I was getting ready to set up another 60gallon tank and I was curious if I could go to the local lake and dig some of the sand off the beach, clean it some how and use it in my new 60glln if not what kinda of sand is a person supposed to use.

ud have to seriously wash it, if i were u tho id buy play sand form yr local supermarket, its costs next to nothing, still needs lot of cleaning mind you!
its easy to use local gravel and very much harder to use local sand however as its so hard 2 clean.

Seeing as this is a sand thread I dragged this from mine.

I know most people these days go for sand. Does anybody have the white silica sand in their aquariums?
Also does the sand stay white and keep its color or does it fade through time? I am thinking about this and loosing the notion for the UGF filter.
How does people get on with the cleaning of the top of the substrate etc. Maybe you post the pro's and cons on the subject... cheers

www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php
This is a site I found to tell you about the pros and cons it will help you with your decision

since this is about substrate, i just picked up 3m color quartz and from what i can gather after you clean the snot out of it, it never fades or leaches anything into your water. many colors to pick from and 2 grain sizes. tough part is finding it in your area. i just found a supplier in baltimore md that has a good quantity left as it's discontinued from 3m

I got a 25k bag from my local builders merchant it is 6mm but for £4 u cant grumble. Was checking out the prices at the LFS phew !!! Day light robbery. Some people might think that 6mm is too big but it looks great.
I will be having serious thought on the silica. It looks very much like coral sand but does that not alter the ph in the water?

jamesmillar wrote:


X2, its not worth the effort to go get your own sand, just buy building sand

Silica sand anybody know about this stuff plz ?

This silica sand looks very much like coral sand and to have all white at the bottom of the tank would look stunning. The last time I saw this silica sand was when I was getting a paving job done in my back garden years ago. The stones were laid dry and the professional builder said it was something to do with the sand not absorbing water as much as builders sand and does'nt dry out as much. He just swept the silica sand in between them. I think you have to buy them in bags 25kg's I might pop down and have a look at the local builders yard and see if he has any.
Keep you posted...

This is one thing I can't answer for you Hun! I don't have sand... Someone will let ya know.

I dont know really. Can sand and filters really work together in a tank? Mmmmmmh...

Lots of members have sand... I know it will work and it looks nice, but I don't have any!