Coarse sand search

[Art Aquariums Anime]

Hello,

To my fellow aquarists I have come to the forum to ask for assisting find my own Aquarium Co-op super sand.  To the best of my knowledge Corey uses Cemex Lapis Lustre either .8mm or #8 sand, I'm not totally sure. I have attempted to check the places around me and can only find fine sands. Does anyone have any tips on how I may be able to find something comparable? I've checked lowe's, home depot and local landscape businesses. Thanks

Edited April 17, 2021 by Art Aquariums Anime

[Fish Folk]

19 minutes ago, Art Aquariums Anime said:

Hello,

To my fellow aquarists I have come to the forum to ask for assisting find my own Aquarium Co-op super sand.  To the best of my knowledge Corey uses Cemex Lapis Lustre either .8mm or #8 sand, I'm not totally sure. I have attempted to check the places around me and can only find fine sands. Does anyone have any tips on how I may be able to find something comparable? I've checked lowe's, home depot and local landscape businesses. Thanks

I’ve no proper experience, and gladly yield to others. A number of folks use pool-filter sand. You can peruse specs here. 

[CorydorasEthan]

10 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

I’ve no proper experience, and gladly yield to others. A number of folks use pool-filter sand. You can peruse specs here. 

Yes I use pool filter sand. It is very cheap and easy to find, yet I forgot the name of the brand that I use. It is also relatively easy to grow plants in. That is, only very easy ones, like water sprite or dwarf aquarium lilies. It is somewhat harder to grow plants, especially things like swordplants or vallisneria, without the assistance of root fertilizers.

[Isaac M]

Hi @Art Aquariums Anime, I use pool filter sand in one of my aquariums as well. I picked mine up from a pool supply store and it is Gillibrand #20 pool filter sand. I will attach a picture here of my aquarium so you can see the size of the sand grains(for reference, the sterbai cory is an adult cory). I would consider it a coarse sand. I hope it helps! 

[Art Aquariums Anime]

Thank you all for the replies. I've looked into pool filter sand a bit more and have a few more questions. Would crinum calamistratum and vallisneria do well? I watched a video by Bentley Pascoe that said silica sand will cause algae. Any experience with that issue?

[Tanked]

Here is a link for Cemex.  They may be able to help  Or a Google search for Aggregate sellers.

https://www.cemexusa.com/products-and-services/aggregates

[Isaac M]

@Art Aquariums Anime Crinum and Val should be able to be grown in pool filter sand as long as you provide nutrients at the roots. Those plants are heavy root feeders so they will need a constant supply of root tabs if your substrate will be only pool filter sand. 

Yes, I have heard about people complaining mostly about diatom algae with silica sand. I did go through a diatom algae phase at the beginning of the aquarium but that is common amongst all aquariums regardless of the substrate. My aquarium does not get very much algae anymore and I can go a few weeks without cleaning the glass(almost a year old). 

I am not sure however what brand of pool filter sand is available to you. Pool filter sand from my understanding can vary depending on the brand.

From my understanding, Lapis Lustre sand that Cory uses is also mostly silica based.

 

[Art Aquariums Anime]

I think I will check out the local hardware stores and pool supply places. If I do not find anything that I am happy with my fall back is crushed coral. I had to remove crushed coral from one of my goldfish's mouth in the past, luckily I was able to find it in a smaller size. It's just going to cost me more than the sand and everyone likes a deal!

[DShelton]

Tractor Supply sells a blasting media called Black Diamond Blasting Media. It is not really sand, but is a coal slag (inert in water) and they usually have a couple of grits of it. It has to be rinsed really well to get the production residue off of it, but it is a really nice black substrate.

[DShelton]

This is what the BD blasting sand looks like when wet. I have had 50# soaking in a bucket of water for a few weeks. I think I am going to use it in a new tank as a cap over “enriched Eco Complete”. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by DShelton

[Struggle]

Here’s a couple photos of fine and the next size up black diamond blasting sand.