Sand

I have used sand in the Past and it causes more problems than its worth. The larger grains are much safer to use in your tank. I would also have some sand stirrers if you can, such as Kuhli loaches and or Malaysian Trumpet snails, great sand bed cleaners.
 
Yo_Loach said:
well actually, My dad told me playground sand would rot if I used it, same with sand from the beach or stuffs.
For something to 'rot' it needs to have organic matter, 'rotting' is what we call bacteria breaking stuff down, like an old piece of fruit. Sand doesn't have any organic component, so it can't rot. It is possible that there are some organics trapped in the sand if you pick it up in the wild, but proper sifting and rinsing can eliminate these. Sand purchaced from distributors like landscapers, sandblasters, quarries has already been rinsed and sifted to a particular mesh size, so no organics, no rot.
 
well i have a ?

Well its on the subject of sand in freshwater tanks would it matter if i have 2 magnum 350 for filteration if i used sand? cuse i read that it get cought and even score up my impellers on my magnums. is this true. i have a 100 gallon tank with 2 oscars.
 
If you're going to use sand as a substrate, it's a good idea to have a prefilter like a sponge covering the filter's intake to prevent sand particles from entering.
 
Ive got tahitian moon sand and its great. It looks great and I put the both intakes for my 2 hang-on-backs pretty high up so I dont have any problems with it getting sucked up. Its happened a few times but i just pull the intake tube out and let the spinner clear itself. Put it back and its good. It will hold plants but I have an oscar and he rips them up.
 
Avoiding clouding when adding substrate

Takes awhile, but when adding substrate to an already set up tank use a cup, fill it with sand or whatever, sink it slowly and pour it slowly onto the bottom of the tank once it's at the bottom. Useful trick unless you're trying to add alot.

Playsand doesn't rot right out of the bag... if you're getting it from an actual playground where it's a litterbox for the neighborhood cats you'll have alot worse problems than rotten sand....
 
I just set-up a quarantine tank today and decided to go with play sand from Homedepot due to cheapness. It's not bad for the price ($4.00 for about 20-25 lbs). But for a show tank, the tahitian moon sand IS higher quality, but you will pay almost 10x as much.
 
I have "play sand" as the store calls it. However the bag says "Good For: Sand boxes, landscaping, terrariums, aquariums. Safe for Kids" I love it but I am considering getting a black sand. Still trying to decide. MY bichirs loved the switch though and it looks much nicer for them, and to me.
 
AquariaCentral.com