I just remembered I had a bag of play sand for a non-aquarium related project in the garage. The middle container is now filled with Quikcrete Play Sand, although this appears different than the play sand I purchased years ago for another aquarium. It almost looks a little pink-ish in person (not as evident in the pic).

I can say the Quikcrete play sand and pool filter sand are most definitely not the same thing. The pool filter sand has MUCH larger granules and is darker, with more color variance. The play sand has very fine granules and a more uniform color. The Fairmont Minerals PFS has larger granules, but a bit smaller than the Quikcrete PFS. I will say the Quikcrete PFS and Play Sand were both very very dirty when rinsing. The Fairmont Minerals PFS rinsed clear almost immediately.

 

Pool filter sand is the best sand product to use as substrate in any aquarium. It's usually very clean # 20 to # 30 grade density quartz (inert) with larger, heavier, more uniform beads which do not get siphoned up when vacuuming, and will not flow up into the water column when disturbed - so will not get sucked up into filter intakes to clog up filtration. I've used PFS in my discus tanks for years, and wouldn't use anything else, particularly not play sand.
You must have several, perhaps many, pool &/or spa supply stores in your area - give them a call in advance to see what colors of PFS they carry. Cost is generally around $12 to $15. for a 50 lb. bag. PFS comes in 2 or more shades of tan - or white/off white - or pinkish, or grayish. Otherwise, the only sand from yours above which would be acceptable to me would be Fairmont Minerals which I believe is sold by Amazon and other suppliers.

 

Thanks DiscusPaul. I did get the Fairmont Minerals from Amazon. It was $24 / 50lbs versus the Quikcrete Pool Filter Sand at Home Depot for $5 / 50lbs. Ultimately though this is something I will buy once for the aquarium and is still very cheap considering some other substrate options, so not a big deal, I'm more so just looking for a color I like. The Fairmont looks a little gray-ish to me in person though, so was trying to find something a bit more of a very light tan, almost white (but not quite) type color.

I have a Leslie's Pool Supplies near me which carries "Natural Zeolite Sand" (https://www.lesliespool.com/Leslies-14344-Natural-Zeolite-Sand/14344.htm), which is some kind of "better" pool filter sand. Considering we're using these in aquariums, not pool filters, I didn't know if this would be safe to use or not, nor what color it was. Google shows different colors when trying to search. I'll have to venture out a little more (I'm a little remote and not many options nearby) and see what some other pool supply stores carry.

Has anyone tried HTH Pool Filter sand that ACE Hardware carries (https://www.acehardware.com/departm...ts/outdoor-living/swimming-pools-spa-and-supplies/swimming-pool-equipment/83029)? I can't tell from the product pic if that stuff would be too orange-y looking or not.

 

Leslie's zeolite sand will almost certainly be inert, therefore safe for aquarium use - however, it probably won't do for tank use, as it's said to be smaller beaded and lighter than traditional inert pool filter sand, which is what's needed for tank use. See if Leslie's also carries traditional pool filter sand, branded or no-name 'generic' PFS. They should.

Ace Hardware's HTH sand is traditional PFS, and I believe the Fairmont Minerals is also regular PFS, so it should be just fine for you.
I also think the Fairmont sand will look more off-white than greyish when under water (& lighting) in your tank, and I believe you'll like it.

 

I have used the ace hardware HTH brand PFS in my 10g tank that's not up and running anymore. Replaced with a 20 long and black blasting sand.

The ace hardware sand grew plants very nicely and I was happy with the color. I just prefer black so the colors of fish,plants,inverts Pop more strikingly, especially with my background painted black.

 

Thanks! I actually ordered some HTH from Ace Hardware. Had to get it delivered to store since none around me had it, and it's ready for pickup today. I'm excited to go grab and it and see how it looks this afternoon.

 

You might want to add some water to your samples. It will probably look different when it's wet.

 

Here's a shot of the HTH in the middle, next to Fairmont Minerals and Quikcrete PFS. This is taken under my new AI Prime lights that finally arrived grin2, vs the previous photos with the stock craptastic lights that came with the tank. The change in lighting did change how the sands look, and obviously the settings/spectrum set on the AI impacts it as well.

I think HTH is the winner. It's slightly lighter and less orange-y in color than the Quikcrete PFS. It also rinsed clean very quickly, whereas the Quikcrete was dirty as all hell. I'd prefer something in between Fairmont Minerals and HTH, but working with what we got here and trying to be less OCD about shades of tan color . I setup a temporary holding tank with the Fairmont Minerals and it actually looks bright bright white (too bright for what I'm looking for - granted under a aquaneat light with way too high of a spectrum for my tastes). Hopefully the HTH will appear a little lighter once it's in the tank and under normal water and light conditions.

Now... how much PFS do I need for a 125g tank.... ??

Bump:

All of the samples are actually rinsed and sitting with water filling their containers. I do think they will look different when filling the tank and under a tank full of water though.

 

Nice - thanks for the images, it is very helpful!

In New England, there is also a PFS brand called "Mystic White", with a #20 mesh grain size. It is REALLY white - much brighter than the Fairmont, even. Someone near Wisconsin mentioned Red Flint Sand. According to their website, they offer several different mesh sizes, AND an aquarium sand, which seemed to be about the size of play sand grain-wise. Of course, there is nowhere near me that carries the Red Flint sand (which I've coveted for years now), but it looked lovely. Their standard PFS is a nice warm light brown, and they even offer garnet sand, with a burgundy undertone or hue - actually looked much nicer in a planted tank than it sounds like it would.

I've also played around with the Quickrete "General Purpose" sand, which has a huge variance of grain sizes. I sieved out the larger particles to use (LOTS of dust/dirt, bleah), trying to get a darker riverbed look with rounded or worn grains of various sizes. Came out pretty nice, but the portion of the bag that was the "desired" sand was probably less than 25%, and it was quite laborious to sieve and then wash enough for the little nano tank its in. See - you're not the only one who gets rather OCD about their sand, LOL!

Please post pictures with the sand you decide to use when its in the planted tank - I've subscribed for any updates on your SAND QUEST!