# Will never use playsand again!!



## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

I hate this stuff! Look at my tank!
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/members/psalm18-2-albums-29g-picture7131-playsand-stinks.html
I'm going back to Aquarium safe sand!!


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## ferretowner96 (Apr 20, 2010)

You got to wash it out first. After that, put it in your tank, and let it sit, without any filters or powerheads going. It will settle down, and will be fine. I had this problem when I first put mine in, but after awhile (3 days) it settled to the bottom.
Rick


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## Doc7a (Apr 8, 2011)

To wash play sand for my tank (which I have now done twice, and most recently, from the same dirty bag I used the first time, 3 days ago with ZERO cloudiness), I have developed the following procedure:

Place empty 5 gallon bucket on floor

Fill a 2-gallon bucket no more than 25% full with sand.

Run sink into 2-gallon bucket while swishing sand (so that there is no solid bed, just a fluid of swirling sand) until bucket is 1/2 full total. Turn off sink and wait a count of 10-15 seconds.

Dump dirty water into 5-gallon bucket.

Repeat, throwing dirty 5-gallon bucket water out in the front yard (NOT down sink drain), until you have thrown out 3 x 5-gallon buckets of water.

Wash sand in same manner 10 more times (ok to put into sink drain at this point).

Done! Repeat until desired amount of sand is in tank. It takes 25-35 minutes per quarter-bucket of sand.

I did this a few days ago to add to my existing sand bed, I added 1.5" to 3" of sand into the 20 gallon tank over the course of a couple hours, and had crystal clear water. Filter was running the entire time.


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## ferretowner96 (Apr 20, 2010)

Yeah, I did the same thing as Doc7a, nut I just used a 10 gallon bucket, went out on our driveway, stuck a hose in it, and stirred it around with the hose, until the water looked clear. When you put it in your tank, no matter what, your water will cloud up again. You will think why did I listen to those idiots, but give it awhile, and it settled down. I waited 3 days to turn everything on again, just to be safe.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

I did all of the above. Used a hose to really stir things up. Even let it sit overnight for extra measure. I totally regret using it w/ fish in tank. I never had this issue w/ Estes Aquarium sand. Ya, I spent like $13 a bag, but it never clouded up and sunk right to the bottom.
This stuff is a dry tank only sand.


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## Buc_Nasty (Oct 22, 2010)

Yea play sand looks great and is cheap you just have to rinse it really well. When I put mine in my tank it settled in less than a minute with no cloudiness

I've found the best way is to have TWO 5 gallon buckets going at the same time for rinsing.

Fill each with sand about halfway then the rest with water. While you'r churning the sand in one, be filling the other with the hose. IMMEDIATELY after u stop churning dump the water FAST so theres no time for sand to settle. If you don't dump it fast then the whole process ends up takin a lot longer. Then put the hose in this bucket and repeat the process on the other bucket that has just finished filling.

This is the fastest and most efficient way to do it and you can get a lot done pretty quick.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

Tank is starting to clear now. I can see my fish at least. Still have to wait to re-plant as I can't see the back yet. I do like the darker beach color. I wouldn't use again unless setting up new tank WITHOUT fish!


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## irbenson (Jun 14, 2010)

I spent $4 for a 50lb bag. The key is just to wash it ALOT(I rinsed it at least 30 times). Keep in mind that it is a one-time wash, so it's really not that bad


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

To rinse playsand I fill a 5 gallon bucket 2/3 of the way with water than pour the sand into the bucket fairly slowly so that it rains down onto the bottom. Then I immediately dump the water off of the sand, move the wet sand to another container, and repeat with fresh, dry sand. The wet sand at the bottom isn't quite clean yet (still could stand some hosing down and agitation) but this gets rid of the tiniest particles fairly effectively and the water is way less cloudy afterward.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

Well I will try rinsing w/ all the methods as I have 1/2 a bag left and a 10G coming. I just wish the sand I liked came in a darker color.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

Well here's the tank the next day.


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## Higher Thinking (Mar 16, 2011)

Glad it all worked out for you. I used play sand as well in my 75 and like every one said, it just takes a good rinsing and since I filled it with sand first and then let water fill it up over a saucer I had clear water from the outset.


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

psalm18.2 said:


> Well here's the tank the next day.


Are all the inhabitants still in good shape?


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

The reason I won't use playsand is this:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...s-crypt-75g-journal-pics-4-a.html#post1113491









This is what anaerobic playsand looks like.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

PFS is just so much easier to maintain long-term. You can also use a gravel wash on PFS not sure if you can do that with Playsand.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

jasonpatterson said:


> Are all the inhabitants still in good shape?


Sadly no. I killed my fish in this sand obsession. So mad w/ myself. I can't find 2 cories & 2 shrimp.

Man that anerobic sand is awful. Was it your tank? The li nk won't work.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

Oh happy day. Decided to mess w/ tank, but removed delicate fish first. I found my cories, all of them!! I did loose a shrimp, but found it dead. One shrimp is MIA.


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## lipadj46 (Apr 6, 2011)

OverStocked said:


> The reason I won't use playsand is this:
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...s-crypt-75g-journal-pics-4-a.html#post1113491
> 
> ...


PFS does not go anaerobic?


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

I'm buying tons of malyasian trumpet snails to stir up that sand!!


