Sand?

[bettasaur]

How many of y'all use sand in your tanks? I love the way the sand looks as opposed to gravel. The horrible brightly covered gravel reminds me of something a clown would puke up. I put some teal gravel in there, but I eventually want to switch it to sand. What kind of sand do y'all recommend?
Thanks!!!

[clopez1]

I have gravel at the moment but planning a 20 long upgrade which will have sand..I am planning on using pool filter sand..Like 5 dollars for 50 lbs at Home Depot!

[bettasaur]

Originally Posted by clopez1

I am planning on using pool filter sand..Like 5 dollars for 50 lbs at Home Depot!

Nice!! I wasn't sure if I HAD to use aquarium sand or not. I would love to get some white sand though. His colors would look amazing in front of that!

[clopez1]

Pool filter sand is innate..silica I think it's called..Works with fish tanks and cheap..Bigger grains and heavier than regular sand so not much kicking up and dust when you move stuff around...I hear it's a bright white.

[clopez1]

Can also use play sand for sand boxes but I hear that's a bit more of a pain and sometimes has more than just sand.

[bettasaur]

Originally Posted by clopez1

Can also use play sand for sand boxes but I hear that's a bit more of a pain and sometimes has more than just sand.

Yeah, the guy at my LFS told me to stay away from play sand. I'll probably see if I can get a deal on aquarium sand when I'm in there next. I go in there often enough!!

[bettasaur]

Actually, I just noticed that Home Depot sent me a coupon. Looks like I'm getting some pool filter sand! Haha

[clopez1]

Very nice!

[Maddybelle]

All my tanks used to be barebottom, since I hate (!) gravel. I tried play sand once. My advice? RUN, don't walk, away from the play sand! It gets compacted and anaerobic within 2 days. I ended up stirring my sand 4x a day, and still ended up with black, nasty sand full of toxic gass bubbles!
Then, I found Petco sand. I'm switching all my tanks over to it: nice big grains, pretty colors, water ran clear with one rinse! (mine's black)
Pool filter sand would work, if you can find it. I couldn't, and it only comes in white. Also, has anyone had any issues with the pool filter sand being too sharp?

[MissLyss1024]

I picked up a 50lb bag of Quickrete Fine Grade sand from Home Depot yesterday for my tanks ($5!!). It's not white but it's nice and natural looking. Only downfall so far is it was D.I.R.T.Y. I rinsed a few cups at a time and it took a while before the water was running clear. It's worth it, but make sure you rinse it really well!