# Sand substrate recommendations . . .



## Wookii

I'm in the process of testing out some different sands when I come to rescape my tank later in the year.

I currently have samples of:


Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand
Pool filter sand
ADA La Plata sand

I've been using the La Plata in my current scape, and it is a nice varied grain sand, but very light in colouration. For the new scape I'm after a sand that looks as natural as possible, but a little darker in colouration.

The Unipac Aquarium Silica sand that I have a sample of looks nice, and really natural, but is also a little bit lighter than I would have liked:







The pool sand is very light too, similar in colouration to the La Plata, but a bit greyer, so that is no good.

I wanted to take a look at Unipac's Silica Sand (different to the aquarium version) - the colouration looks ideal, though the grain size is larger at 1.5-2.0mm - but can't seem to find anywhere selling it:





Can anyone suggest a sand that they have used that is a darker colouration, closer to the image above (ideally in around 0.8-1.0mm grain size)? I was thinking of trying a play sand, but don't want to be left with 20Kg of the stuff if it's not quite right for what I want.


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## The grumpy one

What about this one. Unipac Nyasa Sand 20kg - Aquarium Sand (pro-shrimp.co.uk) somewhere between the two. and grain size is around 1mm. It is the one I am going for.


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## Zeus.

Was thinking of asking the same question, I've put a 'Mysteron' on the thread 
​


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## john dory

Think I'm using nyasa.
They do a few different shades in the same grain size.


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## john dory

One slight negative(if keeping cory)is they'll spit it all over your hardscape and any horizontal leaves


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## Wookii

The grumpy one said:


> What about this one. Unipac Nyasa Sand 20kg - Aquarium Sand (pro-shrimp.co.uk) somewhere between the two. and grain size is around 1mm. It is the one I am going for.View attachment 161275



I’ve looked at the images of all the Unipac sands. I might get a sample of that to take a look at  but from the image I’m not a fan of all the black grains in it to be honest.


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## Wookii

The only other one I’ve seen that looks decent is the Caribsea Sunset Gold:




But it appears to be rarer than rocking horse turd in the UK, unless you’re prepared to pay through the nose via Amazon:

Caribsea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand, 20-Pound, Sunset Gold 

Amazon product


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## Nick potts

Is this the silica sand you were after?









						Aquarium Silica Sand
					

Unipac Silica Sand is a ph neutral sand that wont affect the water chemistry of your aquarium. Silica Sand can be used to create a natural and realistic underwater world, that is especially suited to plants. This sand looks stunning when used as the base substrate of any freshwater aquarium...




					www.pond-planet.co.uk


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## Paul Kettless

The Dooa tropical river sand is very nice, has lovely colouration and with different grain sizes.  The sand is completely natural and no coral.


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## alto

Wookii said:


> Caribsea Sunset Gold:


I’ve used this in the past but found it packed very tightly, ended up mixing with ADA Colorado sand for better texture
(this may vary between production runs, I was certain I’d used it previously and not noted this aspect)

Not sure if CaribSea has difficulty sourcing their usual sands, or if they’ve greatly curtailed the freshwater product line 





						Marine Substrates - CaribSea
					

ARAG-ALIVE!™ ARAGONITE CORAline™ OCEAN DIRECT™ AQUACULTURE GRAVEL ARAG-ALIVE!™You can now bring the world’s most exotic reefs into your home with CaribSea’s Arag-Alive!™ substrates. Eight environmentally accurate ecoscapes, developed through CaribSea’s cooperation with public aquariums and...




					caribsea.com
				




You might contact CaribSea directly, they have always had extraordinary Customer Service!


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## Wookii

Nick potts said:


> Is this the silica sand you were after?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Aquarium Silica Sand
> 
> 
> Unipac Silica Sand is a ph neutral sand that wont affect the water chemistry of your aquarium. Silica Sand can be used to create a natural and realistic underwater world, that is especially suited to plants. This sand looks stunning when used as the base substrate of any freshwater aquarium...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.pond-planet.co.uk



No I suspect they have just used the wrong image Nick, as it’s actually listed as ‘Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand’, and they only have one listed in their site. I will contact them to check though.


