How To Wash Sand?

[Rhykiru]

Simple question but i cant figure it out xD, How do you wash sand? i mean its not like gravel which you can just stir up, i thought that if you tried to stir up sand(to get the dirty stuff out) then wait for the sand to settle, wouldnt the dirty stuff go back in? Also, i know that play sand can be used in an aquarium (i found a bag at Lowes of Play Sand, 50 pounds for 4 dollars!) But how do you know if it will compact or not?

Also, do plants grow better in play sand or gravel?

thanks

 

[backtotropical]

To wash sand, put a small amount into a bucket. Run water into the bucket from a hose or tap. Keep the water running and swish the sand about with your hands. All the dirt should come out the sand and overflow the bucket. Keep washing until the water runs clear.

Play sand shouldn't compact any more than aquarium sand. Its the same stuff. It will be fine.

Plants will generally do better in gravel IMO, but they will do fine in sand.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lorna]

Hi there,

I have used play sand in one of my tanks as it is VERY inexpensive and theres is alot of it. If you are growing plants you can put a layer of gravel on top of the sand. With play sand I tested it by adding vinegar to an amount of it in a glass, this is to ensure it doesn't have anything that will hardened and raise the PH of the water (crushed coral etc). If it fizzed there is something in there that wouldn't be benefitial for my tank. It didn't.

It is very fine sand so is ideal for particular setups. I am doing a S.E Asian Swamp setup and fine sand is ideal for this.

It shouldn't really need cleaning as playsand should already be clean (says on bag if its been cleaned). If its not clean put a bit in a bucket and rinse, rinse, rinse. Do this until you have the required amount in your tank. Slow process sorry.

 

[Rhykiru]

ok, thanks for the replies.

I can take it slow aslong as it makes my corys happy

I was thinking, maybe because that i think plants may be hard to root into sand(i have on onion plant), that maybe it would be better to but a terra cotta pot and put the plant in there and use gravel and then just put it on the sand submerged a bit.

 

[KimA]

ok, thanks for the replies.

I can take it slow aslong as it makes my corys happy

I was thinking, maybe because that i think plants may be hard to root into sand(i have on onion plant), that maybe it would be better to but a terra cotta pot and put the plant in there and use gravel and then just put it on the sand submerged a bit.

Hi,

My onion plants rooted okay in the sand (did put some plant weight around the bottom of them though to keep them down !)

Kim