Argos play sand

[EmJay]

I bought some Argos play sand, as I saw it recommended on the forum.
I've opened a bag, to wash it ready for my new tank but I was surprised as it's a dark colour, for some reason I was expecting a light coloured sand
I'm worried that it won't look right in my tank.
If anyone has this particular sand in their tank, would you mind showing me a photo of the finished look please?

This is what I bought....

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Hi there! This is the type a lot of us in the UK use for sand in a tank. It looks a lot nicer when it's clean and laid out in your tank. Here's what it looks like in my tank.

 

[EmJay]

Hi there! This is the type a lot of us in the UK use for sand in a tank. It looks a lot nicer when it's clean and laid out in your tank. Here's what it looks like in my tank.

View attachment 153464View attachment 153465View attachment 153466

Thank you.
That's how I wanted it to look in my tank

The sand currently looks like this......

Is that how yours started off?

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

That's how I wanted it to look in my tank

The sand currently looks like this......
View attachment 153467
Is that how yours started off?

Yep, sand tends to look darker when it's all clumped together like that, just make sure you clean it well to get out any muck before putting it in your tank.
If you want to test it out, you could lay out a small amount in a see-through container and see what you think of it before going all the way.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Don't forget that your aquarium lighting will likely change the shade of sand colour too. When concentrated in a glass like you have there, it will often appear darker due to shadow

 

[Deleted member 149562]

To check the colour and since this will be a new aquarium, I would put a binliner or two onto the bottom of the aquarium, making sure 2-3 inches of the binliner go up all 4 sides. Place your sand onto the binliner and spread it out as you would anyway. Put the hood on - without water - and turn on the light. If the sand appears lighter then fine, you can pull the binliners out. If the sand is darker than you want, you can either live with it and use paler decor like pebbles etc to lift the colour or get a small bag of lighter sand and mix into the darker which will lift the shade.

Whatever you decide after doing the aquarium light test, don't leave the binliners in the aquarium....either pull them out if the sand is OK or if its really bad then use the binliners (and extra pairs of hands) to lift the sand out on the binliners - there will be a little spillage but it won't be the headache to remove if you place the sand into the aquarium and find that you hate it.

 

[EmJay]

To check the colour and since this will be a new aquarium, I would put a binliner or two onto the bottom of the aquarium, making sure 2-3 inches of the binliner go up all 4 sides. Place your sand onto the binliner and spread it out as you would anyway. Put the hood on - without water - and turn on the light. If the sand appears lighter then fine, you can pull the binliners out. If the sand is darker than you want, you can either live with it and use paler decor like pebbles etc to lift the colour or get a small bag of lighter sand and mix into the darker which will lift the shade.

Whatever you decide after doing the aquarium light test, don't leave the binliners in the aquarium....either pull them out if the sand is OK or if its really bad then use the binliners (and extra pairs of hands) to lift the sand out on the binliners - there will be a little spillage but it won't be the headache to remove if you place the sand into the aquarium and find that you hate it.

Thank you

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Once you get it in the tank and all spread out, it should be a much lighter color.