all purpose sand??????

has anyone ever used all purpose sand as a substrate ? and if so is it o.k. to use?

I never use that sand and no idea about it sorry

strongarmtattoo wrote:

has anyone ever used all purpose sand as a substrate ? and if so is it o.k. to use?

I use play sand or all purpose sand in ALL of my tanks. Works great, don't let other's fool you in to thinking it doesn't. Looks like your in KC, you could even stop by sometime and check em out!

other's include me ? lmk pls

I only use PFS. Sry.

I only use Pool filter Sand.

ive read that i should use pool filter sand , reason being is that all purpose sand contains silica sand and thats not good for aquariums , but was also told that is a myth , so i still dont know ...

It's a myth.

PFS is also silica.

I don't know if it's all purpose sand I have... It's quikrete playsand in the 50 lb. bags. I have it in all but one of my tanks. Have had them set up for at least 3 years and have had absolutely no problems.

Yeah I have used PFS in my aquariums for the last 4-5 years. I have 35+ tanks.

I did some research on this when I was planning for a new tank.

Play sand, all purpose sand, and pool filter sand are basically the same material, silica. All purpose sand was probably screened to have of a more uniform grain size for building applications. Play sand will have big and small grains since grain size isn't as important. It will work fine in a tank, but some would say the small grains may compact too much on the bottom creating anaerobic spots(not good for planted tanks). Pool filter sand has also been screened out for specific grain sizes too, but this type of sand was also chosen(or maybe processed?) to have a more rounded grain, like beads, for the pool filter.

So depending on the type of tank play sand is perfect. Just be sure to rinse the sand several times in small batches to make sure all of the sand is rinsed with water.

Oh and a note from experience: some people will choose pool filter sand for its light buff color. It's great and pretty when new, but wait till algae grows on the glass covered by the sand bed and mulm collects on top of the sand. Pretty indeed when using it for a Walstad style tank.

thank you , fishface30 , answered all my questions

you're welcome!

fishface30 wrote:

but wait till algae grows on the glass covered by the sand bed and mulm collects on top of the sand.

Thats just a sign that you aren't keeping it turned over. ;o)

i am soooooooo lazy. that, and i don't want to scratch up the gals by having to scrape glass under the sand bed. It's a natural planted tank, as lazy as it can get, and luckily that's the only place where there is algae. The snails have controlled the rest. On the flipside, snail poop has made the sand look salt and pepper.