# another sandy question



## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

hey guys was wondering if mixxing that cichlid substrate white sand with regualar play sand an okay thing to do. 
have anyone tried it? 
i have read that most of the guys who has sand use the sand or the sand off the beach but never heard anyone say that they used play sand an mixed it with the white cichlid substrate sand. so any info would be helpful thanks in advance guys.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

You can mix any sand you want to mix. Is your question regarding how it will look?


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

I think the play sand will sink, its denser and the grain size is smaller than the cichlid substrate ,if its the same one I,m using anyway,
is it the ecocomplete cichlid white sand from CaribSea?


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

I think that's the sand newforesstrobe I will look it up an put it up. 
I wasn't really worried about the look cause I am gonna be using some big rocks for decoration an prolly do some fake plants an such. Don't know what kinda look we going for but I know I want sand an some big rocks to make some caves for my cichlids.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

I would go with one sand ,not both, I dont think they will stay mixed


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## netrippa (Jun 14, 2010)

for a good looking substrate try 100lb coarse play sand, 10lb Caribsea African cichlid mix, and granite rocks and pebbles. The play sand is rinsed using fine-meshed skimmer (stainless steel, the kitchen version) to get rid of the fine grains. here is an example


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

dont mix it  *** got mixed substrates from trying to do a sand top for my planted tank. its all torn up and now im done with the sand completly slowly sucking it out. well GL to ya. play sand on my part of the globe is ugly as **** so i would steer clear of it.


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## kman108 (Jun 5, 2010)

playsand + t5 HO lights = DIATOMS. which in my opinion are also ugly as *#$%. spent months trying to get rid of diatoms even after taking all my play sand out, repeatedly cleaning the filters, and using GFO.


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

well playsand it is then i will do all what you was talking about the sithing an such. should be a fun weekend it for me cause i still have about another day in a half on my stand an i am good to go. 
kman108 
i don't have those t5's lights just regular floresent lights an this is a fresh water tank. thanks you guys for all your info an help. 
now how many bags would it take of play sand would it take to fill a 75 gallon tank?


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## lexbomb (Feb 16, 2011)

Try Pool filter sand, its dirt cheaps and looks great, its also heavier than normal sand so it doesnt get kicked up as much during water changes


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

lexbomb said:


> Try Pool filter sand, its dirt cheaps and looks great, its also heavier than normal sand so it doesnt get kicked up as much during water changes


I agree with this. I get diatoms with every new tank, none of my new tanks have ever had pool filter sand.

I did switch to PFS in an existing tank...no diatoms.

Also many play sands are silica anyway. FWIW.


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

well guys like i said don't really know all about the diatoms an such just want to do sand an i wanna do it so that it don't hurt my fish so i feel like this pool filter sand will be the way to go. anyone know where i can get that kinda sand from i am from mississippi an i never heard of that kinida sand till joining this forum.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A pool supply store, like Leslie's.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

yup go pool filter. diatoms SUCK!. only thing thats worked to rid them for me was redoing the tank and raising the ph. with all these african sand sifters it never builds up. spread to all my other tanks tho


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

yea guys i called my local pool store today an they have the 50lb bags for like 10bucks so i am deff gonna jump on that guys. as soon as the stand is done i will jump on here an get some vids an pics up for all you fish guys to see. you have guys have been a TON of help.


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

Hey guys would I need to clean the pfs ???


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I did but it runs clean pretty quickly.


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

thanks dj hopefully i will have the same luck whenever i get the stand built an we have it up an running hopefully this weekend that will be the time we get it up an goin.


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## juststayinthecave (Dec 23, 2010)

To clean out the sand I used a plastic storage container. I placed the entire bag in the container filling it to within about 4" from the top. I placed a couple of 2X4s under one end to shim it up. I then placed the hose into the sand all the way to the bottom. I just moved the hose around the bottom and all the fines would come to the top and pour out the low side. Saved my back compared to what I've tried in the past.


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## supadave1981 (Feb 2, 2011)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this is a great idea bro an i have a few plastic containers laying around may give that a try. sounds like its super easy compared to doing a little at a time. thanks for the info sir.


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