Sand tank

FishJunki

FishJunki

AC Members
Jul 24, 2007
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I would like to make my fish tank have sand instead of just regular gravel... I have a couple fish in there already but I have another tank where I can send them if I do make the dicission. I was wondering how I can do this and where can I buy the sand from? Also could plants still be grown in the sand?
 
I've had good results using the clean, screened "play sand" you can buy (about $3 for a 50-lb bag) at Lowe's or Home Depot. "Builder's sand," IME, has too much fine matter that clouds the water.

Sand is fine for plants. The only downside IMO is that you have to watch out for pockets of toxic anaerobic bacteria that can develop. So you either have to manually stir the sand up every so often, or have species like cory cats that will do it for you.
 
You can buy sand from:

hardware stores
construction supplies (sandblasting)
pool stores (pool filters use sand)
landscaping / garden centers
go to the beach

Most people I know suggest unused sand-blasting sand, as it's coarser and a little easier for initial cleaning. Sandbox sand is really fine, but takes forever to clean in my experience.

I tend to get my sand from the beach... which is even worse for cleaning, but the sand around here is a shade of red, which makes it pretty unique-loooking in the aquarium.
 
So what just stick my hand in and mix up the sand? and how should I put it in... just drop some in?
 
I have play sand in my 150 gallon, i love the look and all, I dont have any problems with the sand and filters or anything like that, the only thing that sucked was cleaning it. I went outside and used a 5 gallon bucket and a hose, just fill with water, mix the sand around, and dump water, then repeat until clear. It took me about 4 hours to clean 200 pounds of it...
 
i like the quikrete medium grade commercial sand. it isn't very dusty so it rinses within a reasonable amount of time, and it is a little coarser than play sand - easier to clean and stays white/off white color instead of getting dirty and turning brownish.

to rinse it, you need a clean (aquarium-safe) bucket, and a hose. just put the sand in there, maybe half the bag at a time, and rinse it with the hose until the water gets very clear and all the dust and smaller particles are rinsed away.

plants can grow very well in sand.
 
I didn't like the play sand I used for my 10 gallon so I found a good mix with pool filter sand, $9 for a 50lb bag. I also did the hose and bucket thing as well, I'm really enjoying my sand.
 
What about cleaning it when it's in the tank? Or does it not need cleaning once in the fish tank...
 
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