# Substrate: All Sand or Mix?



## King James (Jan 30, 2012)

I have never used sand as substrate material, but have always wanted too! I bought 50 lbs bag of play sand from Home Depot, washed and screened and also a 20 lb bag white sand from Petco. I looked for white pool filter sand, but they didn't stock it here. 

Question: Is it best to mix sand with other stuff like gravel, etc or can I use it by itself....the play sand has some bigger particles like little tiny rocks, etc which should be good, right? The sand from Petco is sugar sized granules and real nice white looking, can buy more of that to keep it nice and white....just asking what you would do?


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## SuckMyCichlids (Nov 5, 2011)

In my opinion it really just comes down to what you want to see when you look in your tank. I've seen many tanks with just sand and some with sand and rocks/ gravel mixed and I personally like the look of just sand with maybe some bigger rocks to break it up a bit, how big is the tank and what are you planning on putting in it?


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## ShrimpDiver (Sep 28, 2011)

I love he look of the paver's sand. I had went to buy just play sand and spotted it instead. I don't think I'll use anything else now.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

King James said:


> I have never used sand as substrate material, but have always wanted too! I bought 50 lbs bag of play sand from Home Depot, washed and screened and also a 20 lb bag white sand from Petco. I looked for white pool filter sand, but they didn't stock it here.
> 
> Question: Is it best to mix sand with other stuff like gravel, etc or can I use it by itself....the play sand has some bigger particles like little tiny rocks, etc which should be good, right? The sand from Petco is sugar sized granules and real nice white looking, can buy more of that to keep it nice and white....just asking what you would do?


for live bearers I have used just sand from home depot.

But I found that hardness KH and Gh slowly rose over time.

But when I used soem peat moss I found kh and gh stayed constant for over two years and neon tetras lived and thrived.

You might want to click on the link in my signature for more detailed information.

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

All sand is fine. With regular water changes, gh/kh don't continue to rise.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I personally love sand.I have a tank with Eco complete,which is basically sand sized granules up to pea sized gravel.While it looks wonderful and the plants love it,I lose eggs down between the larger pieces.I have three tanks setup with blasting sand and I love the texture,look and the fact when my fish spawn,Ill not worry about eggs being lost.It looks fantastic too.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I have play sand in my tanks, my only complaint is that the pH has risen because of it. However with the addition of co2, the pH is in a range of acceptibility for me.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I think the pH and hardness rising or not depends on the sand you are using, sources of sand vary from state to state and country to country unless you are buying something specifically for the aquarium it's hard to be sure. You can test it yourself in a bucket of water easily enough. I like sand, one type I used raised the PH slightly, the only real problem I've had is with my own stupidity and scratching the glass, which seems easier to do with sand.


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## King James (Jan 30, 2012)

Thanks everyone for replies, but I surely didn't know it would jack up the PH....I already am at 8.0 to 8.1 (on my own well) without doing anything in my tanks as it is. I keep a lot of driftwood in 75 and PH stays around 7.8 to 8.0.....I even have Neons and Rummy Nose, but they look fantastic health and color wise.

The tank I wanted to put sand into would be a 29 gallon and I wanted to put some African Cichlids in it....they like higher PH anyway. 

So, sand raises PH where gravel may not or are both likely to do it? If I go with the white sand from Petco that I also have and have not opened bag yet along with play sand from Home Depot.....maybe if I just use the Petco white sand as it would look awesome! Hopefully it won't have raising effect on PH. ???:fish5:


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Sand CAN make you PH rise, it doesn't always, same with gravel or rocks used as decor. Basically it depends what the sand is made of. If you buy sand from a fish store it likely won't rise your PH (unless it is supposed to, like for cichlid tanks) because it has already been tested before being sold. When you buy your sand from another source it hasn't been tested for aquarium use. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use it, just do a test if you are worried about it. Let water sit in a bucket for 24hrs, test the PH, then add sand and wait a couple of days, test PH again. If the sand raised the PH in the bucket it will rise in your tank too.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Sand isn't 'sand'... one sandpit locally distributes sand that raises the water hardness and pH, and another supplies a perfectly neutral sand that is inert. It'll vary where it comes from and on a forum with as wide a geographic range as this, sand could be quite different, chemically (as could gravel, pool filter sand, aquarium sand). It's dangerous to generalize.
I use straight up sand, well rinsed, and I love it.


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## vdanker (Jan 3, 2012)

I use aquarium sand as a base, then layer gravel over it in strips. I also include larger rocks and fossil coral. I have several Cories, and the sand is easy on their mouths. They really dig in and sift it through their gills, looking for food. The combination of sand, gravel, and rocks creates a very natural look.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Coral will definitely jack up your ph.


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## King James (Jan 30, 2012)

jrman83 said:


> All sand is fine. With regular water changes, gh/kh don't continue to rise.


I do practice regular water changes and will go with the Petco white sand first in a 20 high before I try the new 29 out, as I still have 50 lb bag of Home Depot Play sand. My PH in tanks hovers close to 7.8 to 8.2 PH anyway.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

You mentioned cichlids going into your 29.Im pretty sure most cichlids will get way to large for a 29 gallon.

In any case,the bucket test is a great idea.That way you can be sure if it will raise your PH.


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## Galvatron898 (Feb 27, 2011)

we used about 70 lbs of play sand from Home Depot in out 60 Gallon and it's been over a year and it looks great easy to clean. It didn't seam to effect my water at all.


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