Playsand

[daved]

Argos have playsand in 15kg bags for £2.49
I have a 3ft tank
Just wondering how many bags of sand would be required for a decent depth for some plant to go in
Cheers Dave

 

[backtotropical]

2 would probably do, maybe not very deep.

3 would be quite deep i think.

I have a 4ft tank with 50kg. Look here to see depth.

Hope this helps.

 

[alessasavoca]

I put some in my rekord, which is just over 3 ft long, and 1 bag *just* about did it, it's just about deep enough for planting but not quite!

 

[joecoral]

i have a rio 180 (3'3") and 2 bags was slightly more than i needed, so 2 would be fine IMO

 

[daved]

cheers everyone for the info
It looks like 2 bags and a heep load of washing
and Backtotropical that is one very nice tank
Dave

 

[backtotropical]

Cheers Daved

 

[Ian H]

tesco has play sand for 98p

 

[daved]

tesco has play sand for 98p

Wow that sounds great do you know what size the bag is B)
cheers Dave

 

[vancouver]

Don't use playsand... it's really no good for fish.

It compacts underwater.. nasty pockets of toxic gas form in it, and all the fish poo etc sits on top of it..

Pool filter sand is the way to go. I didn't have to rinse it, and it doesn't compact underwater.

I paid $12 Canadian for a 50 pound bag.

 

[DarkEntity]

Ive used Playsand before and it did exactly that, compacted and turned nasty even with MT's and me turning it

 

[raptorrex]

Don't use playsand... it's really no good for fish.

It compacts underwater.. nasty pockets of toxic gas form in it, and all the fish poo etc sits on top of it..

Pool filter sand is the way to go. I didn't have to rinse it, and it doesn't compact underwater.

I paid $12 Canadian for a 50 pound bag.

a worthwhile comment there. this stuff is often touted on here as the cost effective solution to adding sand to your tank. it would seem, perhaps that it is not quite what people need! it may be worth asking this to be put up as a sticky.

 

[shroob]

I used playsand for my first aquarium (still got it) but it does compact something cronic. Every water change I run my hands through the sand to release the gas and stir it up.

 

[SuperColey1]

Don't use playsand... it's really no good for fish.
It compacts underwater.. nasty pockets of toxic gas form in it, and all the fish poo etc sits on top of it..
Pool filter sand is the way to go. I didn't have to rinse it, and it doesn't compact underwater.
I paid $12 Canadian for a 50 pound bag.

If you read the original post you will notice that the guy wants to put plants in it.

Playsand is perfectly OK for a planted tank as is Silver/Dry Sand (which is the same sand just sterilised).

I have used playsand in my previous set up and dry sand in my current setup and never had these problems you are explaining.

With plants in it as long as they are allowed to grow their roots there will be no problem with anaerobic pockets.

To say that it is harmful to fish is just scaremongering.

Andy

 

[Musho3210]

yup, playsand in my planted tank and its fine. Some say its ok to have anerobic spots in planted tanks since the anerobic bacteria will break down nutrients for the plants to take up easier, i dunno if its true or not....

 

[Dorkhedeos]

It compacts underwater.. nasty pockets of toxic gas form in it, and all the fish poo etc sits on top of it..

I thought you wanted poo to sit on top of the sand Thats the reason why i use sand, so it sits on top and it doesnt have any way of being trapped under the substrate