get sucked into your filters etc and will massively increase your PH.

The second looks more like silica sand, and is a bit coarser and heavier. So it won't effect your PH and won't get sucked up or blown around all over the place.

Agree with our friend from NZ, the first substrate shown appears to be more like crushed coral, or calcium carbonate aragonite sand material, the second, silica based sand, which will be more inert and will not affect pH, hardness, etc. Personally I don't like either, try a pool supply biz for a more natural colored pool filter sand, which will also be silica based, and probably a LOT cheaper than your LFS. Good luck.


BTW - most glass is made up from and mostly consists of, silica sand.

As Fat Homer stated, if flow in the tank is strong, it can blow light weight sand around, getting it into filters and pumps, and ruining impellers, and impeller shafts.
Very light colored sand can (if there are not enough other dark objects in the tank)cause fish to wash out(lose color) many fish instinctively blend with colors around them.
And sand seems to keep detritus on its surface, in plain sight, so if you don't mind frequent vacuuming with water changes, this (to me) is a good thing because the more junk debris is taken out of the tank, the better water quality will be.
I happen to use Pool Filter sand when possible.
It is graded to be heavy enough to back wash, so not as easily stirred up, into ruining filters,
it is usually chemically inert (doesn't alter pH),
and more neutral in color, I don't like my substrate to be brighter than, to wash out, or distract from the fish.

Neither. Have PFS now and am switching on my new tank. It is impossible to keep clean, like a white car. Everything shows on it. It looks good for about 12 hours after you clean and then meh. JMHO though. Going back to BDBS.

Or go to home depot and buy a few bags of all purpose sand and pea gravel. Mix together and rinse thoroughly. Substrate for under $10

Mind my tannins in the photo.

View attachment 1386280

Thank you everyone. So after reading all the comments and suggestions by you I decided to not buy sand because if I will later some day have to add a big fish which is messy eater it may disturb the sand if its skittish and also I am not into too much siphoning so sand is not good. I am glad I asked you guys here.

I bought Silica stones (or sand) and its very fine stones but not just like powder and I doubt it will be disturbed by strong current as I won't direct any air towards bottom. Please let me know if its Silica sand or stones?



Store guy told me they won't buffer ph. Please let me know if he is right. I don't want substrate which mess with my ph. Also please let me know if it is a good substrate? Thanks.

 

[Fat Homer]

^ Size looks to be heavy enough it shouldnt be disturbed too much unless a fish really wanted to stir / sift through it like some cichlids might...

Just make sure to give it a good rinse before placing in the tank to rinse off any dust particles, which you could do by placing it in a bucket and running some water over it and stirring it in your garden or something...

As for your 2nd question, im not 100% certain on this, but it does look to be a silica type substrate, but maybe wait to see what others think...