# Quikrete Medium Sand



## Totalimmortal363

This stuff is amazing. I can't get it to pull up on Home Depot's website but it was $6.70 w/ tax for a 100lb bag. It is extremely clean, I did not wash it at all. When I started slowly scooping it in, I noticed it really didn't cloud my water. When it was all said and done my tank was marginally cloudy for about an hour and it cleared. The sand itself settled immediately after I put it in.

I'm sorry for the cell pictures, no camera at the moment.

























Hands down the best deal I've seen for sand.


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## knotty dreadlocks

looks great. i cant wait to get my tank all setup. i got that same type of substrate as well


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## lv8pv

Looks like a fine peace of sand. It's to white for my taste though; But we all have different taste


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## Aura

I had that same sand in one of my tanks, but found that it was too fine. The water movement from the filters kept it floating around the tank and it would settle onto rocks and everything else in the tank. It was also very difficult to vacuum without sucking it up.

I guess you're not having any problems? It looks nice in your tank. :thumb:


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## Totalimmortal363

The only time the sand moves is when my fish sift it through their gills. What kind of filtration are you running? I have a Magnum 350, two Penguin 350's, and a Penguin 1140(300 gph).


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## Hawks

I agree, the sand is a great deal. I got mine from the Home Depot in Highlands Ranch. I got 5 bags and used it for my 125 gallon and my kids sand box. It is a great deal!

I run a C-360 and a XP3 on my 125 and have no problems with the sand getting into the canisters. The sand is actually more of a light brown than a white.


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## Mudkicker

Hawks said:


> I agree, the sand is a great deal. I got mine from the Home Depot in Highlands Ranch. I got 5 bags and used it for my 125 gallon and my kids sand box. It is a great deal!
> 
> I run a C-360 and a XP3 on my 125 and have no problems with the sand getting into the canisters. The sand is actually more of a light brown than a white.


that is a beautiful color of sand.
what exactly was written on the bag that you bought?

M


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## Hawks

It is the Quikrete commercial grade medium sand. Here is a link to the site. It shows that they sell it at Lowes as well as Home Depot. Very cheap and you don't have to wash this stuff at all. If you want a larger grain of sand you could go with the coarse. In Home Depot it is located in the same isle as the play sand.

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/Sa ... lGrade.asp


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## dharris

Aura said:


> I had that same sand in one of my tanks, but found that it was too fine. The water movement from the filters kept it floating around the tank and it would settle onto rocks and everything else in the tank. It was also very difficult to vacuum without sucking it up.
> 
> I guess you're not having any problems? It looks nice in your tank. :thumb:


what did you end up using instead of the said sand?


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## Aura

dharris said:


> what did you end up using instead of the said sand?


I just went with the pool filter sand that I have in my other tanks. It's a coarser grain and more of a tan color instead of bright white.


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## dharris

Aura said:


> dharris said:
> 
> 
> 
> what did you end up using instead of the said sand?
> 
> 
> 
> I just went with the pool filter sand that I have in my other tanks. It's a coarser grain and more of a tan color instead of bright white.
Click to expand...

Thank you, did you have to wash it much?


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## Aura

> Thank you, did you have to wash it much?


The brand I bought took quite a bit of washing, but was worth it. :thumb:

I know that some are cleaner than others and the color also varies from brand to brand.

I wonder of the Quikrete Medium sand also varies since mine was almost like powder and floated around the tank with the smallest disturbance?


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## slichlid

Funny to come across this post - I just picked up a bag of this at the Littleton, CO Home Depot (Belleview). I looked on a lark, too, because the last time I bought sand there it was the play sand they sell (they didn't have this product in the past, it seems) and it was extremely dirty and not just silica sand (lots of slivers of things in the mix). This bag looked great, so I grabbed one for future use. I'm glad to hear that it's as good as it looked. Can't wait to use it (new tank...?)


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## TrashmanNYC

Aura said:


> I had that same sand in one of my tanks, but found that it was too fine. The water movement from the filters kept it floating around the tank and it would settle onto rocks and everything else in the tank. It was also very difficult to vacuum without sucking it up.
> 
> I guess you're not having any problems? It looks nice in your tank. :thumb:


maybe you got the fine sand by mistake........ :-?


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## Aura

TrashmanNYC said:


> Aura said:
> 
> 
> 
> I had that same sand in one of my tanks, but found that it was too fine. The water movement from the filters kept it floating around the tank and it would settle onto rocks and everything else in the tank. It was also very difficult to vacuum without sucking it up.
> 
> I guess you're not having any problems? It looks nice in your tank. :thumb:
> 
> 
> 
> maybe you got the fine sand by mistake........ :-?
Click to expand...

It said "medium" on the bag. :? I still have about 99 lbs of it in the garage.


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## B5150

Hawks said:


> I agree, the sand is a great deal. I got mine from the Home Depot in Highlands Ranch. I got 5 bags and used it for my 125 gallon and my kids sand box. It is a great deal!


I just set up my 125g tank and used the coarse #20. I am curious - how many lbs total do you have in that tank illustrated?


