is play sand ok for a substrate in a freshwater fish tank? Is there some kind of sand in home depot i can buy or something or if not where can i get sand for freshwater fish. Is the beach sand ok or is it too salty??? Petco doesnt have sand except for salt water sand.
2007-09-22 11:10:03 · 5 answers · asked by rybka 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
I would avoid beach sand because it isn't inert and will raise your pH to about 8.0+, so unless you have African Cichlids, you should look for inert sand. I recently purchased 75 pounds of pool filter sand (diatomaceous earth) for my 55 gallon tank. My only warning is, be sure to wash it VERY WELL or you will have an eternally cloudy tank and filter problems. Play sand works too, but extra diatomaceous earth can also be placed in your filter cartridges to aid in biological filtration (pool filter sand has a VERY high surface area compared to normal, beach sand). Email me if you have any questions.
Soop Nazi
EDIT: I thought this was obvious, but I'll say it anyway... If you get playsand, or any kind of sand, make sure it isn't chemically treated!
2007-09-22 11:17:58 · answer #1 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the problem with "play sand" and fresh water tanks is play sand is mostly silica based, which will leave you battling brown algae for the lifetime of the tank. Some play sands are also very toxic to fish, I came across some play sand that smelled of motor oil... If you want a fine sandy substrate look for flourite tm in the aquatic plant dept of the pet store.
2007-09-22 11:18:10 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
you really don't need a sand substrate in your tank. Rocks only need to be an inch to an inch and a half above the bottom trim of your tank, and it should be fine.
But if you want to spend the time and money on it then... No, you can't use beach sand, trust me you don't want anything from the lakes in your tank, unless it's a fish, and even then.... Try going to a smaller, local petstore, not a big chain. A smaller stores' owners are more likely to actually know about the products they are selling, whereas big chains will hire anyone with a dog, cat, etc...
Different sands:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php
Hope this helps!
2007-09-22 11:29:53 · answer #3 · answered by LuLu 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
sophisticated issue. do a search on to a search engine. just that can assist!
2014-11-25 21:51:31 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
confusing issue. research in google and yahoo. that will can help!
2015-03-28 18:43:11 · answer #5 · answered by george 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