Can you use this sand ?

I bought play sand for my 44g and I got 20kg, I spent hours cleaning it in buckets :( and it still made my tank cloudy, but its cleared really quickly (thanks filter floss!) and I'm extremly happy with the look :)
 
Don't stir your sand. Indont know why everybody does... I keep DSB's in a lot of my tanks and it works GREAT for keeping nitrates down! Just put a few MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) and they do the stirring for you, but not so much that you release mass quantities of the toxic gasses that grow in an anaerobic sand bed.

Look at the marine guys keeping DSB's and you will see the benefit. Same principles apply with fresh.
 
Because if you don't stir it every so often the bubbles build up then when something digs them up or you do tank maintanance, the bubbles get released then your fish go :crazy:
 
That's odd. I got my sand from a pool store. 50lb bag for $20. It cleans easily and only clouds the tank if you don't rinse it first. I made that mistake once and it was a mess. Since I've added it I have no stirred it except for replanting anacharis that the fish seem to dislodge. (the dojo loaches) Fishycat sent me a handful of MTS and they stay under the sand and aerate it during the day and come up looking for food (green beans i drop in from time to time) at night
 
I use pool filter sand and can't be happier in my choice. It appears to self-level in the tank and the plants do well in it.
 
Haydn24 said:
Because if you don't stir it every so often the bubbles build up then when something digs them up or you do tank maintanance, the bubbles get released then your fish go :crazy:
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I know the reason that people say to stir the sand, but if you want your sand to be the most beneficial, don't stir it. I have been keeping playsand in a lot of my tanks that have been established for a long while now.
Since I have used sand, my Nitrates have gone down, even in heavily stocked tanks.

I also convinced my buddy to use a Deep Sand Bed in his 135g Reef Tank, and even after his back surgery, and neglecting his tank for months now, all his levels are staying in check, much more so than when he used crushed aragonite.

MTS will do all the stirring you need on a sand bed. Also don't worry about a snail "infestation" because they primarily stay in the sand bed and come out at night and clean up. You never even see them.
 
I've been happy with play sand but, I find some variability between batches. The stuff I have now has too much "mica" in it which I dont care for. Looks like flakes of mirror.

I have seen some really good course sand in soil pits that I would like to dig up some day.

pepe
 
I use play sand, don't stir and have no issues. I now have MTS to help out.
I just got black sandblasting grit from Tractor Supply. $7 for 50lbs. It will stain your hand and you have to wash it good. Added it to my 40breeder last night. ^.^
 
I have used washed/screened construction sand in all my tanks which cost about $8 per 100 pound bag. I've used all grits, coarse, medium, and fine. Medium my favorite becasue it deep cleans easiest, course sand my second favorite becasue its the most natural looking but hardest to deep vacuum becasue the grains are heavier.

Almost without exception I deep vac my sand every water-change in all my tanks and never-ever have the slighted issue with silt clay cloud blooming. In fact becasue I wash and boil my sand before use, my largest new 210 tank I boiled all my sand for had absolutely no diatom bloom becasue the seeding diatoms contained in the sand where they seasonally live and await water for bloom reproduction are all killed off by boiling. I can reach in and disturb my sand anytime with no clouding at all.

As far as nitrates are concerned, my Pothos nitrate filters take care of that problem converting nitrate and a whole host of toxins into plant growth.
 
Lillyan said:
I use play sand, don't stir and have no issues. I now have MTS to help out.
I just got black sandblasting grit from Tractor Supply. $7 for 50lbs. It will stain your hand and you have to wash it good. Added it to my 40breeder last night. ^.^
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Is that anything like "black beauty"? Hopefully it's not because I would like to buy some black substrate that isn't too expensive.

That black beauty stuff is terrible. I don't see how people use it for aquariums.

It is not inert, it's sharp, and bottom line it is oxidized iron ore. In lamens terms: totally rusted metal bits.
 
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