Can Anyone Recommend A Good Sand?

[minnnt]

I used Argos play sand too. £2.98 for 15kg's. I bought 2 bags for my 125 litre tank and ended up with a bucket full left that i have donated to the sister in law. Easy to wash, cheap, and although it looks a very unappealing colour when in the bucket, it is very nice when in the tank with the lights on it. I am very pleased with it, but i guess if you wanted a dark sand substrate you would have to go for the proper stuff? Unsure if any shops sell black sand for anything?

 

[leecasey]

I used Argos play sand too. £2.98 for 15kg's. I bought 2 bags for my 125 litre tank and ended up with a bucket full left that i have donated to the sister in law. Easy to wash, cheap, and although it looks a very unappealing colour when in the bucket, it is very nice when in the tank with the lights on it. I am very pleased with it, but i guess if you wanted a dark sand substrate you would have to go for the proper stuff? Unsure if any shops sell black sand for anything?

I managed to source some coloured play sand, it's a bit more expensive than normal play sand but cheaper than aquarium sand. They also do it in black!

http/www.rainbowwoodchips.co.uk/cube/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=48

 

[pompeydaz]

I'm gonna be getting some play sand as well, seems the way forward deffinately with having corys

 

[Athena]

Yep, Corys will love the sand.

I've been an old stick-in-the-mud for years, shying away from the idea of sand as I had ideas it would be more trouble that it's worth and heard stories of it clogging up the filter and going up the gravel vac...

...but having seen so many members on here with sand in their tanks and how lovely it looks (and they don't seem to have many problems with it), I've decided to put one foot in the water (not literally ) , and go for a half 'n' half effect...LOL, one step at a time!

So I'm doing a scape with both a smooth pebble gravel plus the sand and various rocks etc.

If I get on ok with the part-sand in that tank I will do a 2ft tank completely with sand.

Oh, this will make you laugh... I'm not the only one who is new to all this sand malarky...rang one petshop/aquatic supplies place to ask if they had any aquatic sand in stock (before I asked on here and found out about the play sand) and the bloke sounded quite bemused and wanted to know why on earth I would put sand in an aquarium! LOL

Athena

 

[pompeydaz]

Yeah you get that, some places have no idea.

Which is heavy would you say same amount of sand and gravel?

 

[raptorrex]

Thanks again for the further input. Asked my b/f to pick up a bag of PLAY sand from B&Q (not builders sand) and he was insisting that he should go to Wickes and buy dry kilned sand instead! Oh dear...I haven't a clue what that type of sand is and what the difference is to play sand - but he does like to have his say, even though he's apparently not at all interested in my aquariums...and he's right, I'm wrong (well, so he thinks) LOL

I just hope there isn't a bag of unwanted sand waiting for me when I get home tonight!

Athena

kiln dried sand is very sharp, so not suited to all fish. so another one for PLAYSAND, from me. truth is there seems little point looking at anything else. incidentally, all "PLAY" sand is safe and inert. otherwise it could not be sold as "PLAY"sand. this includes the B&Q brand. if yo are looking for a specific shade or colour, try pool filter sand, its much more expensive, does the job no better, but may be available in the colour you are after.

 

[andyjw1]

Which is heavy would you say same amount of sand and gravel?

If you mean the same volume then sand is by far the heavier.

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

It's not that hard. There's two ways you can go about it.

Either syphon the gravel out with a wide bore pipe, like a piece of hose (that gets the mulm hiding in your gravel out at the same time) and then lower the (well washed and rinsed!) sand in carefully with an old ice cream or margarine tub.

Or, house the fish temporarily in a plastic storage box or buckets while you strip the tank down. Fish don't actually need to be in glass tanks; that's just for our viewing convenience!

As you have corys, you should definitely make the change; they'll be so much happier

What about plants that are rooting in the gravel? I'd like to change, but the roots go so far into the gravel!

 

[StandbySetting]

Pull them out, trim them to encourage new growth and then replant.

 

[Athena]

Oh dear...well I got home last night and b/f had been to B&Q and bought me the bag of Play Sand, as I'd asked (glad he didn't get the kiln dried stuff!)...but I don't like it - it looks like builders sand...really dark gingery brown (reminded me of the colour of the stuff the council throw on the roads to grit them during snow spells). Not what I had in mind at all and looked nothing like the light coloured sand in their website pic.

My b/f tried to convince me it would look fine in the tank by saying "It only looks that colour cos it's damp. Once you take it out of the bag and dry it out it will go lighter..." - I just laughed and said "Dry it out? What for? It's going to get wet once it's in my tank full of water!!" LOL

No, it just won't look right. So, that's going back and I shall have to try one of the other choices.

Will try Asda on Sunday and if they don't have any I guess I will be ordering online from Argos or Tesco. (Just noticed today that Argos sand is exactly the same bag as the Homebase sand).

Regards, Athena (lucky to be here today as I tripped and fell down the stairs this morning...OUCH!!)

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Tesco sand is darker then argos i have tescos in my shrimp and argos in my snails

 

[Athena]

Thanks - slowly getting these choices narrowed down. So, basically my best bet is Argos/Homebase sand I reckon, if that is the lightest colour from them all.

Many thanks - Athena

 

[Proxo]

(Just noticed today that Argos sand is exactly the same bag as the Homebase sand).

The playsand on the homebase website isnt the one i got in the shop (i dont think, the bag looks different lol),
maybe worth a look into the shop itself (if you're close to it lol).

 

[raptorrex]

Tesco sand is darker then argos i have tescos in my shrimp and argos in my snails

i think the sources must change. when i looked, some time ago, it was the other way around. very good point though, never assume all sand will be consistent. always check.

 

[matt_storey]

Juat to add, homebase have 2 types of playsand, a small 10kg bag and a larger 20kg bag, the playsand i used (the darker of the 2) is the 20kg found outside