# Home Depot Sand as "cosmetic" sand?



## Maechael (Sep 9, 2012)

I've used tan play sand, white paver sands and black blasting grit.
They all require several rinsings, the black grit being the worst.

Try some out, best of luck.


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## jsarrow (Jun 10, 2008)

Any effects on pH when you used them?



Maechael said:


> I've used tan play sand, white paver sands and black blasting grit.
> They all require several rinsings, the black grit being the worst.
> 
> Try some out, best of luck.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

If it's inert, there will be no effect on pH.


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## Ben125 (Dec 16, 2014)

I used pool filter sand from there. It looks ok but gets sucked up when vacuuming too easily. Id use something bigger if I had to do it over again.


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## Maechael (Sep 9, 2012)

To avoid sucking up sand hover at an angle with the hose tip just off the sand.

PH buffering is for advanced soils and clays, most sands don't play too much in to that, aragonitic sands being the obvious exception.


Good luck.


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## Wilderman204 (Mar 5, 2015)

I've used pool filter sand to make a small beach, and don't have problems with it getting sucked up that bad. But I would only skim over the surface with a really small vac bc it's capping dirt and only a 20gallon. 
The sand has been super clean the past few day though. My Sulawesi snail( golden rabbit) has started stirring through the top 2-3mm. It looks funny after he drags his shell around in it all night. Like he's trying to write in the sand lol, and it looks as clean as when I put it in.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I have used various sands like play sand/all purpose sand but no longer go that way. There are no specs on those sand types where pool filter sand is graded much more closely. The result is that a bag of play sand can mean almost anything and just depends on where they scooped it at any time. A bag of sand that must have come out of the Red River was the final straw for me. Pure red mud and it never came clean so I had to ditch the whole bag. I now go for pool filter sand to get the consistent grain size and then shop for the slight color changes if I want lighter/darker. When buying I look around the bags for spills to get a good idea of the color.


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## jsarrow (Jun 10, 2008)

Hmm... Seems like using HD sand is a bit if a crap shoot. Might avoid using it based on the varied results. Thanks for all the info everyone.


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## Maechael (Sep 9, 2012)

If sands are still of interest.

The tans are usually tan. As in play sand, rinse lightly.
The black is very black, as in blasting grit rinse very heavily.
the white is usually white, rinse as needed.

The blasting grit, and pool filter sand have the most consistent makeup, and size.

Good luck.


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## jsarrow (Jun 10, 2008)

Thanks for the info all. 

Some what related question. I'm planning on using some Osmocote in the base and wondering if there is any difference (beyond higher NPK) between Osmocote regular and Osmocote +? I was hoping to just use some of the regular Osmocote I have laying around instead of buying O+ just for this set up.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

O+ = trace minerals. 

To evaluate sand:

Put a big handful in a jar of water. Shake REALLY well. 
Set the jar down. See how fast the sand settles. The real sand falls out of the water in just a few seconds. 
The rest of the haze is the problem particles. 

PFS and other graded sand will not be very cloudy. Just a little dust from the particles rubbing against each other in the bag. Play sand will have a lot of fines that will stay suspended for a long time. They will do this in your tank, too. 
Also, these fine particles will sift between the sand and clog the passages where water should move through. This leads to anaerobic conditions in the substrate.


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## BeardedCrow81 (Mar 6, 2015)

In my earlier days of aquariums, i used to buy those 50 lb bags at home depot.

They require a ton of rinsing, but looks good once settled in tank.

HOWEVER, anytime a fish kicks the sand up, it'll get sucked into filter and make this awful grinding noise.

I now avoid small sand...


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## TroyVSC (Oct 22, 2012)

Another option not mentioned on here Spectraquartz or Ceramquartz which come in a variety of colors and two sizes. They are exactly the same thing as Tahitian Moons Sand or other Caribsea sands. All those including PFS are inert and made from quartz. I can dump a full 20oz cup up my fine grade spectraquartz from the top of my aquarium and all of it is at the bottom withen seconds with none staying in the water column. 

A little more pricey than PFS it will cost you around $20-25 for 50lbs versus $25 for 20lbs of TMS. I don't have option in my area of having Black Diamond so found other products that met my needs.


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