Play Sand

Phinsfan65

When everyone is talking about Playsand is this what you mean?



or somthing like this.

redchigh

I don't use that brand, but yes.. Just rinse it well.

Phinsfan65

Thanks. I went to the Home Depot web site and found
quikrete play sand, It's $3.98 for a 50 lb bag.

fish monger

That's what I use. It has worked out great.

pop

hello:
how deep will the sand be. I want to create a deep sand bed in my aquarium and I thinking about four of five inches deep in about 1/3rd of the tank the rest I will use small gravel on top of slate or a couple of pieces of slate.
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Phinsfan65

I've never used sand befor so I'm not to sure how deep to make it. If its the same as gravel it's deep in back and shallow in front.
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Byron

I wouldn't go deeper than 3 or at very most 4 inches with sand. Actually, gravel should not be deeper than 4 inches either.

I've converted 5 of my tanks to play sand now, and in the largest, the 115g tank, it is only 3 inches deep at the deepest point. The other tanks are 2 inches max.

Bear in mind though that sand will even out over the entire surface of the tank bottom. Unless you build it up with permanent methods like rock siliconed together and to the glass walls and tank bottom glass so there is no way for the sand to seep out. Substrates shift naturally.

On the brand, I also use Quikrete Play Sand. It is very similar in appearance e to the sand in many Amazonian streams, so it is very authentic.

Byron.

pop

Hello:

I guess I mis-understood. I thought you could put down a layer of potting soil then a layer of clay and last a layer of sand making a safe and healthy environment for the bacteria. I guess substrates do shift.

Well its not the first time the my ole neutrons misfired.
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beaslbob

I was curious about the deep sand bed because that is a concept for marine systems where there is basically no fast growing true plants. So the idea is to setup an anoxic/anaerobic bacteria area in a deep sand bed to process nitrates.

If this is for a freshwater planted (and suspecting you were talking about my layering idea ), what I use is 1" of peat moss, 1" play sand next, then 1" pc select (or aquarium gravel) on top.

The play sand I use is just play sand from home depot, lowes, walmart and so on. Be sure it is not silica free play sand which is actually calcium carbonate. While that sand (labeled tropical play sand) is desirable for deep sand beds in marine system, for Freshwater system is does dissolve and become hard. So in the freshwater system heed to "not fit for aquarium use" warning. For marine systems ignore that warning.

my .02

pop

Hey beaslbob;
Sorry I don’t know about your layering concept I was thinking about the article soil as substrate that used the concepts of diana walstad. Maybe we are thinking the same thing.
Why don’t you link me to your layering concepts. As for the deep sand bed that is exactly what I had in mind minus the plants and slow moving water. The sand & clay I want to use comes from the sandhills in Carolina. Thanks
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