Adding sand

[joeyd412]

Hi I was wondering do I need to know anything special about adding sand ? I'm Geting a 90 gallon tank soon and want to add sand ,should I do something with the sand so the water doesn't get to cloudy?

[swifto]

Hi,just b sure to give it a wash,I've never used sand but someone else will no more.

[Nev]

Just rinse it heaps and make sure it's river sand not beach sand.

[swampy1972]

Just rinse it heaps and make sure it's river sand not beach sand.

Agreed. I've used Nepean River sand previously. It does need thorough washing but the good part of is that it has several grain sizes in it, so if you want very fine sand run it through a siv while you're washing it and you'll get extremely fine grains, right through to something like very course sand/tiny pebbles.

[swifto]

I've herd of some people using the sand that is used in sand filters ( pool ). Try Clark Rubber??

[Ghoti]

I've herd of some people using the sand that is used in sand filters ( pool ). Try Clark Rubber??

I now have sand in 3 of my 5 tanks. I used pool filers sand in my 5 foooter and is a very natural colour with consistent grain size. I have just set up my six footer with washesd white sand and have yet to see how it performs.

In both cases, wash thoroughly and then wash some more. The clearer the runoff water the sooner the tank clears. Also helps not to stir it up when filling or doing water changes.

Cheers,
Scott

[blake01]

ive found a place here that has pure silica sand, they said i could have as much as i wanted.
Silica sand is safe isnt it?
Im getting a 6ft tank from santa :)

[joeyd412]

Thanks for the info guys

[swampy1972]

ive found a place here that has pure silica sand, they said i could have as much as i wanted.
Silica sand is safe isnt it?
Im getting a 6ft tank from santa :)

That's the sand used for "pool filter sand". It's ideal because it's completely inert therefore won't alter your water parameters. And being silica it's a very clean white colour naturally - not bleached or treated in any way.
You're lucky to have access to so much of it. It's becoming harder to find in most other places because places like Clark Rubber are switching to Zeolite in place of sand for the pool filter media.

[blake01]

thank you for your reply. Cool, i thought it was safe to use, just wanted to be sure