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## Wookii

Paul Kettless said:


> The Dooa tropical river sand is very nice, has lovely colouration and with different grain sizes.  The sand is completely natural and no coral.



Thanks Paul, I’ll check that out. Is this image representative?





If so it may be a bit too light in colouration, similar to the La Plata.


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## Conort2

JBL Sansibar ORANGE
					

Fine, uncoloured substrate for freshwater and saltwater aquariums and aqua-terrariums




					www.jbl.de
				




not sure if this would be suitable? I use river which is much lighter in colour. It’s a decent rounded substrate and isn’t too expensive either.

cheers


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## Wookii

Conort2 said:


> JBL Sansibar ORANGE
> 
> 
> Fine, uncoloured substrate for freshwater and saltwater aquariums and aqua-terrariums
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.jbl.de
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> not sure if this would be suitable? I use river which is much lighter in colour. It’s a decent rounded substrate and isn’t too expensive either.
> 
> cheers



Thanks Conor. The colour looks good, but I'm not sure about the grain size - 0.2-0.8mm? I've never used sand as a substrate before, and I'm a little nervous about the horror stories of anaerobic/hydrogen sulfide issues, though the more I read of that, the more it looks like it could be another fish keeping myth. 

I do also want to ensure that I get sufficient nutrient transfer to the high CEC base layer that I intend to add, but again, I'm not really sure where the 'cut-off' is with respect to grain size. I.e. what are the minimum grain sizes recommended to ensure water circulation to the base layer?


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## Zeus.

Wookii said:


> I'm a little nervous about the horror stories of anaerobic/hydrogen sulfide issues, though the more I read of that, the more it looks like it could be another fish keeping myth.



Yes, need to do some reading on that as well 'soon', so keep me in the picture what you find m8


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## Conort2

The rive


Wookii said:


> Thanks Conor. The colour looks good, but I'm not sure about the grain size - 0.2-0.8mm? I've never used sand as a substrate before, and I'm a little nervous about the horror stories of anaerobic/hydrogen sulfide issues, though the more I read of that, the more it looks like it could be another fish keeping myth.
> 
> I do also want to ensure that I get sufficient nutrient transfer to the high CEC base layer that I intend to add, but again, I'm not really sure where the 'cut-off' is with respect to grain size. I.e. what are the minimum grain sizes recommended to ensure water circulation to the base layer?


The river version is of a similar grain size. I use this with a base layer and find it causes no issues. It’s has a pretty open structure and shouldn’t cause any issues.

cheers


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## Wookii

Zeus. said:


> Yes, need to do some reading on that as well 'soon', so keep me in the picture what you find m8



Will do mate - I've read wildly conflicting reports. Some with the obvious horror stories - "gas from the sand killed my fish" kind of thing - others stating that substrates need to be in the magnitude of metres deep to generate a sufficiently oxygen free environment. On top of that, numerous posts stating that plant roots provide sufficient oxygenation - though I don't know if that helps areas that don't have heavy stem planting.

Here is a post by @Simon Cole:



Simon Cole said:


> I wouldn't worry about anaerobic conditions. It is rather rare to find conditions that actually generate hydrogen sulfide in nature, and usually the substrate layer would need to be several meters deep with very specific redox and mineral conditions. I used to sample water on fens and never found enough to establish it was a metabolic derivative. Although scarce in nature, there has been no proof that these conditions have ever been observed in fish tanks. In fact, I think it would be very difficult to get this happening and many people feel it poses no hypothetical or actual risk. It is just theoretically possible in certain people's minds.
> 
> You don't need the lava, just the sand. If I'm planting into the sand then I use a proper substrate underneath. But if it's just sand then keep it simple.



