# Crayola play sand?



## lil_gold_ram

Crayola sand comes in awesome colors. Has anyone ever tried it as a substrate? Any suggestions on whether to use it or not? Thanks!


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## GTZ

Sounds promising, if u want a blue, pink, purple or green substrate 
http://www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/


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## lil_gold_ram

GTZ said:


> Sounds promising, if u want a blue, pink, purple or green substrate
> http://www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/


OH but I do!!! Think of how pretty a purple sand bed would be!!!! lol, I guess I'm a little too girlie sometimes, if that's possible .


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## GTZ

lil_gold_ram said:


> GTZ said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds promising, if u want a blue, pink, purple or green substrate
> http://www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/
> 
> 
> 
> OH but I do!!! Think of how pretty a purple sand bed would be!!!! lol, I guess I'm a little too girlie sometimes, if that's possible .
Click to expand...

lol, me too. Wait...no, scratch that.


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## lil_gold_ram

GTZ said:


> lil_gold_ram said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> GTZ said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds promising, if u want a blue, pink, purple or green substrate
> http://www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/
> 
> 
> 
> OH but I do!!! Think of how pretty a purple sand bed would be!!!! lol, I guess I'm a little too girlie sometimes, if that's possible .
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> lol, me too. Wait...no, scratch that.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with being in touch with your feminine side


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## shellies215

Somebody has to do this and post pics.


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## GTZ

I say lil_gold_ram will have pics up within 7 days. 8)


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## jason_nj

This is cool I'm going to try it but I found some cheaper sand that look fairly equivalent. I ordered 60 pounds of Blue and 60 pounds of purple sand for 2 40 gallon breeder tanks I have.

http://www.allsandboxes.com/sand-and-wa ... 026341.cfm

I'll post some pictures when I get them in.


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## lil_gold_ram

WOAH back the truck up!!! LOL I want to try it, but is it safe? What about the dyes in the sand??? Before I go crazy and make a purple sandy tank and post pics, I wanna at least make sure I'm not gonna poison my fish with Barney dust. Oh and I'm getting an eartheater for that tank, that is gonna be funny stuff watchin him sift through purple sand...hahaha.


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## jason_nj

Well I did order some so I guess I'll let you know. They listed it as safe for reptiles so we'll see how it holds up in water.


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## Flippercon

Do they have Orange? I want to do my ram tank in Orange and black.


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## Cromak

Pink Flamingo  :lol:

On a side note, the quality of the sand actually looks really good but WOW on the colors. :?


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## FishFlake

I wonder what the grain size is,

...and what color my cats would prefer.


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## Cromak

I bet its extremely dusty


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## rmiller

opcorn:

I'm a follower. I want black sand for my 55 but moonsand is like $1/lb. I'm also looking at color quartz as an option.


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## Cromak

rmiller said:


> opcorn:
> 
> I'm a follower. I want black sand for my 55 but moonsand is like $1/lb. I'm also looking at color quartz as an option.


It's worth it, just shell out the cash for it. I had a hard time justifying it and ended up doing Quikcrete sand from home depot but had a lot of trouble with it..

This weekend I switched to the moon sand and am glad I did. Cost me $115 for 100 pounds, but whatever.. You get what you pay for :thumb:


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## GTZ

lil_gold_ram said:


> Barney dust


 :lol: 
Only one way to find out, try some in a heated, aerated bucket with some feeder fish.
:wink: opcorn:


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## rmiller

In a post on the site someone has a betta in a bowl with blue. Says he's had the fish there for a year. I feel sorry for the fish but the sand doesn't seem to have harmed him.


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## lil_gold_ram

Flippercon said:


> Do they have Orange? I want to do my ram tank in Orange and black.


That sounds awesome. I don't remember seeing orange but I'll check next time I'm at work.


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## lil_gold_ram

Cromak said:


> I bet its extremely dusty


I read on another forum that it is pre-rinsed so the dye doesn't run all over your kids. Someone posted that they rinsed it to use it in their tank and it was basically already clean.


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## fmueller

www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/ said:


> * Designed to be submerged 100% in water without color fade or bleed.
> 
> * UV protection is built in to the dispersion so the color doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t fade over time.


Sounds to me like it should work!

The one catch with highly colored substrate is that it can make your fish look pale in comparison. For example if you have fish like Bolivian rams that are colorful, but in a subtle sort of way, they would look totally washed out over a bright purple substrate. If you put them over a plain white sand, the fish will stand out, not the sand. Just my 2c.


