# question about sand



## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

i have heard alot of people talk about pool filter sand but i was wondering about pavers sand like at the home improvment store. is it ok to use as well or is pool sand the best way to go? i have never used a soil or sand in a tank befor so i was going to try and wanted to ask here first what would be a good option to uses


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

Not being a person that does a lot of home repair stuff, I would talk to someone who works at your local hardware store about the sand in question. Generally speaking, people use Pool Filter sand in their aquariums because (1) There is no additives to it such as polymers and binding agents and (2) It is a slightly larger particle size than regular play sand. The larger particle size is considered important because it means that it won't compact as tightly together and allows better water movement through it (which is good for plant roots and oxygen exchange in the substrate sublayer). 

With regards to the use of paver sand, I would just want to make sure that it doesn't have any binding reagents to it (which some building material sands contain). After all, lining the bottom of your tank w/ a solid concrete sand layer would probably be considered bad.


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## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

thanks for the input i will just check around for some pool sand to be on the safe side


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## freshyleif (Jan 9, 2008)

When I was looking up sand for my tank the real important info was the size of the grain of sand. So if the sand from you local store is the same size it should be ok in my hmo. I found that the cost of pool sand was about the same as many of the designer substrates in my area.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I would definitely recommend pool filter sand. I've used it for years. As mentioned the grain size is very manageable.

In my area pool filter sand is very inexpensive, about $10 for 50lbs.


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