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Okay, I know that folks often recommend playground sand as a good, cheap sand substrate, but I read something that questions its usefulness in fish tanks. A new book of mine mentions that it is more  e than, say, coral-based sand to compacting and forming anaerobic areas that produce hydrogen sulfide. I know that stirring will help protect against that, but it sounds like the more expensive sand is safer for tanks, as it allegedly doesn't compact as much.

Also, my book says that since the regular playground sand is composed of silica (a component of diatom shells), it can often help produce diatom algae blooms. Is this true? If so, it isn't the kind of sand that you want in your tank. It sounds like a saltwater aquarist especially would want to avoid using such stuff.

So... is the cheap stuff really this junky? I already know that there is more dust and debris in it than in other sands, but will it actually cause water quality problems?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I had huge diatom problems with it. I get plenty of brown algae anyway but with the playsand in there I had strings coming off the rocks and columns coming out of the substrate. Even a good group of otos couldn't keep up. When I got rid of the sand for eco complete then the otos wiped out the diatoms in a week. Compared to the black tahitian moon sand I used in another tank it was alot dustier, harder to clean, sharper grains, and took more bags(possibly because of more dust waste). I can't comment on long term use in the tank because I cleaned it out after 3months. If you want to go really cheap it works but I won't be using it again.

Hi,
I'm not sure what you mean by play ground sand. If you mean
sand for a sand box, that would be fine. All sands are
silica, and are dug up by large shovels, poured into a
hopper that will sift the grossly large stuff out, and then
bagged. It will contain twigs, and all sorts of other stuff
along with dust and silt. You need to wash it throughly
before placing it in a tank.

In a planted tank where the recommended substrate depth is
about 4 inches, the sand can compact over time and create
dead areas where anaerobic bacteria form pockets of black,
rotten egg smelling, sand and give off hydrogen sulfide gas.
That is toxic to the fish. Regular sand is not recommended
for planted tanks. If you are going to use sand, then my
advice would be to keep the substrate thin, say no more than
an inch. If you are going to plant that tank, stick with
plants that have small root systems such as the various
types of hair grass. Use driftwood and attach various plants
to it. Additionally, add some MTS snails to keep the sand
loose. Because sand is so light and easily riled up into
the water column, raise the filter intakes part way up the
tank, and place sponge collars around the intakes so any
disturbed sand does not get into the filter and ruin the
motor or impeller system.

"Sand" that is crushed coral, will affect your pH and GH
and drive the pH into the 8s and the GH reading well into
the "hard water" area. Crushed coral is a carbonate.

All that being said, many folks like the "sandy look" and
have successful tanks.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

The &#8220;playground sand&#8221; I was talking about is the cheap stuff sold at Home Depot and Lowes stores everywhere, the sand that usually goes in sandboxes. My book has said that this is inferior to some of the other sands, I&#8217;m trying to determine the truth of this statement.

Basically, I just wanted to see if anyone could confirm that the cheap sand is more likely to compact and cause water quality problems than the carbonate sands and the other silica-based sands on the market. For instance, I do know that some other silica sands (those typically sold in pet stores) do not harbor as much dust and dirt as the sandbox stuff, and do not contain twigs and larger bits of rock. Also, live sand and carbonate-based sands are less likely to foul up saltwater tanks, where the raised pH and general hardness levels are welcome. But, they aren&#8217;t always useful for fw setups, unless you&#8217;re interested in keeping African fish.

Thanks for the tips Frank, I guess you&#8217;ve already seen some &#8216;action&#8217; in planted tanks with sand.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I used playground sand in my 20 tall...and then took it out. Major mess. It was my first time using sand and playground sand is very dirty, lots of rinsing and then I had trouble getting it to settle. I guess I stirred up the bottom too much gravel vaccing. Some even got in my filter motor.

___________________________________________

If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.

I forgot about the effects it had on my filter. I also destroyed 2 filter impellers my first month after setting the tank up. That stuff was a mess.

Hi Sir,
Well, personally, I think that they are using the word
"inferior" rather loosely. If you want to purchase sand
from the LFS, it is packaged specifically for aquatic use.
By that I mean that it has been processed to remove the
beach detritus (twigs, glass, cigarette buts, etc.) and
then packaged. If comes in all sorts of colors that range
from natural, to white, to black.
The sand from the hardware stores is processed as well,
but to remove the gross trash and then packaged.
Both need cleaning.
Both are just as "good" or "bad," depending upon how
you look at it, for freshwater tanks and plants.

For Saltwater tanks one can use live sand, which is
essentially sand scooped up from the tidal area, and
contains all sorts of live "critters" (invertebrates).
It is a mixture of coral sand and regular silica sand.

The term "sand" refers to a particle that is larger than
a coarse silt particle and smaller than a granule.
It's about 1/16 to 2mm (62-2000microns, or 0.0025 to 0.08
inch). Additionally, it is graded as very coarse, coarse,
medium, fine, and very fine, sand. Sand is basically
quartz resulting from rock weathering. It can also contain
fragments of other rocks and minerals.
Coral sand is a mixture of coral, and weathered limestone
fragments.
In all cases, because of the grain size, any kind of
sand, in any depth, but especially over say, 2 inches,
will compact, and once compacted, can cause the problems
I mentioned earlier.

Hope this helps.
Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 22-Apr-2005 10:03

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I'd just like to point out that not all play sand is the same.
I've only tried 2 different brands, but there was no similarity besides color.
The bad sand immediately compacts. And even after thorough rinsing, it clouded the water beyond belief. I waited about a week to see if the water would clear, but it didn't. I had to clean it all out and start over with better sand.
The good sand, Quikrete Play Sand, is a perfect choice for any nonplanted freshwater tank. It doesn't cloud the water for more than a couple minutes(when washed properly). I also haven't noticed any compacting issues. I once went about a month without raking through the sand bed, and it seemed the same as when I rake it on a weekly basis.

Hi,
"Not all play sand is the same," is a correct statement.
Different "grades" of sand qualify for the phrase "play
sand." One of the differences is the amount of very fine
material is present in the sand. These fines will clog the
spaces between the grains, and "cement" them together.

For quality sand, in bulk, go to a pool supply house and
purchase a bag or two of pool filter sand.

The best quality is labeled specifically for use
in an aquarium, and sold at your LFS however, it is
also the most expensive.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 23-Apr-2005 08:54

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Yep, I was gonna say pool filter sand.