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## lil_gold_ram

fmueller said:


> www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/ said:
> 
> 
> 
> * Designed to be submerged 100% in water without color fade or bleed.
> 
> * UV protection is built in to the dispersion so the color doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t fade over time.
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds to me like it should work!
> 
> The one catch with highly colored substrate is that it can make your fish look pale in comparison. For example if you have fish like Bolivian rams that are colorful, but in a subtle sort of way, they would look totally washed out over a bright purple substrate. If you put them over a plain white sand, the fish will stand out, not the sand. Just my 2c.
Click to expand...

I'm still thinking about using the sand. I think white sand would look good too. The tank will have angels and a bio cupido. My angels are pretty colorful. Black sand would look good too. I'm so undecided lol


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## jason_nj

I got purple sand, I didn't order the Crayola though. I got Fun Sand from Thorworks Industries.

Here is a link to their Material Safety Data sheet for Fun sand.

http://funsand.net/pdfs/Fun%20Sand.pdf

In section 7

Aquatic Toxicity: No specific data available. This product is not considered harmful to fish or aquatic life

Now here are the pictures, one thing though is this is a very soft sand almost feels clay like. The sand is moldable and holds it shape even when dry. I'll be interested in seeing how my dempseys dig in it. Anyway here are pictures. the sand is completely dustless, I threw it in and didn't rinse it and the water was completely clear. The tank is a 40 gallon Sea Clear acrylic. Dimensions are 36' x 15' x 16. Lighting is the Marindland Double Bright LEDs

About 5 minutes after I put the sand in and filled the tank with water. I apologize for the dirty glass. Didn't realize it was so dirty until I looked at the pictures.










10 minutes after I put my pair of BGJDs in. They are lip locking.










About an hour after I put the sand in, dempseys are hiding because I cleaned the glass and brushed away the air bubbles.


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## CRAYOLASAND ADMIN

Hey All,
I am Alicia Lewis, Crayola PlaySand Specialist. I was received a request to post on this forum to put a few of you guys at ease. I'm glad to see our website was quoted several times for safety, and I just wanted to take a moment to add.

We have been creating Crayola PlaySand for over 3 years - and we get about 50-100 animal/fish safety questions a month. To date - Not a single animal - fish or furry has been reported to be harmed, sick or ill... Though we've gotten alot of interesting breeding stories!

The sand is perfectly rounded, so no sharp edges (thus no dust either). As you read - non-toxic, but also lead free. The colorant is bonded to the sand at 250 degrees, and also the colorant is environmentally friendly. As a matter of fact we don't even use chemicals in our cleaning process - it undergoes an extremley hot water wash.

Like all Crayola products, we don't do any animal testing. I can simply assure you that I've have fish swimming in blue and green sand in my office since 2008, and they are the same fish.

We invite all inquiries, questions, pictures. Thank you.


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## natedgg

Wow. ++1 to Crayola for caring. That is pretty cool.


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## MonkTong

> I wonder what the grain size is


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## CRAYOLASAND ADMIN

MonkTong said:


> I wonder what the grain size is
Click to expand...

Crayola Colored PlaySand's sand grains get filtered thru a mesh screening before processing. Our mesh sizings are typically 50-70 holes per 1/2" mesh. This makes the size of each grain approximately .21 - .297 millimeter in diameter. Unlike other sand products, such as sand paper, we don't have a designated grit#.

Does this answer your question?


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## Flippercon

CRAYOLASAND ADMIN said:


> Hey All,
> I am Alicia Lewis, Crayola PlaySand Specialist. I was received a request to post on this forum to put a few of you guys at ease. I'm glad to see our website was quoted several times for safety, and I just wapnted to take a moment to add.
> 
> We have been creating Crayola PlaySand for over 3 years - and we get about 50-100 animal/fish safety questions a month. To date - Not a single animal - fish or furry has been reported to be harmed, sick or ill... Though we've gotten alot of interesting breeding stories!
> 
> The sand is perfectly rounded, so no sharp edges (thus no dust either). As you read - non-toxic, but also lead free. The colorant is bonded to the sand at 250 degrees, and also the colorant is environmentally friendly. As a matter of fact we don't even use chemicals in our cleaning process - it undergoes an extremley hot water wash.
> 
> Like all Crayola products, we don't do any animal testing. I can simply assure you that I've have fish swimming in blue and green sand in my office since 2008, and they are the same fish.
> 
> We invite all inquiries, questions, pictures. Thank you.


Thank you for giving us the details! There it is straight from the source. I'm gonna have to go to work and get my calipers to measure .21. Is there an Orange color at all? I am not a big fan of play sand due to how easily it stirs up in the water. My filters die or I have to spend time cleaning the filter so it stays running.


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## MonkTong

CRAYOLASAND ADMIN said:


> This makes the size of each grain approximately .21 - .297 millimeter in diameter.


