whne people say they have sand in there tank do they mean sand you get from homedepot or like sand from the ocean or something else.
srry if this is a relly stupid question.

No, it's not a stupid question at all, in fact I think its a very good question. The sand is actually particles of rock. Obviously it takes many many millions of years before a lump of rock turns into Tam pounds of Sand. So you will get different sand in different parts of the world because you obviously have different rock in parts of the world. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but that's my way of understanding it simply.

Anyway, most sand that you buy from a builders merchant is perfectly okay to use in a fish tank. If in doubt, get it from an aquatic shop. That's where I got my black sand from, it was the only place I could find it

I was told to get aquarium sand for my tank (2 to 3 years ago). If i was going to get sand again i wouldnt buy aquarium sand (its bloody expensive), i would get it from a builders merchant. I would avoid sharp sand and go with normal sort

Whenever ive used sand (never for my Oscars) i have used silver sand which you should be able to get form your local builders merchants.

hey dinger just a question but why do you not use sand with your oscars?

When Oscars are fully grown they like to root around in the gravel. they move copious amounts around the tank appearing to redecorate the tanks. the purpose of this only becomes apparent to those who have bred Oscars. After the eggs hatch the Oscars will normally move the fry from the slate on which they were laid to one of the pits that they have dug in the gravel for their safety. They often then cover the fry in the gravel to hide them from predators. In my opinion with a sand substrate this would not be possible as covering them in sand would bury them. I cant see that Oscars spitting huge amounts of sand around the tank is good for water quality as it will end up in the filters blocking them or worse getting into the mechanics of the pump and ruining it. if sand is put into a tank in any depth then there are bound to be pockets in the sand of stagnant water as the water cannot flow through it. Although this could be the same for gravel there is much less chance that there are stagnant spots as water can flow throughout the gravel more easily than through compacted sand. Hope this answers the question. Of course id really like to hear from anybody who has bred Oscars with sand as a substrate. When ever i have used sand it has always been in either a small tank with a specific species that i have been breeding ie appistogrammas(which pile sand up to protect the entrance to a cave or in a larger tank i have just had one area of the tank for specific fish that like to root around in the sand and i have only had it to a depth of 3/4 of an inch.

well i decided to get sand a few weeks ago and i went to my builders merchants and i got dried kiln sand its really good sand and it looks amazing the only thing i didnt like as that the colour of the sand is really light and with having oscars in the set-up all the waste was really noticable, and you had to clean it all the time, it worked out a hell of alot cheaper than getting aquarium sand it was £4.24 a bag and there was 25 kg in the bag, and in my local fish suppliers he said that it was £12.99 for 8 kg which worked out a lot dearer than the builders sand, but make sure that you dont get sahrp sand as the fish can hurt there selves on this type,
i have taken my sand out because of its colour and that it was hard to keep clean
i am looking now for a darker coloured sand to replace the kiln sand

any ideas any1

i've read on another forum that some pool filter sand comes in black as well as white. it might be something to look into for a less expensive approach. if not the only other place i have found black sand was at the lfs and it was very expensive.

ashley1984 wrote:


Anything labeled aquarium tends to up the price loads. Rocks are a classic example, if you want a decent sized rock get them from a garden center as its loads cheaper (just make sure that they dont fizz when vinegar is put on it)

As we all have large tanks for our oscars it it worth noting that the stuff marks for ponds works out loads cheaper that the stuff labelled for fish tank, example dechlorinator and medications

hey all, this is my first time on your site here. so far so good, lots of good info. my input for sand is pool filter sand. thats all i ever used in my tanks.its cheap compaired to sand from your LFS. P.F.S. is around 6.00 U.S. dollars for a 50lbs. bag, and sand from the LFS around my hometown is about 20.00 U.S. dollars for a 20lbs bag. the Pool filter sand is the same grain size and it is nice and natural looking, sort of like beach sand. hope it this helps you out some.