Once he's got the fish fry out of his beard, he may be able to confirm 

And a couple of entries by our current forum top poster that suggest it might only be an issue with an organic base layer:



dw1305 said:


> Hi all,Almost certainly hydrogen sulphide (H2S), we can detect it really low levels (below one ppb). It is normal. I think you are also right and the mesh probably contributed, by excluding MTS. You will <"always get anaerobic zones"> in a fine grained substrate like soil, it isn't a problem and you don't need to worry.  You will be getting some nitrogen loss (via anaerobic denitrification) in this zone of the substrate as well, but that shouldn't matter either if the plants are growing well. I think the "_Gardenia"_ bit is probably relevant as well, because _Gardenia spp._ need an acidic pH to grow and the potting soil probably contained some organic matter, so perfect for Crypts and _Gardenia._
> 
> The process of H2S formation is described in the Winogradsky Column link, but the quick version is as the organic matter oxidises it will use up any initial oxygen and then diffusion (through the substrate) will be too slow to  replenish this. The organic matter then continues to decays under anaerobic (or anoxic) conditions, with the sulphate-reducing bacteria using the sulphates present (as the electron donor) and this produces hydrogen sulphide.
> 
> cheers Darrel





dw1305 said:


> Hi all,It is <"hydrogen sulphide (H2S)">, we can detect it at very low levels, below one or two ppb. The issue is low levels of oxygen in the substrate, have a look at <"Winogradsky column"> link, and the <"which filter media..."> thread.
> 
> There are a number of reasons why you might have this, the most likely one is that the organic matter component of the soil is decomposing and its oxygen demand has deoxygenated the soil, this is because the rate of oxygen usage has exceeded the rate of oxygen diffusion. Once the <"soil has mineralised"> (the organic matter has oxidised) the oxygen demand will fall, how long that takes is going to depend on all sorts of factors. If you are adding ammonia to cycle the tank? You can stop. Ammonia will also reduce oxygen levels (nitrification is an oxygen intensive process) and it won't help in making the <"aquarium fish safe">.
> 
> If you have some floating plants? they won't help with the substrate, but they should reduce ammonia levels in the tank and help you get through this stage a bit more quickly.
> 
> cheers Darrel



As usual I'm probably worrying about nothing with a sand depth of 50-70mm, and should just crack on and use whichever looks the best.


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## Wookii

Conort2 said:


> The rive
> 
> The river version is of a similar grain size. I use this with a base layer and find it causes no issues. It’s has a pretty open structure and shouldn’t cause any issues.
> 
> cheers



Thanks Conor, that's good to know. How deep do you go with your sand substrate?


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## dw1305

Hi all,


Wookii said:


> I'm probably worrying about nothing with a sand depth of 50-70mm, and should just crack on and use whichever looks the best.


Yes I reckon.  As far as I know I've never had any substrate issues with sand. I've just moved the lab. tank and the sand was pretty clean after ~10 years.  

Long ago when I was in my "_aquarium gravel, no water changes, plants as decorations_", fish keeping stage I used to <"kill my fish with sickening regularity"> and had fairly horrible substrate fully of rotting organic debris, but I don't know which combination of these factors killed the fish.

cheers Darrel


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## Wookii

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Yes I reckon.  As far as I know I've never had any substrate issues with sand. I've just moved the lab. tank and the sand was pretty clean after ~10 years.
> 
> Long ago when I was in my "_aquarium gravel, no water changes, plants as decorations_", fish keeping stage I used to <"kill my fish with sickening regularity"> and had fairly horrible substrate fully of rotting organic debris, but I don't know which combination of these factors killed the fish.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Thanks Darrel, do you think then with a 70mm substrate depth, and using most sands at around 0.25mm-1.0mm (possibly with the exception of the very fine silver sand) I'll be able to get sufficient nutrient transfer to a high CEC base layer?


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## Wookii

So I had a reply from Unipac regarding the availability of the darker, and coarser, "Silica Sand" listed on their website:



> Thank you for your email with reference to Silica Sand.
> 
> Unfortunately, the quarry where we used to get the Silica Sand (the darker material)from closed down and we were unable to find another supplier.
> 
> The only material we offer is the Aquarium Silica Sand.



. . .  which is a shame - though it explains why I can't find any online.


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## Zeus.

Wookii said:


> do you think then with a 70mm substrate depth, and using most sands at around 0.25mm-1.0mm (possibly with the exception of the very fine silver sand) I'll be able to get sufficient nutrient transfer to a high CEC base layer?



I think with time and even with turkey blasting the substrate a time will come when the detritus build up in the substrate will reduce the CEC properties of any substrate, I am thinking fine sand ATM as then any detritus will be on top of sand and easy to remove/spot.


