Switching To Sand & Can I Use Pure Quartz Reptile Sand?

[rebrn]

Hello, I just got back from our new neighbors house and she had a freshwater aquarium set up there (yeah finally someone close who knows about fish) and she used sand as her substrate. Absolutely gorgeous! Anyway needless to say I fell in love with the look and am now thinking I want to change my gravel for sand. Well anyone who is familiar with me knows I am in the process of cycling a 5 gallon and a 12 gallon tank, so I thought if I was going to switch I should do it now before adding any fish (make the process easier). I was just wondering what the pros/cons for using sand are? My neighbor wasn't really able to tell me the differences as she has only ever used sand. Do I need special equipment to clean the sand or will my gravel vac be sufficient? We have a couple of stores here that sell sand, not including the LFS, so finding some should not be a problem. Is there anything specific I need to watch for, i.e what type not to get? Also, I was wondering if coloured sand is ok, I know the local landscaping store sells a red sand (not sure what type it is) that I would really love to use in the 5 gallon but not sure if coloured sand would be ok to use, I don't know if it is naturally red or dyed.

Thanks

Update I have been looking for sand on-line. I have found Zoo med Rpeti Sand (http/www.petstore.com/Zoo_Med_Laboratories_Repti_Sand_Substrate_Natural_Red_10Lb_Reptile_Cage_Liners-Zoo_Med-MZ77010-RPSULI-vi.html)
I like the idea of this because it is naturally red and comes in small quanties (for my small tank) but wasn't sure if this was safe to use in a fish aquarium

 

[kiriyama]

Hi , i changed over to sand fairly early aswell, i think it looks nicer than gravel , its also better if you are going to add some bottom dwellers such as corydoras or cichlids such as bolivian rams. The one thing i would advised is that when you do a water change that you give the substrate a good clean, let some of it be sucked into the syphon then let it fall again , just give it a good stir up. if you dont do this then gases and toxins can build up which can be very harmful to your fish, even killing them. You can easily obtain a couple of malaysian trumpet snails ,the key here is not to overfeed them as they will multiply with a large food source, these will stir up the sand from underneath and stop it compacting. As for the coloured sands im sorry i cant advise you ,if purchased from LFS or similiar I would imagine that they would be safe as designed for aquaria, hopefully one of the long term experienced guys will be along instead of this tired old noob, should be able to advise about silica based and aragonite sand if you want to raise the pH for cichlids etc, main thing is its down to personal choice , there are tons of guys and girls on this forum that have used argos play sand which is cheap and cheerful....... hope this helps....

 

[rebrn]

thanks for the quick reply. The link to the sand I origionally posted it calcium carbonate (i believe) so it would definately through off my water states. Anyways I found reptile sand here, http/www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752649. It says it is natural with no chemicals/dyes, it also states that it is fine quartz sand. From my understanding, quartz sand is the same as silica sand but not sure. I do know that quartz sand is inert so it shouldn't affect the water quality (ie. no buffering properties) but not sure if quartz reptile sand is actually the same as aquarium sand. I was really looking at the reptile sand because it seems that you have more colour variety with the reptile sand, but again don't know if it is safe to use.

 

[llamalord305]

Try looking for play sand or Toys R Us play sand. A lot of people use it.

 

[rebrn]

I was planning on using play sand in my 12 gallon, I want a more natural look in that tank. But for the smaller 5 gallon tank, I wanted colour, not sure what colour yet, but the reptile sand has more colour varities, that is why I was looking at it.

 

[OldMan47]

You are completely correct Rebrn. Quartz is basically the same thing chemically that glass is made from. It will be fine as far as impact to the water chemistry. I would think that you would still want to check that it is not a sharp sand but is slightly rounded.

 

[rebrn]

Thanks OM. I will definately check out the consistancy/shape of it before I buy it. I thought it was ok, I read on a website that it was you just have to be sure to get quartz not calcium based just for the water pH consistancy (i.e buffering properties of calcium based sand)but I had never been on that website before and didn't know how trustworthy it was.

Thanks again.