Sand substrate?

I hear regular "play sand" is great. You can find a 50lbs bag at your local hardware store for like 5.99. Just make sure the bag you get is sealed as much as possible. you don't want moist sand that may have bacteria.
 
Play sand tends to be very fine grained and compacts easily and also gets kicked up easily. Pool filter sand would be better as it has a larger grain and it's only 5-10 dollars(depending where you live) for a 50lb bag.
 
I used play sand in mine, just wash it VERY well and it looks great. My cories love rooting around for food. Its only about $3.50 / 50lb bag at Lowe's here.
 
I have Tahitian Moon black sand and I love it. Really sets off the colors of my fish, especially my Paradise Fish.

It's a pain the butt to keep clean, though. I do about a 6 gallon water change every other day cleaning the fish poop off.
 
i'm about to go to sand for my convicts and i have a 5 gallon pail full of nice very light colored fine sand from a golf course. it's like high quality beach sand. i spent about 3 hours just washing it over 2 days. i think sand looks great in tanks. i got the idea from this place a while back. best of luck
 
Personally I think pool filter sand doesn't give you as natural a look as I prefer. If you want sand without the worry of compaction, check into possibly getting Quikrete Medium Sand at Lowelife's or Home Despot. It's the same as play sand but with larger, rounded grains. It's already rinsed and kiln-sterilized so you can even put it in the tank without any washing. (Though of course I still do.) It acts like a fine gravel - I even vacuum it the same as I do my gravel beds. Plants do really well in it, and corys are fine as well.
 
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