Aquarium sand vs. pool filter sand vs. play sand vs. other sand?

I posted the question the other day what was best for catfish and my filter gravel, sand, or glass marbles and obviously arrived at the conclusion that sand was really the only option with catfish. SO heres my next issue what type of sand I have hear that both sandbox sand and pool filter sand are safe sand box sand is around $3 for a 50 lb bag pool filter sand around $ 15 for a 50lb bag from what I have seen and aquarium sand is ridiculously expensive . I need to know what's best I am not worried about color really but id prefer a lighter color sand since the tank deco will be white pink purple and light blue but I need something that will be easy to clean and safe for the fish obviously. any one who has experience with the different kinds please share they tank is a 29 gallon tetra tank

 

Playsand is very fine sand & can get compacted if you have it too deep, pool filter sand has more uniform grains as it's designed to let flow through it.
I'd go for the pool filter sand over playsand, the extra money is worth it

 

If you don't like the color of the pool sand (which would be better imo), you can always place a small layer of the coloring you like over top.

 

If you don't like the color of the pool sand (which would be better imo), you can always place a small layer of the coloring you like over top.

Not a good idea as the corys will mix it up

 

Not a good idea as the corys will mix it up

Yeah, I guess that's true. I had some pygmy cories that did that, but I ended up liking the mixed look anyways.

 

I couldnt find any colored sand besides craft sand and reptile "sand" with calcium

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I am not sure about veracity of the information provided in this post, but it may have some points worth considering:

 

I recommend CaribSea "super Naturals" fresh water sand. I put 3 (20lb) bags in my 75 Gallon, it is insanely soft and barely clouds the tank when you add it. Moreover it sinks quickly even when my goldies dig in it all day long. I know it's like $20 something a bag but just remember, you're gonna have the substrate in your tank for the life of the fish in most cases. I see that your are putting it in a 29 Gallon. One or two bags will go a long way in a 29 Gallon . For example, the 3 bags I put in my 75 gallon gave me 1-2 inches of coverage depending on the area the sand is in.

*edited because I read wrong

 

I recommend CaribSea "super Naturals" fresh water sand. I put 3 (20lb) bags in my 75 Gallon, it is insanely soft and barely clouds the tank when you add it. Moreover it sinks quickly even when my goldies dig in it all day long. I know it's like $20 something a bag but just remember, you're gonna have the substrate in your tank for the life of the fish in most cases. I see that your are putting it in a 29 Gallon. One or two bags will go a long way in a 29 Gallon . For example, the 3 bags I put in my 75 gallon gave me 1-2 inches of coverage depending on the area the sand is in.

*edited because I read wrong

I have to agree with this. If it is important to the structure of the ecosystem and functionality in your tank, it's worth a few dollars more.

 

so would they be ok in a bare bottom tank for a couple weeks? because I don't have an extra $40 for sand honestly I can't even afford to upgrade the tank right now but I want to get the tank while its on sale because come august ill lose half my income when my oldest niece starts school

 

Fish will do perfectly fine in a bare bottom tank. Some people actually go for the bare bottom tank look because it's easier to clean and some people like the look. But what kind of catfish are you planning on keeping? Catfish are bottom feeders and will want to hang out at the base where algae and extra goodies are . If you are setting up a new 29 gallon I would imagine that there is barely any algae. So you may want to supplement some algae wafers in the meantime and watch the fish very carefully. You might be able to get by with 1 bag of sand in the 29 gallon.

btw: Catfish rock

 

there is 1 peppered cory in the 10 g it will be joining 2 male guppies currently in quarantine in the 29 with a mystery snail and I just got some shrimp pellets for the catfish because he dosent really eat the flakes

I am getting 2 more corys after its set up for a couple weeks then adding a couple guppy fry once they are born and big enough then 2 more corys so there will be about 5 cory and 5 or 6 male guppies
1 pair every 3-4 weeks till its filled out

 

so would they be ok in a bare bottom tank for a couple weeks? because I don't have an extra $40 for sand honestly I can't even afford to upgrade the tank right now but I want to get the tank while its on sale because come august ill lose half my income when my oldest niece starts school

I've never had cories in a BB tank before, but I would just rather see them with some sand to scuffle around in. Even if it isn't the right color, maybe stick with the pool sand for now.