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

OverStocked said:


> The reason I won't use playsand is this:
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...s-crypt-75g-journal-pics-4-a.html#post1113491
> 
> ...


+11 take it from experience.


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## lipadj46 (Apr 6, 2011)

its definitely what it looks like but do other types of sand (like pfs) not do that?


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## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

lipadj46 said:


> its definitely what it looks like but do other types of sand (like pfs) not do that?


Pool Filter Sand will not do that, since it won't compact as much, since it's intended to let water flow through. Larger grain sizes roud:


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## fast93accord (Nov 14, 2010)

Im pretty sure water clarifier will help the cloudiness clear very fast. I put about 80lbs of pool filter sand in my new 55g. It was cloudy for a few hours. I put in aqueon water clarifier, and in about an hour it was crystal clear... not sure if it would of cleared that fast without it...


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## BlueJack (Apr 15, 2011)

I love the look of playsand and it's so inexpensive. But, I've ruined many filters with it. The particles of sand are so small(obviously not made for the aquarium), that when they get sucked into the filter they destroy the impeller shaft. It makes a terrible sound when this happens. Went with flourite black sand and couldn't be happier.


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

My next tank, setting up soon, will not use playsand. I may try the pool filter sand or flourite black. I'm definetly against playsand now.


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## oscarsx (Mar 15, 2011)

Glad it worked out for you, never actually heard of people using playsand for substrate. I have to read up on that.. sounds good.


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## tharsis (Oct 9, 2009)

I have used playsand in many of my tanks. My first experience with it was in a 55 gallon (my first big tank) and it went anaerobic on me (it looked exactly like in your picture) and the smell was absolutely horrendous. In some places I had 6" of sand trying to create hills etc. It was horrible, i lost my prized breeding pair of koi angels and tons of tetras. It was really devastating, but I learnt from my mistakes as have you apparently 

I still use it because i do like the look of it, but I am much more conscientious about making sure it does not compact on me. MTS do wonders most definitely, as well as periodic poking with a chop stick.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

The primary reason playsand is a problem is it is of varying grain size and compacts easily, causing anaerobic conditions. 

PFS is all the same size and rests evenly. Thus why it is used in filters. 

The fine crap in playsand is never gone and will cloud, compact, etc, etc. 

Why bother when PFS looks just as good.... and it might be a few bucks more, but not much.

In my co2 tanks I can't keep many snails alive. The MTS are all gone in my 75 now. The co2 eats at their shells so fast I can't keep up.


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## BobR (Mar 28, 2011)

+1 on the pool sand. As far as $ goes, I bought 50lb. bag at the pool supply store for $9.00. To me, that is pretty cheap, and I only used about 1/2 the bag in my 29g. It looks AMAZING, and guess what? I didn't even wash it! Wanna know why? Because its designed to go in a pool filter, and can you imagine if pool guys had to wash sand whenever they installed the stuff? Anyway, I put it in, and filled the tank SLOWLY. It did cloud the water a little, but the next day it was crystal clear. All fish are doing great. 

Why mess with the extra work of play sand? PFS is the way to go!


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

After having 2 tanks go anerobic on me, I won't take any more chances. I have invested in MTS. I will never ever touch playsand again!


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

why not just use silica sand?


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## TheCrabbyTabby (Nov 10, 2010)

Play sand _is_ silica sand. Its made out of crystalline silica.


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## NavemadaMan (Apr 19, 2011)

If you put the playsand in a 5g bucket and put a hose in there, you can just leave it and density does the job of cleaning for you. The smaller granules float to the top and are expelled while the larger more dense granules stay at the bottom. Leave it alone for about half an hour and then give it a few finishing water dumps and you're good to go. As long as you wash it well and have plenty of MTS, playsand should be no problem at all.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

After you've waste five bucks on water you can just buy pfs


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

Playsand is silica? But they look completely differnt. I have silica sand much whiter than playsand


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

accordztech said:


> Playsand is silica? But they look completely differnt. I have silica sand much whiter than playsand


Pretty much all sand is silica based. Being different grain sizes doesn't change their content. 

Playsand is just unscreened sand. Other sands like pFS are screen for specific grain sizes.


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## NavemadaMan (Apr 19, 2011)

OverStocked said:


> After you've waste five bucks on water you can just buy pfs


Hahaha I guess you're right. It just depends where you want to spend your money then


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## BobR (Mar 28, 2011)

OverStocked said:


> After you've waste five bucks on water you can just buy pfs


LOL! Yeah, that was a major bonus of PFS, I didn't wash it at all when I installed it. If you have to spend that much time and water washing it, you sort of have to question its suitability. PFS gives the same look with a larger/safer grain size, and is about as cheap. And its ready to rock straight out of the bag!

For all you doubters, just go with the pool filter sand. Why make life more complicated?


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

OverStocked said:


> Pretty much all sand is silica based. Being different grain sizes doesn't change their content.
> 
> Playsand is just unscreened sand. Other sands like pFS are screen for specific grain sizes.


Interesting, I havent had any issues with my play sand after a year, 2 inches over 1'' of soil.


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## feh (Feb 13, 2011)

So thats how to get rid of snails. :icon_smil



OverStocked said:


> In my co2 tanks I can't keep many snails alive. The MTS are all gone in my 75 now. The co2 eats at their shells so fast I can't keep up.


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