# Natural Looking mud type sand....



## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

Does it exist? well atleast for purchasing i mean...im trying to get a 30 gal south american tank setup and i want that muddy sand look...if anyone could help that would be great

Mark


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## Chupacabras (Aug 25, 2004)

You can use playsand from Home Depot/Lowes... probably about as fine a sand as you'll find without using oolitic. Beware however, this stuff is a bear to clean!

EDIT: A bear to clean before you even put it into the tank... although it ain't easy to clean this stuff with a syphon either.


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

no playsand isnt what i want thats too bright! Its currently in my 30 gal...im talking about something that has a mud type color


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Tahitian Moon Sand is black. I don't think it looks like mud though....

Mike


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I feel that Profile looks fairly muddy-colored. Just a tad too orangy, maybe. And of course you don't want authentic real fine mud, assuming you will have fish in it...


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

wonder if you could crush up some of the profile....


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

hrm never heard of profile...ill go check it out...could you guys include a link, i cant find this stuff...thanks

Mark


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## Oqsy (Jul 3, 2004)

http://www.profileproducts.com/lawn/lawn_3.html

profile is an orange/red clay that doesn't quite look "muddy"... a couple of suggestions depending on what exactly you mean by "muddy"...

for a dark brown muddy look maybe try mixing playsand with tahitian moon and flourite until you get the look you're going for...

for a lighter look just playsand and flourite mixed thoroughly...

or... maybe a dark brown fine gravel (the finest grade you can find at lfs, if it's too big the effect won't work) mixed with tahitian moon and / or a little flourite.

i have also found a "mud" colored sand that I really wanted to use in my 10g, but opted for something else instead because of the price... it's called "exo-terra riverbed sand" made by hagen... 

http://www.exo-terra.com/products/riverbed_sand_i.php

it's marketed as a substrate for turtles / amphibians and is priced fairly steeply for pretty small bags... however, the color of the stuff is fantastic! if money were no object, i'd use this with a substrate conditioner / fertilizer on every tank I have... the picture on their site doesn't do it justice... lots of browns, tans, and black..

hope that gives you a little direction.

Oqsy

Edited: found a better picture of exo-terra riverbed sand at http://www.thatpetplace.com/Product...+Supplies+Sand/T1/R04+0171+1197/Itemdy00.aspx


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Profile is also available as "Schultz Aquatic Soil", same thing, nicer packaging.


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

wow that pet place has a decent price on that exo-terra sand...and thats what i want too...hrmm what could make a good mix with it though? I was hoping to get atleast half the substrate as flourite perhaps or some other fertilized gravel and then the top portion would be the exo-terra sand...what do you think? thanks for showing me that sand Oqsy!

Mark


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Use a dark brown stone in open areas with a lot of wood and you will get the biotope look that I think you want. Very few "safe" substrates will give you the muddy look but with some clever layout you can get the effect... roud: 

Only mother nature can get away with mud... LOL


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

*exo-terra sand...what do you think? thanks for showing me that sand Oqsy!*

Am I missing a link... I saw the bag and read the description but I so no photos of its true look ?


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

ey buck look at Oqsy's edit...theats the link to see what it looks like....alright do you guys think 15lbs would be good enough? I found a site where i can get 15lbs for $21 with shipping...oh yeah the tank is a 30 gal high


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

ahhhhhh... see I told you I missed something ! LOL

Thats some sweet looking sand , Ive never seen that before roud: Thanks for pointing that link out...


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

You will probably need 2 bags due to "settling" in time. 1 bag may cover it for a little while but 15 lbs aint as much as you would think.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

It is nice looking sand! Looks just like the sand in the stream I fossil hunt in.

Mike


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

so how many 5lb bags should i get?...what i think ill do for gravel is pick up some more bags of this "walnut gravel" they sell locally which is also somewhat dark brownin color and ill work my way from there...i think ill wait with the sand and just get the gravel filled in and and get the plants in...then ill order the sand and ill tell you guys how it is. roud: 

Mark


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Well if you wanted just sand you would need 75 lbs or so to get a 3" depth. I'm assuming that it's pretty much the same as regular silica sand. So go figure from there. 

Remember that if you mix the sand and any gravel the gravel will end up on top. Eventually you will end up with a layer of expensive sand at the bottom and gravel on top.


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

yup im aware of that rex...so what depth do you think would be fine? 3in or 2?....wow thats a lot of money :frown:


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

3" is at least 50% better than two inches.


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## MentaldisordeR (Sep 30, 2004)

alright thanks 

Mark


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

i too am interested in this. I am looking for a substrate that is kinda greyish/brownish/ reddish almost clay like in appearence and texture, for a muddy, south american type biotope.




























Best Pic, too large to put up. Huge. But exactly what i am looking for.

very i nterested in this kind of biotope.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

wow, this is an old thread. I don't think you'll find anything muddyer colored than aquasoil, but I've never seen any fine grained stuff that color. If I were going for that look, I'd probably choose AS just for it's color. I have an Amazon-ish tank going now whith play sand, as long as you don't vacuum it (which is daunting task since it's so fine) and you have plenty of fish processing plenty of food, it will start to take on a brownish color. If it's the dirty look you're going for, you might like it, my g/f hates it... "it used to be so pretty like a beach and now it's disgusting".. LOL! or else check out the Hagen exo-terra riverbed sand they were talking about here.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

I'm surprise nobody thought of simply grinding up Pure Laterite.
not a cheap solution, but authentic and a great plant medium.


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## omboocat (Nov 3, 2005)

Try using pool filter sand, not as bright as play sand and comes in different sizes and has a gray coloring. I use this mixed with flourite and like the combination.
omboocat


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## ShortFin (Dec 27, 2005)

FloraBase is mud looking.


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

why not just use mud with some peat/root tabs in it?


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## fish_lover0591 (Nov 11, 2006)

mud doesn't sound good but some people use soil so i'm not sure. Just use sand lol


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

Thats what i am asking. Its not just color, i'd like texture as well.

I don't have soil locally that looks anything like the pictures i posted, and i dug up this old thread because there was no point in starting another new thread for the same exact question.

COuld i use some sort of clay? 

I'm not sure what is viable, all the soil tanks i have seen always seem to cap with gravel, which is something i do not want to do.

Also, i am using aquasoil in my main display tank and do not have the cash to purchase more(nor do i want to pay another 100 dollars for substrate).
Since this is a non display tank i want to try and go cheap yet still achieve the look i want.


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## aelysa (Oct 20, 2006)

I wonder if you could use some well rinsed topsoil (and I mean REALLY well rinced to get the trash out of it) and mix a bit of that with crushed aqua soil. That should look pretty muddy.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

btw, this is for a 90g which has a base of 48x18.


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