Childrens play sand

[LeStat]

Hi all,

I was wondering whether or not it would be safe to use some chldrens play sand that has been left outdoors for some time?

1) Is this type of sand OK?
2) Will it be safe having been left to the elements?

Next month I will be in delivery of my new 96x24x30 250g to house my 19 clowns & will need a fair amount of sand for it, I would like to save some money as I already have the sand in my garden but I wont use it if there is any risk to my little family.

Thanks as always, AD

[janma]

Its good to rinse it first, but I would say its safe. Oh and watch out for cat litter, here the children's play sand often has had a visit from a cat or two.

[LeStat]

I will rinse it thoroughly, it is still in the builders bag it came in last summer. Good point about the cat poo, i'll dig down to the bottom to get the clean stuff.

Thanks

[NancyD]

Look close at it, here there are sometimes sharp pieces or brick bits. You also may want to put some in a bucket with water to see if it changes the GH.

[chefkeith]

In my experience Playsand is not good. It compacts too much because there are too many small particulates and after awhile deadly anaerobic pockets will develop in it. Also it clouds the water when it gets stirred and the small sand particles clog up aquarium filters and may end up clogging up your household plumbing.

You'd be better off with a graded sand that has the same grain size, like pool filter sand.

Playsand is not necessarily inert also.

[LeStat]

Thank you all for your comments.

Chefkeith, I am now not so comfortable with using the play sand so I will definately buy some pool filter sand or such like. I'll probably post the name/brand on here first though for your thoughts on it, that is if you don't mind?

Thanks again!!

[janma]

Don't know what type of playsand the rest of the world uses, but it sounds dangerous.

A lot of people here take the sand from beaches and its the same as playsand. I've used it some years back. No problems.

The sand I'm using has the grain size of 0,1-0,6mm, which is as small as it gets. No problems with filters or plumbing. Had the other size too of 0,7-1,2 and no problem with that either. This sand is originally for sand blasting. Looks good and natural, most important the fish love it.

[Diana]

In USA "Play sand" has a mix of particle sizes, and it is this mix that makes it pack down in the tank, reducing water movement through the sand. This encourages anaerobic spots when the sand is deeper than a couple of inches. Even at 2" (5 cm) I had one than that had problems.

Blasting sand and pool filter sand has been passed through a series of meshes of different sizes. The particles in any one bag are all one size. There is some dust, it will happen in any material like this, but a quick rinse is all that is needed, or just ignore it, and fill the tank slowly.
I use 30 mesh or grade 30 pool filter sand in several tanks. It does not pack down. Any size particle can work, the key is that most or all the particles are the same size.

Also available in my area are sands packaged in bags that are other sizes besides 30 mesh. Some are almost coarse enough to call extremely fine gravel. Any of these will work in an aquarium because all the particles are the same size.

The chemical composition of these sands is important, too.
Silica sand (the most common sort) adds silica to the tank and can encourage the growth of diatoms, AKA brown algae. This is usually a temporary nuisance, and many algae eating fish will eat it, and when you clean it up you are removing silica from the tank, reducing the food supply and so, restricting the growth of more diatoms. THis sand does not affect GH or KH.
Calcium carbonate based sands have calcium and magnesium carbonates. When they dissolve in the water they raise the GH (Calcium and magnesium) and KH (Carbonate). This can be a problem if you are trying to keep soft water fish. In a tank of fish that thrive in hard, alkaline water such sand is not a problem at all.

[T]

Thank you all for your comments.

Chefkeith, I am now not so comfortable with using the play sand so I will definately buy some pool filter sand or such like. I'll probably post the name/brand on here first though for your thoughts on it, that is if you don't mind?

Thanks again!!

Yep I agree with that, it seems ok at first but soon the tank just seems to crash.

[Barnsten]

In USA "Play sand" has a mix of particle sizes, and it is this mix that makes it pack down in the tank, reducing water movement through the sand. This encourages anaerobic spots when the sand is deeper than a couple of inches. Even at 2" (5 cm) I had one than that had problems.

Blasting sand and pool filter sand has been passed through a series of meshes of different sizes. The particles in any one bag are all one size. There is some dust, it will happen in any material like this, but a quick rinse is all that is needed, or just ignore it, and fill the tank slowly.
I use 30 mesh or grade 30 pool filter sand in several tanks. It does not pack down. Any size particle can work, the key is that most or all the particles are the same size.

Also available in my area are sands packaged in bags that are other sizes besides 30 mesh. Some are almost coarse enough to call extremely fine gravel. Any of these will work in an aquarium because all the particles are the same size.

The chemical composition of these sands is important, too.
Silica sand (the most common sort) adds silica to the tank and can encourage the growth of diatoms, AKA brown algae. This is usually a temporary nuisance, and many algae eating fish will eat it, and when you clean it up you are removing silica from the tank, reducing the food supply and so, restricting the growth of more diatoms. THis sand does not affect GH or KH.
Calcium carbonate based sands have calcium and magnesium carbonates. When they dissolve in the water they raise the GH (Calcium and magnesium) and KH (Carbonate). This can be a problem if you are trying to keep soft water fish. In a tank of fish that thrive in hard, alkaline water such sand is not a problem at all.

I had heard that silica sand can be sharp, is this true?
I am trying to get my local mom and pop hardware store to get some sand in that I can use in my 55 gallon tank. They don't carry anything labeled "pool filter sand" but they did say that they get blasting sand, I'm just not sure what they can get for sizes as they are out of stock right now (all the ice an snow we just had). I don't want a really fine grain sand, but I'd like something that I can easily vacuum with my python and not suck all the sand out of the tank at the same time . I just didn't want something more like gravel either. I plan on making a hillstream tank and have all the other stuff I will need on the way for my project. Any suggestions on blasting sand and the sizes they come in? Is it a sand that can be sharp? I was told it comes in black or white, I was going to get black so the colors of my fish/plants stand out more.