# Using/Fertilizing Play Sand



## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)




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## Angel AQ (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks, Ed.

Have you found it necessary to use the tabs if you are already using Flourish in the water? A lot of low light plants will root to wood/decor, so I assume they rely more on their leaves for nutrition.

Are there certain plants that will give me trouble in play sand without root fertilizer? I'm wondering if it's better to target those plants vs. fertilizing the entire substrate?


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Well, most stem plants will gather their required nutrients from the water column. But will also benefit from a nutritious substrate as well.

Plants like Swords, crypts and anubias will benefit more from an enriched substrate.

Sand is pretty inert and has no/minimal beneficial nutrients so it will be a good idea to add nutrients to it to make more beneficial for all plants.

Flourish will supply nutrients to the water column and some to the substrate will be beneficial also.

Also don't forget about adding CO2... that is the ESSENTIAL nutrient. IMHO.


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

I have a tank I set up a few months ago with play sand. I don't have anything difficult growing in there, but the java fern and onion plants took off really well. I just use some liquid flourish.

The worry that I have heard about play sand is that it is packaged regionally. So even though it work once, doesn't mean that it will work somewhere else. But I think that is just the pet stores trying to get people to spend the extra money for the commercial aquarium soils. I think it works great.


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## h2osanity (Sep 19, 2008)

Yes, I too have playsand in 2 tanks and find it works fine. It will stir up a bit but if you don't vacuum much it will be fine. I use some MTS to do the clean up so it works great.


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## Angel AQ (Apr 19, 2006)

Since I'll have corys digging around in there, I may just start with the liquid and see how it goes.

h2osanity - how often do you vacuum yours? Do you try to kind of hover over the sand or do you vacuum down in the sand just not as often? I like the MTS idea. I kept those several years ago, and I really liked having them.


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## susankat (Oct 14, 2007)

You just hover over it, if you try and vac in the sand you will just loose some sand. I have sand in 12 tanks and all are planted. Some of them I just use liquid ferts as the plants are tied to wood. In tanks that have their roots into the substrate I either use plant tabs or potting soil under the sand for nutrients.


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## h2osanity (Sep 19, 2008)

Hovering is what works for me. If I find a pocket of sand that I am suspicious of, I will vacuum in depth but so far in 2 tanks I have only had one where it was a little grey where a rock sat on top of it instead of buried in it. (I think it was Diana Walstad's book re: rocks on top of substrate creating dead zones underneath) 

The MTS keep it loose and turned over, and so far not had a population explosion (loaches at the ready!) . I have some geo systems substrate and quartz gravel in the first one of the tanks mixed in with it...all inert stuff....that was the first sand tank and I was unsure about it. 

After I did it the first time, I went straight sand for the second with a handful of quartz pea gravel because I wanted it to look like a natural lake bottom. It has some slate buried in it to create some caves. It is a breeding/quarantine tank so it houses corys, loaches, otos, any fry that I have by chance in it. Nice and soft, a natural colour (which eases stress and sets the mood for spawning) and so far grows anything I stick in it-mind you nothing is super hard to grow either. No ferts besides fish poo and only Tank 1 has diy CO2, in fact, Tank 2 has an airstone bar to switch out for a sponge filter when I have fry. Both tanks have AC HOB's.
sorry for the crappy pics, doing 4 things at once today....

Pic 2 (Tank 1) medium light: vals, kleiner bar sword, althernera reinickii, java fern, java moss, crypt balansae, nymphaea rubra, crypt wendtii brown, crypt wendtii green, 
Hornwort, wisteria.
Pic 1 (Tank 2) very low light: java fern, ludwigia repens, hornwort, crypt wendtii green, wisteria.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

*getting a visual of someone dressing in camo to hunt down "suspicious sand" in their tank*

Sorry, that just tickled my funny bone! :hihi:


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## Angel AQ (Apr 19, 2006)

Thanks for all the info. That looks good! :thumbsup:


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Angel how about some updated pictures? How is the tank doing? What regiment of ferts did you use?


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## Angel AQ (Apr 19, 2006)

Hi Hilde, thanks for checking on me! The tank is in place in the living room, but it is currently empty. We had a very cold spell here - first time it has ever snowed here in my lifetime - so we had no desire to rinse sand out there. It has warmed back up now, but the dogs were cooped up too long and ate the garden hose. LOL.

Thanks for motivating me, though. Maybe I'll have something worth showing in the upcoming week. :fish:


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