MissMTS

I looked at the pool supply stores by my house for pool filter sand and nobody had it. I guess sand is not usually used in filters anymore....I don't know anything about pools though so whatever Anyways, I went to look for sand at home depot and I picked up a bag of play sand. I wanted to check and see if it is aquarium safe. Here is the link:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100318476

Also, it says it has been washed....so do I still need to rinse it?

I have never used sand before that did not come from the LFS, so I appreciate any help you guys can give me

CHoffman

I've heard play sand works for aquarium use, but it's sharp unlike pool filter sand that is smooth. Probably not the best choice if you have loaches, catfish or other bottom dwellers that could get scratched by it. I would wash it to be safe using a 1/16 bleach solutions then rinsing it really well.

MissMTS

Shoot. I do have loaches. Bummer. It seems pretty fine to me, but I don't really know what I am looking at.

CHoffman

I was trying to find one of my threads I had started about this and I can't find it..Butterfly (Carol) had some good info on loaches and play sand. I'll keep looking for it. I think it would look great and I'm sure some sands are sharper then others.

MissMTS

Lol. On your other thread, I just told you that if you want to learn about loaches to ask Carol. Ha ha...good minds think alike

CHoffman

LOL..I just read that....Good minds...we have great minds..
Carol is the girl to go to for loaches for sure.

capekate

Pool filter sand is much more denser than the play sand. It doesnt kick up any dust or fly away in the tank. It settles to the bottom quickly. Whereas the play sand will fly up and will cause dust in your tank. Also hear that the play sand can get into your filter system too.
I would keep up the search for pool filter sand tho as it really is the best type to use. I just love it in my new tank, even the BRs have on occasion rubbed their tummies across it, haha, it must feel good to them. Your bottom dwellers would love it too. Check out garden centers as well as some larger hardware stores that carry garden and pool items. I had to go through a lot of phone numbers in the yellow pages til I finally found some.
Good luck... and just my opinion, but I wouldnt use the play sand ... you may not be happy with it in the end and on another note, you dont have to rinse out the pool filter sand either.

griffin

i don't have nearly as much experience as some here, but i do have play sand (from home depot, but the bag looks different, although i want to say it is the same brand). i also have cories, and they love the sand. looking at the particles, it looks like they are pretty rounded. play sand will only fly up and cause cloudy water if it's not rinsed. i rinsed my sand 3x (took about 30 minutes), and i have no issues with cloudy water or sand flying up. pool sand might be easier as far as no rinsing, but it's going to cost a bit more than a few dollars for 50 pounds.

just thought i'd throw in my 2 cents

SammyJ

I am in the process of setting up a 29 with play sand right now. It does kick up and takes a good bit of time to for the water to clear up. I am prolly 50% done with my wait on the water to clear. Granted I will prolly need to change out at least the final media pad in my filter when its done clearing. Its a good thing I ordered a complete set of replacement media.

capekate

If you are using play sand sometimes its a good idea, if you have no fish in the tank yet, to wait til the sand settles before turning on your filter.

SammyJ

It has settled out nicely now and I can even poke into the sand without anything noticeable being kicked up into the water column. The filter is still going strong and the water cleared just 24 hours or so after I rewashed the sand and ran the filter.

It was a lot of work but it looks stunning. I can't wait to get some plants put in the tank.