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## dw1305

Hi all,


Wookii said:


> I'll be able to get sufficient nutrient transfer to a high CEC base layer?


My guess is that you will, but I don't know exactly what processes occur in the substrate, and my guess is that <"nobody else does either">.

Most plants that naturally grow emergent from water (like most of our aquarium plants) <"have adaptations"> to deal with deep, muddy and anaerobic substrates.


Zeus. said:


> I am thinking fine sand ATM as then any detritus will be on top of sand and easy to remove/spot.


Definitely what I found with the lab. tank. It had a layer of mulm all along the back of the tank, but really clean sand down to the bottom glass. I don't ever syphon the tanks, but I think the <"high temperatures during lock down"> may have killed off <"my tank janitors">.

cheers Darrel


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## Wookii

Zeus. said:


> I think with time and even with turkey blasting the substrate a time will come when the detritus build up in the substrate will reduce the CEC properties of any substrate, I am thinking fine sand ATM as then any detritus will be on top of sand and easy to remove/spot.



When you say fine sand, do you mean the finest silver sand type stuff at around 0.15-0.25mm?


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## Wookii

I've taken a punt on the the JBL Sansibar Orange that @Conort2 recommended, as its quite cost effective at £26 for 10Kg delivered, and the images look good.

When I get it I'll put up some images of it next to the other sands I have now, for anyone elses reference should anyone want it.


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## dw1305

Hi all,


Wookii said:


> When you say fine sand, do you mean the finest silver sand type stuff at around 0.15-0.25mm?


That is what I have in some of the tanks, (bought as <"play sand">).  Some have slightly coarser sand, which I bought as <"Aquarium sand">. Years ago I <"sourced pool filter sand">, but I'm not sure it offers any advantage and I actually prefer a finer silica sand grain.

This is what Norwegian _Apistogramma_ expert, <"Tom Christoffersen"> said about <"substrates in the Amazon basin">.

cheers Darrel


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## Zeus.

Was thinking of cheap stuff






seeing I am planning a carpet what it looks like is irrelevant, used it in Pot scape and plants are fine


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## Conort2

Probably 


Wookii said:


> Thanks Conor, that's good to know. How deep do you go with your sand substrate?


I recon around 30mm in most places.


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## Paul Kettless

Wookii said:


> Thanks Paul, I’ll check that out. Is this image representative?
> 
> View attachment 161295
> 
> If so it may be a bit too light in colouration, similar to the La Plata.


Its darker than the La Plata and compliments it well. I have both and I'm going to use both in sand area. Pics are off the actual sand, I have wet it slightly just for the pics as always looks darker when wet.


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## Wookii

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> That is what I have in some of the tanks, (bought as <"play sand">).  Some have slightly coarser sand, which I bought as <"Aquarium sand">. Years ago I <"sourced pool filter sand">, but I'm not sure it offers any advantage and I actually prefer a finer silica sand grain.
> 
> This is what Norwegian _Apistogramma_ expert, <"Tom Christoffersen"> said about <"substrates in the Amazon basin">.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Thanks Darrel, that's useful to read. I had largely discounted the finer sands because I had assumed they were associated with compaction issues, and not allowing sufficient transfer to any base layer.  So you are saying it would make little difference in practice?


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## Wookii

Zeus. said:


> Was thinking of cheap stuff
> 
> View attachment 161307
> 
> seeing I am planning a carpet what it looks like is irrelevant, used it in Pot scape and plants are fine



I can only imagine my wife face if a tonne bag landed on our doorstep  - that is incredibly good value though.


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## dw1305

Hi all,


Wookii said:


> So you are saying it would make little difference in practice?


It doesn't seem to in my tanks, but I'm using soft water, I plant really heavily, I don't add many nutrients, I don't have a huge fish stock, I feed mainly live food, I always have Trumpet snails (_Melanoides tuberculata_) and _Asellus_ etc. So I'm not sure how generally it can be applied.

Stephan Tanner covers some of this in <"Aquarium Biofiltration">.