Ty for the reply ! :thumb:


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## CRAYOLASAND ADMIN

Flippercon said:


> Thank you for giving us the details! There it is straight from the source. I'm gonna have to go to work and get my calipers to measure .21. Is there an Orange color at all? I am not a big fan of play sand due to how easily it stirs up in the water. My filters die or I have to spend time cleaning the filter so it stays running.


No Orange just yet  Currently we offer the colors: BLUE, GREEN, PINK and PURPLE. As we gain more and more feedback on product requests, we look forward to introducing further products in the future. I think the next in the line up will be Red and Black, so we may be a few years away from Orange.

I understand the fun of the setup while using playsand! My recommendation: when adding sand to the tank, turn off filter while it settles (12-24 hours max). Once it is settled, it doesn't typically stir up and fly everywhere. Once settled, turn back on filter. This will save the life of your filter during set up, and save you replacement costs. Some cheaper filters can get clogged quicker if it is turned on when you first put the sand in.

Certainly hope that helps. While I'm here, we started a Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/CrayolaPlaySand and will be doing a photo album to fish tanks in August . So anyone on here, feel free to send me you pix, and we'll get em up and give you a shout out. Its a pretty new page now, so don't forget to "Like Us". Thanks all -keep the questions coming!


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## Flippercon

Cool I can't wait for the Orange. I plan on doing a Halloween theme type tank with either dark community fish or a shell dweller.


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## lil_gold_ram

Wow I better buy some before my store runs out. As for the filter clogging, I plan to put a small piece of sponge over the intake to prevent the sand from getting into the filter.


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## lil_gold_ram

Hey Guys I got the sand in purple, bought a brand new 75 and will be setting it up this weekend, I'll post pics soon!


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## lil_gold_ram

Here it is purple sand!


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## Riceburner

Wow... that's....bright. :lol:


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## lil_gold_ram

Riceburner said:


> Wow... that's....bright. :lol:


I wonder if the fish think its tacky lol


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## Flippercon

It's like being in Miami, reminds me of all the pink houses. :thumb:


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## gunsfan05

this is awesome i cant wait for black just so i can have a reliable but also reasonably priced black sand substrate


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## pancakeloach

Nice purple! Now all you need is a black background.  I wish I could find colored sand in my area, nobody here seems to carry anything but tan all-purpose sand.


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## vann59

I have white play sand in my cichlid tank, and I do like it. The one thing I didn't realize when I set it up is how much you need to wash it to get out the clay. And apparently they don't have that problem with the colored sand. My color preference is white, but the black would be nice too as long as you have lighter contrasting rocks. I put black mexican pebble and other smooth type gray and varying shade stones in as well, and some red lava rock for pH and bacterial benefits. But what is really neat about the fine play sand is that you can sift it with a net instead of just having to vacuum it when you do a water change. I took a small net, and changed out the netting with a piece of large pore bridal veil material from a local fabric store, and the fine sand sifts out of the net, keeping the poo in the net. So easy to do spot cleaning. This is like what the fish do when they feed off the bottom. So you can sift with a vacuum, or a net. You can't do that with gravel. And the fish naturally have a fine sand in their native habitat anyway, so it mimics nature to have a fine grade of sand.

To Crayola:

Adding black is a good idea. Black and white would be good to market for this purpose. You could take white and mix it with black or colored sand for a tastefully custom shaded effect.


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## Jaffy

Thx alot  my daughter was walking past as we were discussing the aquarium she wants to put in her bed room. She just happened to be looking over my sholder as the purple tank came into view. Looks like I'll be purchasing some purple sand.


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## lil_gold_ram

^ lol sorry. Hey at least It's cheap. Just don't run your filter for a few hours until it settles.


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## Jaffy

Yeah, the daughter decided on blue of all things. Last week purple was her favorite lol. Guess thats what i get for having a teenage daughter.


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## lil_gold_ram

Update: its been over a month and so far so good with the sand, I would deem it safe, other than frying my filter but that's totally my fault.


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## Jaffy

Turned the filter on too early?


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## lil_gold_ram

Yep


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## CRAYOLASAND ADMIN

vann59 said:


> To Crayola:
> 
> Adding black is a good idea. Black and white would be good to market for this purpose. You could take white and mix it with black or colored sand for a tastefully custom shaded effect.


White and Black certainly have be rising in popularity! Red and Yellow are still in the lead though. for 2013, we are looking at having 5 - 10 lb bags available of all four of these colors. Finishing up product testing and surveys thru end of Spring 2012. As you can imagine, we can't make a new product overnight  and we want to be 100% sure that is it the same quality and safety as our Blue, Green, Pink, and Purple.

A Facebook "Discussion" will be added soon to get a Facebook poll of new color requests. Check it out this Friday at www.facebook.com/CrayolaPlaySand - "Like" Us to have the notification show up on your newsfeed. Thanks!


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## Jaffy

she decided on purple afterall.


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