# Play Sand vs Silica Sand?



## freph

Pool filter sand (silica sand) will be lighter than play sand and also less fine and messy. Much less messy. Less compaction as well.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy

Silica sand is white, while play sand is more tan. Silica sand also might be less dusty and easier to work with initially.

Play sand is cheaper -- 50lb of play sand costed me $5 while a 50lb bag of silica sand costed me $15. Also, silica sand may look less natural depending on the look you're going for. As I said, it is more bright white, while play sand is more tan.

If you go with sand, put soil or something under it so the plants can get nutrients more easily -- I know aqua substrates can be really expensive.


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## Zoidborg

I use Pool filter sand (silica sand/Nepheline syenite) in my tanks, it's very light and doesn't get cloudy. Only problem there are some small black flecks in it, the rest is white though.

I bought a 50 lb bag at a local Pool Store for $10. Close up it looks almost like salt or sugar crystals, mine compacts a little bit. The Corycats love digging their barbels into it.

Here's a pic of it close up.


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## SweetNotice

Are all of these available at Homedepot or Lowes? I'm actually about to go there in 30 minutes. Is there a certain brand to look for? From what I gotten so far from either sand is that..

Silica sand is white and play sand is tan.
Silica sand is lighter and more fine than play sand.

I will probably go to Lowes first since it's 1.2 miles away. Homedepot is 3.8 miles away.

Thanks I'll try to look for Silica label sand and the word "white"?


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## Zoidborg

Lowes and Home Depot should have play sand (they do up here in Canada). Not sure about pool filter sand though, don't see why big box stores wouldn't have pool supplies. 

Local pool stores have pfs stocked up high in palletes though.


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## Bushkill

Zoidborg said:


> Lowes and Home Depot should have play sand (they do up here in Canada). Not sure about pool filter sand though, don't see why big box stores wouldn't have pool supplies.
> 
> Local pool stores have pfs stocked up high in palletes though.


The pool filter sand may be stocked seasonally in colder areas. But even then, some things aren't stocked identically between stores. There's a HD near where I work that doesn't even stock barbed fittings, yet 12 miles west there's one with a full arsenal. This time of year, a pool store would be the better bet and unless it's a lot more driving for you should save you time in the long run.


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## PlantedRich

I think you are unlikely to find pool filter sand at either big box store. It is something of a specialty item. But I would certainly recommend going further to get it. Play sand has no real standards set on the contents. So it varies from week to wek depending on where they scoop it. The biggest part is the filter sand is almost clean where almost all play sand will require lots of rinsing. Some will never rinse clean. I bought some locally that was so red that I finally put it in the garden as a total waste. My time and effort is worth buying the more expensive clean stuff.


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## SweetNotice

Just got back from Lowes and Homedepot, both store don't have pool sand of any sort. Asked their employee, clueless to the word "Silica Sand". Closest they have is Play Sand.

So driving home was a Leslie's Pool store, girlfriend said to check there so dropped on by and I asked the lady if they carry pool sand that's somewhat white and she took us to the back room and showed me #20 Pool Filter Sand. I asked what's the #20 meant for and she said it's the grade of Pool Sand for Filtration. 

I even stated I'm going to use it for Aquarium and she said yepp, that's what most people come in and by. She also told me to spread the word about it!

I bought two 50lbs bags. They were $9.99 each.

Would I need to rinse this? Or just let my two Aquaclear 110 filters take care of it.

I'm not sure if it's the right ones to use but since she assured me that alot of folks comes in and buy it for their aquarium, I'm going to use it.


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## Zoidborg

My pfs was #20 grade also but a different brand, I did rinse mine before adding to tank.

I've seen on other forums the people use that sand from leslie's.


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## susankat

I use pfs in all my tanks, never rinsed any of it. Put a plate on top of the sand and add the water slowly going onto the plate first. Tank was clear the whole time.


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## MSG

#20 refers to the US Standard sieve the material was run through before it was placed in bags. Since you're in California, the pool store used a different supplier. 

The 50lb PFS bags I've seen on the East Coast Leslie's are see through & usually stored outside in their stock yard. I didn't like the color of the sand when I was there. Too light for me. 

I'd give it a quick rinse unless you like the cloudy look for 24-48 hours. 

If you have time, take a picture of the granules of sand.


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## discuspaul

You won't regret having bought the #20 grade white PFS from Leslie's.
That's what I've used in my tanks for years. (White quartz-based silica PFS)
Requires very little or no rinsing (I don't rinse mine) - it has larger, denser grains than play sand, and will not get siphoned out when vacuuming. Will not get stirred up into the water column when disturbed, so will not get sucked into filters & clog them up. Grows plants well using root tab ferts.

Have a look:
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/3RedSnakeSkins
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Anubias


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## SweetNotice

Thanks for all the information. It's not as white as I wanted it to be but I still like it. Here is the granules of the sand taken with camera phone.


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## Sgchick

Hi... I'm in the same boat...looking for white sand. Just came home from Leslie's pool supply where I did find the exact bag you pictured from Leslie's, but the salesman said it was gray. :-( I'm going to keep looking. I was hoping not to have to ship it though.


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## discuspaul

Yes, now that I see a close-up of the granules, it is on the gray side - but nothing wrong with that - it's very nice sand, although I still prefer the white.
Can Leslie's not order in the white - would they ?


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## Sgchick

discuspaul said:


> Yes, now that I see a close-up of the granules, it is on the gray side - but nothing wrong with that - it's very nice sand, although I still prefer the white.
> Can Leslie's not order in the white - would they ?


I'm going to call tomorrow and talk to their manager and see if they can order white. Otherwise, I'll just go with what they have. I'm anxious to get going on my tank.


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## SweetNotice

The pool sand I purchased turns out to be very nice. Will I buy it again? Definitely. With my 120gallon tank, I threw in a huge piece of tree like driftwood and the water became a tint of brown. No complain there, I actually love the brownish look. The pool sand itself is very light. It doesn't get cloudy at all when disturbed by small fish. Even if bigger fish disturbs it, it probably wouldn't have any clouding effect. When I planted my plants in, I rubber band it with 1/4'' Orthodontic Elastic brands around the roots as I bunched the plants which was then stuck into the Pool Sand about an inch down. Nothing came up, pool sand was just clear!


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