That's the brand they sell here at my Home Depot too..Glad it's not too white..I would hate to blind my fish..was going to off set it with a painted black background.
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?
Oh my goodness! I just looked at the petco sand online. I love it! Also, I'm not sure how much sand to put in each aquarium. I have a 10 gallon & a 3 gallon that I'm going to put a female betta in tomorrow (hopefully if I can find one I like.) Is there a wait period after you put the sand in?
I have play sand in my tanks and I haven't had a problem so far. I wan't to get the quickrete sand but I couldn't find any. I have used the petco sand in the past and didnt care for it. It's coated with something that caused the bubbles from my filter not to pop. The waters surface looked like a huge bubble nest. It took like 20 water changes for it to stop bubbling.
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)
Did you get the regular petco brand? I got that kind in black and it's raised the ph of my 20 gallon to 9! I already lost half my fish from it. The sand also has a layer about a cm thick air bubbles or something. Is this normal for sand? I would not recommend petco sand because it has caused me serious problems in my tank.
I have many Natural Planted Tanks with about 1 inch of dirt covered by 2-3 inches of Petco sand. It has never raised my pH but it does bubble up a bit...I pre-rinsed sand 1 time and it did not really make a difference regarding the bubbles. The bubble foam went away within a couple hours so although there were no adverse effects in my tanks.
I love this sand and would recommend it as a cap for a soil based/walstad method tank without reservation.
For the dirt tanks/walstad method, you can potentially stock your tank immediately, but remember that with these tanks, you are creating a mini ecosystem, with nutrients available and tons of plants (fast growing varieties) to soak up any excess ammonia, etc. But, I ually wait a few days, testing the water multiple times per day, before adding fish etc to the tank.
Two things to note:
1. I have tried "natural white" sand...regular off-white color...it has the effect of washing out colors...Something I had heard about but didn't quite believe until I tried it for myself! My advice would be to use black or the dark red/brown. If your avatar, the red betta, is the one you want to stand out, show off his colors, brighten him up by using black! Trust me, don't use the lighter colors, go with black!
2. This is more of a confused question/comment...if this is a,New tank, are you cycling it? A 10gallon tank, if it is NOT a Natural Planted Tank with dirt and lots of live plants NEEDS to be cycled, preferably BEFORE fish are added.
my favorite (if you have petland discounts near you) is stony river sand.
no cleaning needed...
sinks right away...I used to pour it straight into my tank, unwashed
I have many Natural Planted Tanks with about 1 inch of dirt covered by 2-3 inches of Petco sand. It has never raised my pH but it does bubble up a bit...I pre-rinsed sand 1 time and it did not really make a difference regarding the bubbles. The bubble foam went away within a couple hours so although there were no adverse effects in my tanks.
I love this sand and would recommend it as a cap for a soil based/walstad method tank without reservation.
For the dirt tanks/walstad method, you can potentially stock your tank immediately, but remember that with these tanks, you are creating a mini ecosystem, with nutrients available and tons of plants (fast growing varieties) to soak up any excess ammonia, etc. But, I ually wait a few days, testing the water multiple times per day, before adding fish etc to the tank.
Two things to note:
1. I have tried "natural white" sand...regular off-white color...it has the effect of washing out colors...Something I had heard about but didn't quite believe until I tried it for myself! My advice would be to use black or the dark red/brown. If your avatar, the red betta, is the one you want to stand out, show off his colors, brighten him up by using black! Trust me, don't use the lighter colors, go with black!
2. This is more of a confused question/comment...if this is a,New tank, are you cycling it? A 10gallon tank, if it is NOT a Natural Planted Tank with dirt and lots of live plants NEEDS to be cycled, preferably BEFORE fish are added.
It's already been cycled. :) And I'll definitely get a darker sand, probably the black. He's red to the naked eye, but when the flash on my camera comes on, you can see all of this gorgeous blue in him. I just took some pictures & I'm sorting through them now. Thank you so much for your input & advice. I'm going to Petco tomorrow to get some sand & a heater for a new tank.
my favorite (if you have petland discounts near you) is stony river sand.
no cleaning needed...
sinks right away...I used to pour it straight into my tank, unwashed
I don't think we have any of those around here. :(
Ok, so I went to Petco to get some things & came home with this little gem--
I bought some black sand & put it in the new fish's tank. I can't see him though! I feel so stupid, I didn't even think about him being mostly black. Any suggestions on a different color? I love the Petco sand btw!
The petco sand looks really good, but like I said, I think it caused serious ph problems in my tank. This isn't common, so I wouldn't worry, but let me know if it affects anything. I'm still trying to figure out if it was the sand or not, so I'd like to hear how it worked for other people. Hopefully it will work great for you!
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