could anyone with sand substrates post pics and say which type of sand they use? im trying to decide and want a darker tannish look (not white) and not too fine of grain to avoid harming the filters. i would like to get an idea of the aesthetics of the different kinds of sand. thanks!
substrate pics
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This is Leslie's pool filter sand purchased for 9.99$ per 50lb bag in Vienna. HTH.
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i use river sand its darker and the grains are big enough so ths syphon doesnt suck it all out.
this is a good thread because its actually pretty hard to tell what sand will look like until it is in water and under an aquarium light. my sand looks tan when its dry and in the bag, but when its in the tank it looks close to white, almost cream colored. sorry i dont have pics though! good luck.
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this is #sand-blasting sand
Even-sized grains, took a lot of washing, nice tan color, cheap
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Even-sized grains, took a lot of washing, nice tan color, cheap
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this one is "play sand" from Wal-Mart, again took a lot of washing, cheap, uneven grains, which kind of look cool, I think
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This is 1/2 lowes quikrete play sand mixed with 1/2 lowes quikrete all purpose sand. I would go heavier on the all purpose sand if I were to do it over, say a 70 all purpose to 30 play sand mixture. I like the grainy texture of the all purpose. I thought pool sand was way too white for my taste.
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Here is my "Playsand" from the local farm store called "Rural King". If I remember right it was $3.50 but definately less that $5 for a 50 pound bag. It looked lighter in the bag but darkened a little when wet.
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I spent way too much time looking for sand just a few weeks ago. I actually bought sand, cleaned it, put it in the tank then decided I didn't like it , took it out, bought new sand and started all over again. One problem I discovered is that sand supply is different depending on what region you live in. So if someone bought sand A and you go and buy sand A it may not be the same. Also, sand has its own terminology that can be confusing at first. What I ended up doing was going to a landscaping center and they actually had sample bags of their different sand. That really helped because its hard to know what you want when you don't have anything to compare it too. I don't have any pictures yet, but the sand I first bought was a quickrete 30mesh sand (I got it at lowes). Sand mesh refers to the grain size - the larger the mesh the finer the sane. This was the sand I ended up removing because it was so fine. In the past I have used the quickrete play sand (also at lowes) and I like that but it does not have a uniform grain size, and the color of the sand is more variable (it tends to look a little darker than most). The sand I ended up with was sand blasting sand which is 16mesh sand. That grain size is a good size for a tank with pumps and filters. It is not easy to stir up and when it does it falls right down.
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Before I found mine in the pic I was going there to buy the "Garnet" sandblasting media. Exactly what it sounds like, sand from the semi-precious garnet gemstone. Dark red and beautiful, but the price is comparable to Tahitian Moon.
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Plus sand color on my monitor doesn't look the same as it does on yours, or on mine @ work...whowahhhh said:
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