> ......... The microbial community varies greatly depending on the availability of foods, pore sizes, and substrates. Soil biofiltration is therefore very plastic, meaning it can cope with a variety of conditions. However, one feature is common. *Natural layers of biofiltration are usually undisturbed for longer periods of time (many weeks and months).* In nature, no one squeezes out the debris or rinses the media on a weekly schedule...........The microorganisms eat the debris and the sludge is completely broken down into gases and soluble products that then escape the pore space. Soil biofilters are almost maintenance-free. The released substances are either getting into the atmosphere or are taken up by plants..........



cheers Darrel


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## sparkyweasel

Wookii said:


> the obvious horror stories - "gas from the sand killed my fish" kind of thing


I bet you won't find one with a proven link. Mostly it's "my fish died so it must be the sand, because I couldn't have done anything wrong".
Years ago unexplained fish deaths wereusually attributed to feeding live _Tubifex_, again without any evidence. It was easy because everybody fed it. Now it's almost impossible to get, but fish are still dying.


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## dean

Argos play sand ?
B&Q builders sand ? 
How dark do you want it ? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Maf 2500

dean said:


> Argos play sand ?


I was looking at this earlier on their website and several of the reviews on the first 2 or 3 pages are from fishkeepers who recommend it. The cost is only five quid for a 15kg bag so would not break the bank to buy a bag to assess colour and grain size. (The picture on the website is not ideal but it does indicate a darker tan shade). It does not fit with the substrate I am planning for my current build but would definitely be part of the plan for possible future tanks featuring Rams or Corys.


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## Wookii

dean said:


> Argos play sand ?
> B&Q builders sand ?
> How dark do you want it ?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Just a little darker than the Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand that I have, somewhere closer to the discontinued Unipac silica sand I pictured above - though @dw1305 has thrown me now with the comments on the fine silver sand, so I have a couple of samples of the two Unipac Silver Sands coming now also. Plus the images of the Darrel links to, plus others I've seen of the Amazon underwater shots show lighter coloured sand, so I'm a bit conflicted now.  Ultimately I'll have a fair few samples to try now, so I'll add them to a glass vase and see what they look like underwater.



Maf 2500 said:


> I was looking at this earlier on their website and several of the reviews on the first 2 or 3 pages are from fishkeepers who recommend it. The cost is only five quid for a 15kg bag so would not break the bank to buy a bag to assess colour and grain size. (The picture on the website is not ideal but it does indicate a darker tan shade). It does not fit with the substrate I am planning for my current build but would definitely be part of the plan for possible future tanks featuring Rams or Corys.



I'll check out the Argos play sand - I need to buy some for my daughters sand play table in the garden once the weather gets better anyway, so none of these sands will go to waste.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


Wookii said:


> plus others I've seen of the Amazon underwater shots show lighter coloured sand


It is just because the sand is all silica sand (SiO4), everything else has been dissolved away by the very acid water.  In this <"Amazonas" article on Uruguay"> you can see some much more pebbly biotopes. 

cheers Darrel


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## ScareCrow

Just to add to the numerous options. Here's a picture of some B&M play pit sand. I got put off by the grain size but reading this thread I might revisit it. I'm still a little worried about how easy it would be to get it caught in a cleaning pad and scratch the glass.


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## john dory

You can poke around in sand,without releasing any detritus into the water column.
No need for a turkey baster


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


ScareCrow said:


> Here's a picture of some B&M play pit sand.


That looks pretty good. Nice rounded grains and all quartz (SiO4) by the look. 

cheers Darrel


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## Simon Cole

Hi folks, just getting back to you as I was tagged. My views haven't changed. The studies I was looking at were based on rice paddy fields where evidence was found in select locations. The truth about sand is that if you put it in a sieve and pour water through it (permeability) then really there is no locality where gas can collect and not diffuse. Permeability is virtually 100 percent. I cannot see even deep layers forming gas pockets. I do agree that a range of sulphur compounds can form due to specific bacteria, but it seems like deliberately clutching at straws just to substantiate an olfactory smell. I do think degrading matter will produce these smells where bacterial colonies establish, but I still cannot see that affecting the overall system in any profound way. Lol, glad you liked the beard  I was hoping it might cheer people up. X


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## Wookii

Does anyone know if horticultural sand like this is safe for aquarium use (I'm guessing it is, but we all know what assumptions are . . .):






						Buy RHS horticultural silver sand
					






					www.rhsplants.co.uk
				









Ditto for the grit and gravel:






						Buy RHS horticultural alpine grit
					






					www.rhsplants.co.uk


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## Tim Harrison

I think you can pretty much use any sand you like. Like Darrel mentions it's mainly composed of inert silica dioxide SiO2, quartz in other words. I've used coral sand before which is largely composed of biogenic calcium carbonate. But that was in combination with very hard water; crypts and aponogetons loved it.

