where to find sand for a freshwater aquarium?

Question

im looking for play sand or any other type of sand for my freshwater aquarium i was told to look at home depot i looked online and couldnt find it and my local pet shop doesnt have any.

Answer 1

Petsmart should have play sand, or pool filter sand which you can also use. Try a pool supply store.

You can also get sand from the petstore. DON'T get reptile sand, or marine sand which has salt/additives for marine tanks. Also, do not get crushed coral. Just get aragonite that is for freshwater.

Sand can solidify and trap toxic gases so be sure to frequently stir up your sand with a wooden chopstick. Or get some malaysian trumpet snails.

Answer 2

The question about using sand in freshwater tanks has been posted here several times in the last week or two, so this time I'll just say it has some disadvantages, but is useful for certain kinds of fish. For the fish you have, though, gravel would be better. However, it's irrelevant in your case, because the tank is so overcrowded that most of your fish will soon be shucking off this mortal coil and going to sing with the choir eternal. You've got about 50 gallons worth of fish and snails in a 5-gallon tank. It doesn't matter how much filtration you have; the aquarium just isn't big enough to support that population. It's not "a little full," it hardly has room for any water. The plecostomus, if it survives, will grow longer than the tank itself. So, in detail, here's what you can do: 1. Take all those animals out of that tiny tank. 2. Put them in a bigger tank. 3. Use gravel, not sand, in the new tank. I don't mean to be rude, but you asked what you should do, and I don't want to lie to you.

Answer 3

Petsmart sells the white and black aquarium sand in 20 lb bags for 19.99. Or you can go over to the reptile section and pick of the red rock or desert white reptile sand by Zoo Med. I called the company and asked if it was alright to use in tanks. The guy said yes, it works great in his cichlid tank. I had some in my tank for about two years for my eels. You'll need at least twice as much sand as gravel, so if you like white, go with the zoo med, it's cheaper. Rinse it well!

oh, and sand makes a really effective biological filter bed. Invest in a test kit and monitor your nitrates and nitrites. If let it go, they could easily shoot through the roof!

in my 55, i had about a foot and a half sand and the rest gravel. It looked really cool...like a river bed or an underground beach.

happy aquascaping!

Answer 4

Any local pet store should carry sand for your tank. Ideally you want to have a silica based sand as argonite or crushed coral will affect the hardness of the water.

Even though it may be a bit more expensive than at a garden supply store I encourage you to support your local pet store by shopping there.

Answer 5

I got mine from a kids shop it looks great in the tank but a few plants won't grow in it so I now have part sand part gravel

Answer 6

Toy stores that sell sand boxes also sell sand .

Answer 7

Both Petsmart and Petco carry this sand--it is in the area with the gravels, and they also sell it online. Here is the link to Petsmart in case there isn't one near you (you can choose either black or white):

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441781393&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030109&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1166494865273&itemNo=0&Ntt=sand&In=Fish&previousText=sand&N=2023693+4294967217

Answer 8

petsmart and petco carry this kind of sand!! (you can also go to a aquarium store and get some)...

Answer 9

tricky stuff. try searching over google and yahoo. just that will help!