 

I think someone said that the pool sand is really sharp and irritates them but I guess I could do pool sand for now amd throw a layer of aquarium sand ontop later or just take it out and add finer aquarium sand ifnit irritates them
I wonder what my ADF would do with sand probably eat it I'm guessing but they lose a lot of blood worms in the gravel
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Not sure if you have a place in your area that sells sandblasting sand, (I got mine at a place called Battlefield), but it's about $6 for a 50lb bag and it's basically identical as the pool filter sand. Also very easy to clean and doesn't compact like play sand.

 

so would they be ok in a bare bottom tank for a couple weeks? because I don't have an extra $40 for sand honestly I can't even afford to upgrade the tank right now but I want to get the tank while its on sale because come august ill lose half my income when my oldest niece starts school

When I first got them I did not know that cories needed sand. They were in a bare bottom tank for several months until Coradee convinced me to get sand for them. They will survive a couple of weeks. Good luck !

 

I used pool filter sand. I got it from the pool supply store for $3.00 because the bag had a hole in it and it had been taped up. Play sand is really dirty and it takes a lot more time to clean it. Pool filter sand settles VERY quickly. I have parrot cichlids who love to do landscaping....lol.

 

They'll be fine in a bare bottomed tank for a while until you can get the sand, but do get it as soon as you can
Keep the bottom very clean as a bacterial film can build up leading to barbel infection

 

I use river sand, I think it's a bit courser than pool sand, but it's great!! My fish love digging around in it ( used to have gravel) and it's easy to clean.

 

I use river sand, I think it's a bit courser than pool sand, but it's great!! My fish love digging around in it ( used to have gravel) and it's easy to clean.

IMO, taking any kind of sand, driftwood, or plant from a river bed runs the risk of carrying parasites. You also never know who is dumping what up stream.

 

Honestly I have pool filter sand and crayola play sand. And the pool filter sand isn't very nice. I guess it depends on the brand but my grains are big and not uniform. My crayola plays and is wonderful. Here is Stanley playing in the play sand.

 

Honestly I have pool filter sand and crayola play sand. And the pool filter sand isn't very nice. I guess it depends on the brand but my grains are big and not uniform. My crayola plays and is wonderful. Here is Stanley playing in the play sand.

Hey look at that guy! Nice!

 

Hey look at that guy! Nice!

Thanks!

 

He's a big boy!

 

I have pool filter sand, and I love it ! I wish it was a bit darker, not black, just a darker brown.

But I am seriously thinking about removing the last bit of gravel I have from the tanks all together !

 

I recommend CaribSea "super Naturals" fresh water sand. I put 3 (20lb) bags in my 75 Gallon, it is insanely soft and barely clouds the tank when you add it. Moreover it sinks quickly even when my goldies dig in it all day long. I know it's like $20 something a bag but just remember, you're gonna have the substrate in your tank for the life of the fish in most cases. I see that your are putting it in a 29 Gallon. One or two bags will go a long way in a 29 Gallon . For example, the 3 bags I put in my 75 gallon gave me 1-2 inches of coverage depending on the area the sand is in.

*edited because I read wrong

Why overpay for a product just because it has the "aquarium" tag on it. Just so you know that whether you buy "aquarium" like Caribsea, PFS, Crayola sand, Spectraqurtz or Ceramaquartz they are all quartz sand. The difference is choice and price. Caribsea products are a ripoff although they are a good product. Crayola sand is new and seems to easier to find. Spectaquartz or Ceramaquartz (commercial sand used in coloring pool cement) work great off variety and are about $20 for 50 pounds.

Would not do play sand. PFS will work just fine.

If you want to see details of what I stated above check the link in my signature.