There are a few systems which classify silt, sand, and gravel by particle size and those definitions may vary. Geologists, for instance, tend to think of sand as having a particle size between 0.0625mm to 2mm, and gravel 2mm to 64mm.

Obviously, the finer and more angular the sand the more it'll pack down and therefore might ultimately prove an unsuitable rooting medium for plants. However, if it's being used cosmetically it shouldn't really be a problem either way.

I use Tesco play sand in my scape box, which is quite fine grained but not too angular, I like the colour and I'm seriously thinking of using it for my next scape. I think my small school of _Corydoras trilineatus_ might appreciate it. I might have a go at mixing my own using leftovers from other projects, but using the play sand as a matrix.


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## esxboi

Wookii said:


> I'm in the process of testing out some different sands when I come to rescape my tank later in the year.
> 
> I currently have samples of:
> 
> 
> Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand
> Pool filter sand
> ADA La Plata sand
> 
> I've been using the La Plata in my current scape, and it is a nice varied grain sand, but very light in colouration. For the new scape I'm after a sand that looks as natural as possible, but a little darker in colouration.
> 
> The Unipac Aquarium Silica sand that I have a sample of looks nice, and really natural, but is also a little bit lighter than I would have liked:
> 
> 
> View attachment 161252
> 
> The pool sand is very light too, similar in colouration to the La Plata, but a bit greyer, so that is no good.
> 
> I wanted to take a look at Unipac's Silica Sand (different to the aquarium version) - the colouration looks ideal, though the grain size is larger at 1.5-2.0mm - but can't seem to find anywhere selling it:
> 
> View attachment 161253
> 
> Can anyone suggest a sand that they have used that is a darker colouration, closer to the image above (ideally in around 0.8-1.0mm grain size)? I was thinking of trying a play sand, but don't want to be left with 20Kg of the stuff if it's not quite right for what I want.


The Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand' is 0.8 to 1.2mm, I have 10 kg of it which I've mixed with 20kg of Unipac Aquarium Silver Sand & 5kg of Hugo Kamishi Natural gravel 2-4mm to give a really natural looking Amazon river bed


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## Wookii

esxboi said:


> The Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand' is 0.8 to 1.2mm, I have 10 kg of it which I've mixed with 20kg of Unipac Aquarium Silver Sand & 5kg of Hugo Kamishi Natural gravel 2-4mm to give a really natural looking Amazon river bed



Excellent. Do you have some pictures of the finished substrate?


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## esxboi

Wookii said:


> I'm in the process of testing out some different sands when I come to rescape my tank later in the year.
> 
> I currently have samples of:
> 
> 
> Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand
> Pool filter sand
> ADA La Plata sand
> 
> I've been using the La Plata in my current scape, and it is a nice varied grain sand, but very light in colouration. For the new scape I'm after a sand that looks as natural as possible, but a little darker in colouration.
> 
> The Unipac Aquarium Silica sand that I have a sample of looks nice, and really natural, but is also a little bit lighter than I would have liked:
> 
> 
> View attachment 161252
> 
> The pool sand is very light too, similar in colouration to the La Plata, but a bit greyer, so that is no good.
> 
> I wanted to take a look at Unipac's Silica Sand (different to the aquarium version) - the colouration looks ideal, though the grain size is larger at 1.5-2.0mm - but can't seem to find anywhere selling it:
> 
> View attachment 161253
> 
> Can anyone suggest a sand that they have used that is a darker colouration, closer to the image above (ideally in around 0.8-1.0mm grain size)? I was thinking of trying a play sand, but don't want to be left with 20Kg of the stuff if it's not quite right for what I want.


The Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand' is 0.8 to 1.2mm, I have 10 kg of it which I've mixed with 20kg of Unipac Aquarium Silver Sand & 5kg of Hugo Kamishi Natural gravel 2-4mm to give a really natural looking Amazon River


Wookii said:


> Excellent. Do you have some pictures of the finished substrate?


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## esxboi

That's not the finished substrate obviously lol or mixed with any gravel it's just a quick mix of roughly 50/50 silica and silver sand, when I get my plant delivery tomorrow ( I missed the door bell today so there all sitting in the sorting office) IL be setting up my tank at the weekend, I'll take proper photos of the real finished substrate & uploaded them. You change the ratio depending on the colour your going for, also with Aquarium Silver Sand only being 0.25-0.8mm you need the slightly larger Aquarium Silica Sand to help with compaction while keeping the light colour you see in parts of the Amazon. Once you mix in a fine gravel for a more natural look and ur stone/rock, i like to use petrified wood stone and some matching 4-6mm gravel for detailing you get what I believe is a pretty close to some of the videos I've seen of the Amazon river bed.


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## Michael1212

I'm in the process of evaluating a few sands as well, so I will share.
Here is a close up pic of the JBL Sansibar River sand.  Pretty impressed by this stuff.  The Sansibar Red and Sansibar Orange has a finer grain than this (no pic sorry).




This next sand is the Ans Bright sand, which is finer than the River, and more yellow.  Looks and feels a bit sharper,  but the grain size is consistent.





Last two are the Sudo Bottom sand (darker) and the Sudo reef sand.  Tiny but inconsistent grain sizes, with some grains being better described a flakes.  Despite being the most expensive, very unimpressed.  Some shops said the Reef sand was quartz, others said it was calcium carbonate.


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## Conort2

I’ve been using the jbl river recently too, pretty good stuff. Fine and soft enough for corydoras but not too fine that it gets blown all over the place. I’ve just purchased some of their ‘white’ sand and this seems to be a lot finer so not too sure how that will perform.

cheers.


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## Wookii

So in the end, I've gone with Unipac silver sand for this weeks rescape, possibly mixed with a bit of ADA La Plata to give some grain variety, as I have a spare bag of that. I tested the coarser Unipac Silica sand with my Hasbrsus Cory's and it was still a bit too coarse for them to dig in. The scape will be a bit of test bed for a few new things I'm trying - the sand being one of them.

I'm going to be putting the sand over a nutrient rich layer (another DIY mix experiment) - what sort of depth should I be looking at, and what sort of depth is ideal for planting in, particularly crypts and the like with larger root stocks? I was thinking around 30mm at the front glass where there will be little of no planting, rising to around 60mm at the deepest where the larger crypts will go? - I've not used sand as a substrate before, so I don't know how well it holds on during planting compared to aqua soils?


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## dino21

Used the Silver Sand with our dwarf corys, they seem to like it, but not used it on its own, put down a layer of small but smooth aquarium gravel with about 20-25mm of sand on top of tha

Just starting another tank off, also with a silver sand topping but using Molar Clay ( cat litter) as the base  - quiet a few comments in the forum about it if you search.


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## Wookii

dino21 said:


> Used the Silver Sand with our dwarf corys, they seem to like it, but not used it on its own, put down a layer of small but smooth aquarium gravel with about 20-25mm of sand on top of tha
> 
> Just starting another tank off, also with a silver sand topping but using Molar Clay ( cat litter) as the base  - quiet a few comments in the forum about it if you search.



Thanks. I have read about the cat litter as a substrate, but I'm going to go with an enriched substrate - a mixture of peat granules, old (to add bacteria) and new aqua soil, and some bonsai Kanuma which is supposed to have a high CEC (allegedly higher than Akadama) without breaking down, all laced with some Osmocote. It might be rubbish, but I have all the components from other projects, so I figured I'd try it.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


dino21 said:


> put down a layer of small but smooth aquarium gravel with about 20-25mm of sand on top of tha
> 
> Just starting another tank off, also with a silver sand topping but using Molar Clay ( cat litter) as the base


I've tried both of these, but it always ends up with the sand underneath due to <"granular convection">.

cheers Darrel


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