play sand ??? anyone.

[dmann]

can i use white playsand from home depot as a substrate as long as its rinsed well.

also i am buying a used tank and they have regular florescent lights. is there any downfalls or benefits to these light

 

[jpappy789]

yes. Just needs a lot of rinsing.

CFL's are perfectly fine for both fish and plants.

 

[DoN_WoN]

rinse it till it runs clear, then rinse about 20 more times lol, better safe than sorry

 

[Wycco]

Yes you can use white playsand... you can use purple play sand if you wanted (crayola brand is safe anyway).

First week or so, no matter how well you rinse the sand you'll have cloudy water and floating particles... it will eventually go away.

Pool Filter sand costs slightly more and doesn't cloud the water.

 

[Sunshinessmile]

putting the sand in a pillowcase to rinse the sand works well.

welcome to AC btw

 

[paperdragon]

Pool Filter sand costs slightly more and doesn't cloud the water.

Yup, I've used both. Play sand takes about 30+ times rinsing and then 3 days to settle after you add water, pool filter sand takes 3-5 rinses and an hour to settle.

 

[powerkit]

I have not had a problem with the colored or white playsand clouding, just make sure its synthetic and not actual sand. The natural stuff deffinately clouds the water something terrible!!!

 

[Wycco]

If you do take the play-sand route and have cloudy water- quickest way to decloud it is a premium-paper towel (not one that will break up) around the filter intake...

Change it every three or four hours until it stops collecting sand and then you no longer need to use paper towels. You'll quickly have the cloudyness licked.

 

[dmann]

i ended up using the filter sand for pools and it has worked out great, i couldnt be more happy, no clouding and when stirred up it settles right back, thanks for the info. also its only two dollars more per fifty pound bag than play sand

 

[petluvr]

I have both play and filter sand and the filter sand does seem to be a bit more heavier than the play sand.