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## oceanstate

how many bags will i need for a 75 gal tank?


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## Hawks

B5150 said:


> Hawks said:
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, the sand is a great deal. I got mine from the Home Depot in Highlands Ranch. I got 5 bags and used it for my 125 gallon and my kids sand box. It is a great deal!
> 
> 
> 
> I just set up my 125g tank and used the coarse #20. I am curious - how many lbs total do you have in that tank illustrated?
Click to expand...

If I remember right it was about 160-170 pounds that went in the tank.


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## Hawks

oceanstate said:


> how many bags will i need for a 75 gal tank?


1 bag (100 pounds) would be enough, unless you would want more for the look.


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## oceanstate

thanks buying tommorrow


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## Zack2112

I have heard before that the quickcrete sand has some crushed limestone in it before. I may be mistaken. Has anyone that used it noticed a change in pH?


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## B5150

Hawks said:


> B5150 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hawks said:
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, the sand is a great deal. I got mine from the Home Depot in Highlands Ranch. I got 5 bags and used it for my 125 gallon and my kids sand box. It is a great deal!
> 
> 
> 
> I just set up my 125g tank and used the coarse #20. I am curious - how many lbs total do you have in that tank illustrated?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> If I remember right it was about 160-170 pounds that went in the tank.
Click to expand...

Thanks.


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## oceanstate

does this sand affect the ph in the tank?


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## TrashmanNYC

hmmm, the home depot near me didnt have it......and the loews site said that its not sold in the two closest stores near me..........


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## UNCCShannon

O.K. after weeks of research and debating about it I used the medium sand and it has just clouded my tank unbelievably! Did anyone have this same issue and if so what can I do to clear this up?


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## Zack2112

did you wash it prior to use. play sand does teh same thing, terrible mess to get rinsed well. It will cloud up pretty badly in the beginning but should clear up shortly


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## UNCCShannon

No I didn't rinse it, going on what the original poster did with the Quikrete Medium Sand. It doesn't even look like that sand! I am just going to do a water change and change the substrate, maybe.

Should I run my filter to help with the cloudiness?


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## savvy_skrill

The cloudiness should go away after a full day. I use the Quikrete fine sand and it works like a dream- no cloudiness except when the fish stir it up, never gets in the filter, easy to clean, etc.


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## UNCCShannon

I wish my Lowe's has the fine sand b/c I would have probably used it. I did let it sit over night and it looked the same as it did the day before.

I was really disappointed in the quality in the Medium Sand, like I said in a previous post it doesn't even look like sand, it looked more like mud! So I went to an alternative, I went to Home Depot and picked up a bag of Sakrete's multipurpose sand (basically the same thing that Quikrete sales). Not only was the Sakrete 2 dollars cheaper for 60lbs (Quikrete is 50lb bag) but the quality was what I was looking for. I washed the sand for about 30-40 minutes, making sure to get the silt out, and put it in the tank and proceeded to fill. After about 10 minutes the tank looked clear, minus a little bit of floating debris from the Fluval and some remaining silt. I am highly impressed with the Sakrete and would recommend it over the Quikrete, besides like I said it is 2 dollars cheaper than Quikrete!


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## savvy_skrill

Oh what color is the Sakrete? That's the only reason I chose the Quikrete fine sand, because I wanted that pure white color.


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## Hawks

UNCC, if the sand you used clouded your tank, you didn't get the same sand that I did. Here is what I got that is pictured earlier-

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/Sa ... lGrade.asp

This sand is prewashed and doesn't need any cleaning at all! The brown and green bag is the medium grade commercial and sells at Home Depot got $6 for 100 pound bag.


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## RYANMCCANNA

i got 100 lb.s of pure silica sand for 6$ at a building supluy yard. i dont remember the brand but it is awsome. i did have to rinse it in a 5 gal bucket for maybe 30 min. but it was well worth it a 30 ib. bag of the same sand i got was 20$ at the pet store. i like it cause the color is not solid so it looks a lot more natural. from a distance it looks tan but if you get close you can see the dif color grains. its nicwe and i would recoment silica sand to anyone. and it dose not float when the fish are disturbuing it. it just sinks right back to the bottom in seconds.. i got course # 20.... great deal...

oh and i use about 75 or 80 lbs in a 55 gal tank.


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## Lophura

So just wondering since everyone rinses their sand how do you rinse sand? Do you use cheese cloth or something or what?


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## savvy_skrill

What I did with a 50 lb bag was split it into three buckets, then use the hose on full power to basically power-wash the sand, and continue to do that until the water you pour out of it runs clear instead of cloudy.


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## Lophura

Well I got some sand from Home Depot, I think I got sackrete but not 100% sure. Anyway I rinsed it for about an hour then put it into the tank and it is really cloudy now. It has been about 5 hours since I did it and its starting to clear but I can see the silt everywhere. What should I do now?


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## savvy_skrill

Just wait. It's supposed to be really cloudy at first, mine didn't clear completely for about two days.


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