Coral Sand/play Sand

[stucolls]

Hi guys, im chaning from gravel to sand this weekend as the gravel is horrible!!

I have a massive bag of coral sand, can I use this is in a tropical tank or just marine???

 

[minnnt]

You can use coral sand no problem mate, but it may raise you ph by a couple of points. Shouldn't be an issue though providing you have a more neutral ph. Play sand is good, I used it and it is a very cost effective way to change to sand.

Good luck mate. Don't forget to rinse your media sponges after you have changed the substrate when its settled so it don't damage the impellor.

 

[stucolls]

so do I leave the filter running while I change it??

 

[Monty-2010]

you should be alright but as minnt says coral sand will have a buffering effect on the ph, what's your ph now? and what fish do you have? be careful if you have any sensitive fish that like a low ph

one thing i would do is add the coral sand in stages rather than in one go, so you acclimatise the fish rather than a sudden incrase which will be a shock to the system

 

[stucolls]

I have 2 clown loaches, 1 rtb, 1 silver dollar, 1 plec and an oscar.

Im tempted to just get the play sand instead to be honest,it looks a littler nicer.

 

[minnnt]

I didn't but I left it in a bucket of old tank water to help keep the bacteria alive. I left the tank for about 5 hours to settle a little and then added the filter back in and ran it. Tank was crystal by the following morning and then rinsed the sponges and impellor in tank water to rid it of most of the sand particles. If you decide to use play sand make sure you rinse it well to remove most of the lighter particles. I run water into a half bucket of sand and left it running for about 10 minutes until the water was clear. Still not perfect, but definitely nothing to worry about.

Never used coral sand mate so can't advise on that. The play sand I used was the Argos one.£2.98 for 15kg. Tesco sell 2 10kg bags for £4. Providing you are in the UK that is. Lol.

 

[fluttermoth]

Coral sand is too sharp for a lot of bottom dwellers and fish that sift through the substrate, like corydoras and dwarf cichlids, so you'll need playsand if you keep any of those.
It'll definitely be too sharp for the clown loaches; get the playsand, it's so cheap.

 

[stucolls]

yeah I want to add corys at some point so will get the playsand,thanks so much guys.

 

[minnnt]

No problem mate, good luck with the change.