# What is the best aquarium sand to go with?



## mark4785

I'm looking for a natural sand which closely resembles naturally occurring beach sand and which does not contain PH, KH or GH boosting/lowering properties.

I'm ideally looking for pre-washed sand. I know that Caribsea used to manufacture 'live sand' which was  pre-washed. However, at present they seem to no longer be selling substrates suitable for freshwater aquariums. Are there any alternative brands that are pre-washed?

Also, how safe are the Unipac sands? I have heard they require a considerable wash before you can even think about placing it in the aquarium!


Mark.


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## Alastair

Pool filter sand is nice mark and cheap. You can get slightly different shades but very natural 

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


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## mark4785

Alastair said:


> Pool filter sand is nice mark and cheap. You can get slightly different shades but very natural
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


 
Is that also known as silica sand?


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## Kurono

I looooove my playsand that I got in bulk. Its beautiful brown colors have complimented my cichlids so much, I even added some into my 10g planted tank, and my african dwarf frogs look great on top of it, plus the corydora seem to be enjoying it ^_^ (Got a 50 pound bag for 5$)
I'm from California and I can definitely say the sand that I bought looks like the sand on our beaches. 
I also love the way my amazon sword has been growing since I put it inside of it. VS the gravel it used to be in.


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## mike455555

argos play sand iv used i love it


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## Yo-han

aquaristic.net sells non dusting, inert sand which is quite light colored. I never wash it, just poor it in from above, no problem!


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## foxfish

Check out the garden centers for horticultural grades of sand, some are lime free & some lime loaded but normally plenty of choice...


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## Delta_Raven

I'm no expert but wouldn't play sand come with anti-weed stuff in it? thus being bad for plants?


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## ian_m

Delta_Raven said:


> I'm no expert but wouldn't play sand come with anti-weed stuff in it? thus being bad for plants?


Doubt it. Has to be kiddie eat proof, so play sand is just sand. I know people who have used silver sand in their tanks to good effect, only £1.99 for 25Kg from builders merchant.


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## Delta_Raven

lolol, good point.


ian_m said:


> Doubt it. Has to be kiddie eat proof, so play sand is just sand. I know people who have used silver sand in their tanks to good effect, only £1.99 for 25Kg from builders merchant.


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## Fox

I think most 'play' sands are just kiln dried which are WAY cheaper at the builders merchants.


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## mark4785

Does silver sand contain silica? If so, does this cause algae outbreaks and bacterial growth?

Also, I bought some play sand for my previous tank and I ended up with a highly contagious slime and surface film growing all over the tank (look through my previous threads to learn about this). The only other possible cause of this growth would have been coming from airborne particles (it was an open-top aquarium) or induced from the silicone that the tank was made of (it was custom made by Wharf Aquatics; perhaps they used the wrong materials or brought it into contact with things that turn nasty when brought into contact with water??). The manufacturer of this play sand refused to comment on the constituents of the sand when I approached them about the problems it had created within my tank which made me very suspicious, and of course, angry.

The above issue is primarily why I created this thread as I guess it can be difficult, with some substrates, to know whether it is carrying an unsuitable foreign body or not. For me, Caribsea substrate helped a lot as they guaranteed that it would be pre-washed and ready for aquarium use, whereas, with Unipac and other makes there is always mention of their being dust within the sand. If dust can get in it, WHAT ELSE can??


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## Yo-han

mark4785 said:


> Does silver sand contain silica? If so, does this cause algae outbreaks and bacterial growth?


 
All sand is mainly silica  But it is silicate where diatoms live off, not silica.


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## roadmaster

Sand is easy to wash in pillow case.dirt comes out,sand stay's in.
Have used play sand many times without issues of protein scum,or slime on surface.
Some contractor's sand may contain mortar,lime,but play sand for children's sand boxes never presented any negative issues for me.


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## OllieNZ

I've used unipac sands unwashed without any issues not even clouding (as long as you fill carefully) most of the dust comes from the stones rolling against each other. I've also used argos play sand without any issues.


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## mark4785

OllieNZ said:


> I've used unipac sands unwashed without any issues not even clouding (as long as you fill carefully) most of the dust comes from the stones rolling against each other. I've also used argos play sand without any issues.


 
Ok thats good to know. Did you use the Unipac in a open-top aquarium or one that is enclosed?

My play sand came from eBay and it wasn't listed under 'fish supplies'. This is what I bought:  Children's Playpit Sand Play 25kg Sandpit Play Pit Kids | eBay .


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## ian_m

mark4785 said:


> My play sand came from eBay and it wasn't listed under 'fish supplies'. This is what I bought:  Children's Playpit Sand Play 25kg Sandpit Play Pit Kids | eBay .


OUUUUUCH. £2.99 for 15Kg at Homebase and £4.99 in B&Q.


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## sciencefiction

> Ok thats good to know. Did you use the Unipac in a open-top aquarium or one that is enclosed?


 
I used Unipac Fijii in an open top tank. It does need a bit of washing but not much. The fine version is quite coarse,(as in the particles being sharp enough as well) Some Unipac sands aren't inert though. You need to read the description.



> aquaristic.net sells non dusting, inert sand which is quite light colored. I never wash it, just poor it in from above, no problem!


 
I have their white sand in several tanks. It's inert. If you don't mind the white colour, it's great stuff, not very fine, but not big for bottom dwellers and clean. The plants love it. It can be poured directly into the tank no problem. I top up with no washing.

I can get you pictures if you want to see how they look.

And I also bought recently Westland playsand, not sure if you have that brand there but playsand is too fine if you are going to make the substrate anything deeper than 1 inch. It looks good though, like beach sand and is darker and slightly larger than Argos playsand which is way too fine for my taste.


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## Delta_Raven

would love to see


sciencefiction said:


> I used Unipac Fijii in an open top tank. It does need a bit of washing but not much. The fine version is quite coarse,(as in the particles being sharp enough as well) Some Unipac sands aren't inert though. You need to read the description.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have their white sand in several tanks. It's inert. If you don't mind the white colour, it's great stuff, not very fine, but not big for bottom dwellers and clean. The plants love it. It can be poured directly into the tank no problem. I top up with no washing.
> 
> 
> 
> I can get you pictures if you want to see how they look.
> 
> 
> 
> And I also bought recently Westland playsand, not sure if you have that brand there but playsand is too fine if you are going to make the substrate anything deeper than 1 inch. It looks good though, like beach sand and is darker and slightly larger than Argos playsand which is way too fine for my taste.


 
would love to see some pics!


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## mark4785

Thanks for all the suggestions and also for pointing out that I was ripped off by the play sand seller!! 

I've decided to buy from the Unipac range. I've bought the non-course Fiji Fine Sand (12.5 kg).

I replaced my open-top aquarium with a Juwel Lido 120 with 1000 LPH pump so will be putting the sand, diffuser, plants etc in this ASAP.

As I want to stock it with Microgeophagus Ramirezi I'll be starting with a fishless cycle for security.


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## sciencefiction

Delta_Raven said:


> would love to see
> 
> 
> would love to see some pics!


 
No problem. Here they are.

*Aquaristic.net white sand:*









*Unipac Fiji fine version:*







*Westland playsand:*


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## Yo-han

Mine looks even finer:


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## sciencefiction

Yours does look finer. Not sure why, maybe they've got different versions?
I love it but it's too bright for many setups.


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## Delta_Raven

wow guys, good looking tanks. makes me want to restart mine and get sand


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## mark4785

Thanks for the suggestions. I have decided to go with the Unipac fine Fiji sand. Will be starting a journal in a second to record what I wish to achieve with a new Juwel Lido 120!


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