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any opinions on quikrete play sand?

3K views 74 replies 9 participants last post by  sparkyjoe 
#1 ·
Does anyone have any opinions on this brand? I have a 10 gallon empty right now that I am thinking about playing around with a sand bottom. I never really liked the look of a sand bottom but I figured I should give it a shot. I never liked live plants either until I recently bought one. Any advice or knowledge on creating a sand bottom would be helpful. Thanks guys.
 
#6 ·
Wow your sand si so much lgihter than mine! Interesting haha but it looks nice either way. I found ( I set up my tank twice) That I prefer, instead of a flat layer I did like hils and different levels and it jsut made it more interesting to look at
 
#8 ·
That's good. I am glad it's well known and okay to use. I got lucky. I have a five year old brother-in-law and my mother-in-law was setting up a basketball hoop for him. They bought too much sand so I got a 50 pound bag for free! Now I get to play with sand. I am getting more excited about it now. I have a 2.5 gallon and a 10 gallon empty at the moment.
 
#10 ·
Yea I wouldn't have gotten 50 pounds either since I have no clue what I am going to do with all of it when I am done! Maybe one of those sandbox turtles? lol yea free is good.
 
#12 ·
You know it is cheaper in the long run in tanks 5 gallons plus to get play sand or pool filter sand and just toss the remaining sand... Just a thought.

Play sand is great, just with sand poke it and move it a bit to prevent dead spots.
 
#15 ·
Great advice. Okay guys, I was cleaning out some freebee tanks I got recently and had no idea I had so much crap. I may have more room for the sand anyhow! I have an empty 2.5 gallon, 3 empty ten gallons, and an empty 29 gallon! Geez its amazing how this crap accumulates. I also counted my filters... yes I had to count them... I have nine. A 1-3 gallon, five ten gallon and three 30 gallon filters. And three heaters. One is a ten gallon submersible, another that is a 200 watt adjustable and the third is an adjustable but I have no idea of the wattage. Oh my gosh it's so easy to collect this crap!
 
#16 ·
Okay I got the sand set up in the ten. I have let it sit for two days with no filter. What do you all recommend for water changes to clear it up the rest of the way?
 
#17 ·
Shirley, you ought to see the collection of filters, heaters, airline tubes, plastic plants, bubblers, containers, and filter cartridges that I have managed to collect in just under a year in the hobby. Even I'm horrified at it. It fills 3 cabinets. o_O

And I used Quikrete sand in my tanks. Works very nicely. You can toss the rest or drive around until you find a park with a sandbox, haha.

And water changes. 25-50%, whatever works for you. The bigger the water change, the faster it clears. Tip: when you fill it back up, place a ziplock plastic bag flat on the surface of the water and pour the water on top of that. This way, you don't displace a lot of sand on the bottom and create another huge cloud.
 
#18 ·
Haha, that's funny. I actually used an empty ten that I am not planning on using and dumped it all in there. If I like this sand thing I may end up doing my others like that. all except my little dwarf frog. Spoiled thing got a tank on his own. Anyhoo, yea I was really shocked at what a year in could bring. So many things given to me though. I was fortunate for that. The rest is the "I may need that some day" type of save. haha.
Thanks for the water change instructions. I am going to start that tomorrow. It isn't to bad cloudy though. Just a little with a dust film on top.
 
#20 ·
I got Petco sand. Im not a fan of natural looking tanks, so I got royal blue sand in my 10 gallon and a more beach looking color for Sluggles 5 gallon. he has a tiki hut for his house so I figured I'd do with the beach look. he also has a giant blue leafy silk plant for color - it almost looks like a blue lei floating in there.

If I ever get my 20 gallon long set up again, I may go with play sand simply because of price.

sakura - have you tried an aqueon quiet flow one yet? all i hear is a quiet hum. I stuck a bunch of filter foam in the outflow so i dont even hear the water falling.
 
#22 ·
Hmm, I was walking through walmart with my husband a couple days ago and I was looking at the bright colored sand as we walked past. It was funny, he didn't even turn his head. He just sensed what I was thinking and said, "No honey" haha. He hates all the unnatural colored stuff.
 
#25 ·
Okay, after a water change this week I will see what I want in there. Husband says he is okay with another sorority but he has been talking about these crayfish that he wants. I told him I only do pinchers on ghost shrimp. He gets a crayfish it's all about him after I set up the tank. Hehe.
 
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