# Play sand for aquarium?



## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

Just wanted your guy's opinions on play sand (white). Both positive and negative. Thanks!


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

We have it in two of our tanks. 
Pros: Super cheap, good for burrowers, pretty much anything that applies to moon sand, seems to be better for plants than moon sand
Cons: It takes a long time to settle when you first put it in, it's harder to vaccuum because it's lighter than moon sand and therefore gets stirred up way too easily, you pretty much need to use a low disturbance filter with it for the aforementioned stirring up problem


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

Traps a lot of gases and stirs up too easily as hXcChic22 pointed out

It looks good but you have to be very careful when cleaning

Also, a VERY thorough rinsing outside is mandatory to get rid of a lot of the dust..the larger and purer the granule you can find the better

On thing I did have a hard time though was the silica seemed to always send my PH to the moon and had to use softeners and water pillows to get it under control but it was always an issue.

I personally would go with the large bags of inert colored sand they have at the LFS...seems to be very little dust or particulate and doesn't get "muddy" like the playsand will

I'll admit the playsand looks more natural but is not worth the pain...expect to take twice as long cleaning as you normally would


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## Mystery snail (Mar 26, 2010)

Go with Pool Filter sand.... It can be bought at pool supply places.. Around $10 for 50 Lb bags. I heard it's softer than play sand. It looks great. I have it in my 2 tanks (have not done a cleaning yet, will let you know. The filters are not a problem with it sucking it in, I have an Aqua clear 70 on a 38 gallon tank and no sand gets anywhere close to the filter. To vacuum it up, u just carefully graze about 1/4th 1/2 inch above it to remove debri and whatever. Then you want to mix it around a little bit, either with ur fingers or some long object to release oxygen and gasses that are trapped under it. (saw a video on cleaning sand on the net) I will def let you know how it is to clean, I do water changes sunday. 
To rinse it u just put in abucket in a sink, fill it up, and pour water out to get the cloudiness out.. do that process like 3 times per bucket full...untill water is clear. My sand sunk right to the bottom, no cloudiness at all when I put it in the tank.


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## noahhill (Jul 31, 2010)

I have play sand in my 55 g and one of my 10 g tanks , pros - looks great ! my fish love it!
cons- I hate cleaning it and it get way dirty way to fast ! I regret using sand now and will redo both tanks asap with white coral sand ( larger grain ) or small grain river pebbles .


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

Hah, I posted this like forever ago but I actually don't have that much of a cleaning problem but I do have quite a bit of water circulation going so that probably helps out a lot.


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## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

I collected a bucket of sand from the edge of the James River very near Jamestown. Maybe Pocahontas played in that sand? We throw in seashells from time to time as well.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

If by "coral sand" you mean crushed coral be prepared for high Ph. It will naturally increase it


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

I just set up a 46 gallon bowfront for a friend and used playsand, it settled in a few hours and looks great.


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