Sand

Non puffer freshwater discussion. Don't tell your puffers, they'll be jealous!
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bertie 83
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Sand

Post by bertie 83 »

Can I use soft builders sand in a f/w tank? Looking at a new setup and love the colour of this.
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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bertie 83
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Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis
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Re: Sand

Post by bertie 83 »

Any ideas?
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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goldielocke76
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Re: Sand

Post by goldielocke76 »

Sorry, I have no idea = / wish I did though.

Tons of people seem to be missing-- sevenyearnight, xrayjeeper, and reaperpilot. =( what's happening to everyone?
5.5g: Pond snails
5.5g: Red Cherry Shrimp and Rams
10g: PZ the Pee Wee (DP), Ghost shrimp, Otos x3
36g: Luau the F8, Zebra nerites x8, sometimes a herd of ghost shrimp for food
60g: Perches the starry blenny, 1 watchman goby Snaps the l.c. hermit, 2 emerald crabs, 1 red crab, 2 turbos, 7 asteas, 2 nerites, 2 clown gobies and 2 firefish gobies (upgrading to a 90 gallon reef)

RIP Yoshi, you are dearly missed <3
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bertie 83
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Gender: Male
My Puffers: lineatus R.I.P, South American puffer. Valentini puffer, porcupine puffer.
Non puffer
Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis
Location (country): Brighton, England
Location: brighton , england

Re: Sand

Post by bertie 83 »

Who knows. We seem to be short of knowledge ATM. Hoping one of the old school pro's will help, I am not sure if it's colour will leach into the water column you see
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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goldielocke76
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Re: Sand

Post by goldielocke76 »

My assumption is, that if it's a natural color, it shouldn't bleed. But if it's been dyed, I would be careful, maybe so dyes can harm our puffs? Also, it looks super fine grained, might be a pita to clean at first, but I agree, from the google pictures, looks like a lovely substrate.

And yes, most def short on knowledge right now. Only Nuclear_Glitter responded to my post, and no one really has responded to yours. Hopefully peeps will come back soon. ^.^
Last edited by goldielocke76 on Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
5.5g: Pond snails
5.5g: Red Cherry Shrimp and Rams
10g: PZ the Pee Wee (DP), Ghost shrimp, Otos x3
36g: Luau the F8, Zebra nerites x8, sometimes a herd of ghost shrimp for food
60g: Perches the starry blenny, 1 watchman goby Snaps the l.c. hermit, 2 emerald crabs, 1 red crab, 2 turbos, 7 asteas, 2 nerites, 2 clown gobies and 2 firefish gobies (upgrading to a 90 gallon reef)

RIP Yoshi, you are dearly missed <3
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PolishPuff
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Re: Sand

Post by PolishPuff »

Is that it ?

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... 9,r:22,s:0

With cleaning it to "perfection" it should be OK. Ive used before: Play sand, Pool filter sand, Wisconsin river sand and now a sand that I bought at my LFS. All of them were rinsed and cleaned to the point that I probably lost 30% of the bad do to cleaning
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sgtmyers88
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Re: Sand

Post by sgtmyers88 »

Play Sand is safest and cheapest over here. It is $3.49 for a 50lb bag at ACE Hardware where I live.
WARNING: Puffers are mischievous little blimps with enchanting powers. You may not be content with having just one.
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bertie 83
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My Puffers: lineatus R.I.P, South American puffer. Valentini puffer, porcupine puffer.
Non puffer
Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis
Location (country): Brighton, England
Location: brighton , england

Re: Sand

Post by bertie 83 »

PolishPuff wrote:Is that it ?

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... 9,r:22,s:0

With cleaning it to "perfection" it should be OK. Ive used before: Play sand, Pool filter sand, Wisconsin river sand and now a sand that I bought at my LFS. All of them were rinsed and cleaned to the point that I probably lost 30% of the bad do to cleaning
No not the sharp sand, this is soft and a much darker colour it looks real nice. Take a quick look on google images it the darker one
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
RTR
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Re: Sand

Post by RTR »

Sands fluctuate with location, especially those used in building - they are largely local sourced to cut transportation costs. It really is impossible to comment on localy collected materials.

Any sand not high in shell content canbe used in FW if well rinsed and clean. The safety will depend on it's not affecting the local water chemistry and on how much is used and how well it is maintained.

Generally larger grain sizes are safer so long as they are not sharp. Commonly the blasting sands and pool filter sands are most likely to be safe.

Generally minimizing the depth of the sand is also safer.

HTH
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Iliveinazoo
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Re: Sand

Post by Iliveinazoo »

I've used Kiln dried sand before because it doesn't tend to have sharp edges.
Nuclear_Glitter
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Re: Sand

Post by Nuclear_Glitter »

When I research it it's not recommended, but no one really says why. Everyone just says "use play sand instead". Maybe you should just buy a small pack of the builder sand and put it in some water (after washing) and see if it produces any chemicals, smells, or colors.
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford
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bertie 83
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My Puffers: lineatus R.I.P, South American puffer. Valentini puffer, porcupine puffer.
Non puffer
Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis
Location (country): Brighton, England
Location: brighton , england

Re: Sand

Post by bertie 83 »

Not a bad idea. How long should it be tested til deemed safe do you think?
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
RTR
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Re: Sand

Post by RTR »

"Safe for use" and "Good for aquarium use" are two very different things.

Whether or not sand affects the water profile/parameters is quite different from toxicity or from contamination.

Even inert and uncontaminated sand may cause issues if is not appropriately maintained.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
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bertie 83
Moderator
Posts: 5298
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:28 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: lineatus R.I.P, South American puffer. Valentini puffer, porcupine puffer.
Non puffer
Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis
Location (country): Brighton, England
Location: brighton , england

Re: Sand

Post by bertie 83 »

Play sand it is then lol
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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kcartwright856
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Re: Sand

Post by kcartwright856 »

I haven't used it personally, but most people I've heard from say that play sand compacts a lot, and goes everywhere when you stir and clean it because it's so fine.

I love my pool filter sand, though. It's very easy to clean, doesn't go flying everywhere when you stir it, and it has the perfect grain size.
-KC

My DP tank journal: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=29746
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