Toys R Us Play Sand Warning!

[Abyss]

Argos sand for me too in both my tanks. Clean, cheap and easy.

 

[wolverine2031]

Argos sand for me too in both my tanks. Clean, cheap and easy.

Just a thought did you know that B&Q now supply prewashed Play Sand )

I did wash it again but dont think it was required that much as hardly any debris came out.

Dont forget to put some in a small jar or cup first and add water to see if much debris or bubbles are given off, just in case.

I did find two easy ways to wash it...

Put a bucket full of sand in a old pillow case and use the jet setting on a hose pipe -
jet blast it with the house pipe then leave to dry before emptying in the tank.

Alternatively buy a cheap salad mixer or colinder with small holes inside, wrap a pair of tights over the top. Put the sand inside then wash over the bowl or sink.... until the water runs clear, any fine debris will be washed through the tights and the clean sand can be placed direct in the tank.

Its alot easier and quicker than washing it 3-4 times

B&Q currently offer normal play sand and also washed sand though if you check the web site out they have it priced wrong....
They have the washed sand priced cheaper when it should be the other way round

Good luck.....

Argos sand for me too in both my tanks. Clean, cheap and easy.

Just a thought did you know that B&Q now supply prewashed Play Sand )

I did wash it again but dont think it was required that much as hardly any debris came out.

Dont forget to put some in a small jar or cup first and add water to see if much debris or bubbles are given off, just in case.

I did find two easy ways to wash it...

Put a bucket full of sand in a old pillow case and use the jet setting on a hose pipe -
jet blast it with the house pipe then leave to dry before emptying in the tank.

Alternatively buy a cheap salad mixer or colinder with small holes inside, wrap a pair of tights over the top. Put the sand inside then wash over the bowl or sink.... until the water runs clear, any fine debris will be washed through the tights and the clean sand can be placed direct in the tank.

Its alot easier and quicker than washing it 3-4 times

B&Q currently offer normal play sand and also washed sand though if you check the web site out they have it priced wrong....
They have the washed sand priced cheaper when it should be the other way round

Good luck.....

 

[snowflake311]

Yeah is have play sand from home depot. It never had bubbles that is weird. Bad bag I guess. Try getting some play sand from a home improvment store.

 

[Wills]

Cool thanks for the tips guys. With the sand I am unsure of how I should clean it you guys seem to have a much better idea of letting it flow in the bath.

Should I just put all in a bucket and leave the shower hose pumping through it? Or should I do it in small bits or should I do it in small bits and kind of swoosh it around? OR if its labeled as prewashed do I need to do it at all?

Thanks Wills

 

[OldMan47]

If you choose to clean sand or gravel, usually a wise decision, you can probably get the best results by using a garden hose and a bucket outdoors. I will fill a bucket 1/4 to 1/3 full of the substrate and run the hose into the sand while stirring it using my hand. This releases an=y dirt and lets it flow over the top of the bucket. It also releases very fine sand particles that would never settle properly in my tank. I shut off the water flow a few times while doing this and pour off all the water and then start in again. That restart lets me judge how I am doing with the cleaning. If the new water fill is crystal clear, there is no reason to continue with that batch. I have done this in a bathtub or kitchen sink but there is enough fine bits of sand that carries over with the water that it becomes difficult to clean up when you are done. A bit of sand or gravel in my outdoor garden is not a problem.

 

[mini_matt]

so in peoples opinions in this thread when I get my new tank next week the sand being toys r us play sand, I should give it a quick wash in a bucket just to rid any really fine particals in the water, when the water is clear pour sand in the tank and do the next bucket. I have 25kg of sand and will have a 3ft x 12 footprint how much sand will I need? guessing I won't need it all.

 

[bae1994]

so in peoples opinions in this thread when I get my new tank next week the sand being toys r us play sand, I should give it a quick wash in a bucket just to rid any really fine particals in the water, when the water is clear pour sand in the tank and do the next bucket. I have 25kg of sand and will have a 3ft x 12 footprint how much sand will I need? guessing I won't need it all.

hi the toys r us sand will not make the water muk at all as its silt free

me and truckasaurus123 dont was toys are us sand

so you can just add it straight to the tank without washing

as its silt free

also aout half a bag covered a 2 ft X15inch tank bed with about 1 inch

 

[onebto]

Totally agree DOWN with toys rus play sand

 

[Wills]

Totally agree DOWN with toys rus play sand

I'm not saying down with it but just letting people know my experience. If its worked for you good but just be careful, I dont know if this is something new to the product line that they put in because it has obviously worked well for others. But I wont be able to confidently recommend the product now but I would stay away from this kind of area as I am no expert.

 

[wendywc]

I have seen play sand with warnings of "Not for use with aquariums" or something similar. When I inquired about it with the manufacturer, they said it was because they also bag fertilizer and treated soils, so there might be cross contamination. This happened a few years ago, but be sure whatever you get it aquarium safe. Good luck!

 

[shi24137]

has anyone tried using that new "aqua sand" yet? it just came out. i saw a commercial for it on tv. you can build with it under water and it doesnt get wet. just a thought...

 

[mini_matt]

so in peoples opinions in this thread when I get my new tank next week the sand being toys r us play sand, I should give it a quick wash in a bucket just to rid any really fine particals in the water, when the water is clear pour sand in the tank and do the next bucket. I have 25kg of sand and will have a 3ft x 12 footprint how much sand will I need? guessing I won't need it all.

hi the toys r us sand will not make the water muk at all as its silt free

me and truckasaurus123 dont was toys are us sand

so you can just add it straight to the tank without washing

as its silt free

also aout half a bag covered a 2 ft X15inch tank bed with about 1 inch

awesome, well i did give it a quick test in a small glass and there were no bubbles or cloudiness, about to test in a pint glass so i can see a bit clearer. edit: ok so just put some sand in a waterbottle with water, shook it up a few minutes ago and its still a bit cloudy, how long would I have to leave my tank for the sans to settle? also on water changes how do u stop the sand going everywhere?
emptied the water in the bottle and refilled twice now water is clear and clears quickafter shaking the bottle! looks like i will have to clean the sand after all!

also, my current tank is gravel and quite fancy adding some sand to see how it looks and maybe change that to sand too, can I put sand in while my fish are in there?

 

[mini_matt]

has anyone tried using that new "aqua sand" yet? it just came out. i saw a commercial for it on tv. you can build with it under water and it doesnt get wet. just a thought...

I've had a play with that before, probably wouldn't be good for fish but it is good fun! lol thats the pink and blue stuff yeah

 

[Wills]

UPDATE

well for me at least - I was going to get some sand from P@H but it was really large grain which I was a bit miffed about and they didnt have enough for me so I went to argos got 2 bags for £6. Just finished washing it and its all good for me

 

[shi24137]

yea, its like pink, blue, green, and yellow. its pretty cool stuff and the commercial didnt say anything about not putting it in aquariums. maybe someone will experiment it with a goldfish? those are inexpensive anyway. just a thought everyone. if anyone does i would love to know how it turns out!