Just so you know whe

 

I'm having trouble finding the pool sand ace hd and lowes only have quikcret playsand

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Try a pool store. I'm actually getting ready to wash out all my PFS right now. I went to a pool store two days ago and asked if they had PFS. They said they had 50 lb bags for $8. I asked if they had any smaller bags and explained I was using it for an aquarium(because we go there to get stuff for our pool and we talk to them a lot). The lady then said "I can do something for you. I walked away with 40 lbs of PFS for free. She helped me scoop sand up from the bags that split outside.
Usually pool stores can do something like this or give you a discount on a broken bag or something. Just explain what you're using it for.

 

Why overpay for a product just because it has the "aquarium" tag on it. Just so you know that whether you buy "aquarium" like Caribsea, PFS, Crayola sand, Spectraqurtz or Ceramaquartz they are all quartz sand. The difference is choice and price. Caribsea products are a ripoff although they are a good product. Crayola sand is new and seems to easier to find. Spectaquartz or Ceramaquartz (commercial sand used in coloring pool cement) work great off variety and are about $20 for 50 pounds.

Would not do play sand. PFS will work just fine.

If you want to see details of what I stated above check the link in my signature.

Just so you know whe

Good information for people buying sand in the future. I'll stick with the aquarium stuffs unless i'm at a home improvement store picking up sand there. I do hesitate to buy products for fish from a home improvement store for a couple reasons. And these aren't to say what you are putting out there isn't helpful, It's very helpful But i've worked at a few home improvement stores and the amount of chemicals that are handled in those stores is staggering. I couldn't tell you how many times some harsh chemical would get spilled or products handled improperly and spilled on other products. I've personally seen an employee drop an entire Pallet of driveway tar from full height on a fork lift (lift ran out of gas.) The product spread over 2 isles and 200 feet in either direction. There were blotches of tar on products and shelving for the life of that store. Also where sand is kept is sometimes outdoors and employees spray pesticides very often and they pay little attention to where they do so.

I would be mortified if the sand purchased from a home improvement store had bleach or pesticides on it and it seeped into the sand. Granted we should wash the sand but it's just something to look out for. Again i'm only really mentioning it because i've worked at several home improvement stores. It just comes down to budget and preference I suppose. I feel a little safer getting sand from a pet store even if it's a little more.

 

I ended up getting play sand from home depot petco only had 1 kind of freshwater sand it was $1 lb and was black we went to ace lowes and hd none had filter sand and the closest pool store isn't close by the sand was stored inside and was mostly dry this is against my better judgement I really wanted filtersand it just wasn't an option
I will was it really well and let it settle in the tank before adding fish and ill make sure I stir it up when I do wc so no air pockets get stuck or such and if it dosent work out ill try again to find filter sand

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Surprised ace did not have it. They have it in the stores out here in Cali. For future reference pool supply stores are likely to carry PFS .

Good information for people buying sand in the future. I'll stick with the aquarium stuffs unless i'm at a home improvement store picking up sand there. I do hesitate to buy products for fish from a home improvement store for a couple reasons. And these aren't to say what you are putting out there isn't helpful, It's very helpful But i've worked at a few home improvement stores and the amount of chemicals that are handled in those stores is staggering. I couldn't tell you how many times some harsh chemical would get spilled or products handled improperly and spilled on other products. I've personally seen an employee drop an entire Pallet of driveway tar from full height on a fork lift (lift ran out of gas.) The product spread over 2 isles and 200 feet in either direction. There were blotches of tar on products and shelving for the life of that store. Also where sand is kept is sometimes outdoors and employees spray pesticides very often and they pay little attention to where they do so.

I would be mortified if the sand purchased from a home improvement store had bleach or pesticides on it and it seeped into the sand. Granted we should wash the sand but it's just something to look out for. Again i'm only really mentioning it because i've worked at several home improvement stores. It just comes down to budget and preference I suppose. I feel a little safer getting sand from a pet store even if it's a little more.

You brought up some major valid points. Most people question the production process but I forget about things are handled at the commercial side of things.

That is why it is a good idea to wash it out thourougly before using no matter where you get it.