Our experience with play sand

CANDYCHOOCH · Nov 9, 2011

We have a 3 1.2 inch axie and use play sand as a substrate. Over the last few days we've noticed him passing(with difficulty) some of the larger stones that come with the sand. Last night my boyfriend went through the entire tank with a strainer and took out everything larger then the sand. Took him about 2 hours

Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone thinking about using play sand. There are rocks that come with the sand that can give them difficulty.

jcj57 · Nov 9, 2011

That's good to know, thanks, will stick to the fine aquarium sand worth its money.

yellowpebble · Nov 10, 2011

hey

thats no good that your axolotls are having trouble

it seems a bit dodgy to me that there are rocks in the play sand when it is meant for kids in sandpits. I guess you could put the sand through a sive? or just buy some more sand if you have the cash

the play sand around here has never had rocks but it is notoriously dusty and needs an obscene amount of washing before you put it in the tank. Its a toxic free option but it is a pain in the backside wherever it comes from. I think aquarium sand is the better option just because it is far more convenient, but it is waaaaay expensive

axigeek · Nov 11, 2011

I use kids play sand, but I rinse it thoroughly with a strainer/sifter (like the one you use to sift flour) at least twice before using it.

RogueAngel · Nov 11, 2011

Hi im new to the world of axolotls is argos childrens play sand ok to use

Carl · Nov 11, 2011

RogueAngel said:
Hi im new to the world of axolotls is argos childrens play sand ok to use

Yep I've got this stuff in my tank now and it's a really lovely fine whitish river sand

priced at £2.99 for 15kg

RogueAngel · Nov 11, 2011

Thank you i will be getting some of that later :happy:

Star · Nov 12, 2011

It doesn't require much washing either

Carl · Nov 12, 2011

Nope I sloshed it round in a bucket about 5 separate times until it ran clear and it was fine =]

Jennewt · Nov 12, 2011

I never knew that play sand could have larger pieces of rock in it. That's good to know.

xxianxx · Nov 14, 2011

Thanks for giving me something else to worry about lol

SabreRose · Nov 17, 2011

I use the Argos play sand, and I've never found any rocks in it. I bought two bags for Aquarium use a few days back, but have also used it for sand pit use several times and never noticed anything wrong. It looks good too, so as long as it's had a good rinsing, it would be perfectly fine.

Out of curiousity, where did you buy your play sand from?

Aaran · Nov 19, 2011

I also bought 2 bags of the argos play sand, awhile ago i had to carry them for 2 miles >< but yeah, great buy, really clean really fine no nasty rocks

Would deffinatley go to argos again.

SabreRose · Nov 19, 2011

You had to carry them?

Ouch!

I must be a weakling then. I made my boyfriend carry mine to the bike, and then let him ride back ten miles to home. Hehe. He hates play sand now!

crazyfishlady · Nov 19, 2011

I use pool filter sand. It cost 8 bucks for a 50lb bag. Can't beat that price. The sand grain is all about the same size which is pretty fine and it doesn't dirty the water at all. There also isn't any rock in it. I have no complaints. When shopping for sand I did notice that certain types of sand had larger debris in it.

Dakkagor · Jan 24, 2012

sorry to resurrect this thread, but I found it immensely helpful! Argos play sand it is!

Ryder · Jan 29, 2012

Hi, I've just recently got my Axies a big tank (finally) and the guy at the pet shop recomended sand cause of the swallowing issues. WHich I was aware of...HOWEVER he did not tell me i had to wash the play sand before putting it in the tank.....now i has stupidly cloudy water and i have no idea what to do.....will it settle if i leave it for a period of days??

danchristopher · Jan 29, 2012

If you didn't rinse it at all then it's quite possible it may never settle... I recently put some new sand in my tank and probably didn't rinse it as well as I should have and it was cloudy for just under 2 days. If it does settle, the problem you will probably have is that every time the sand gets stirred up (and it's recommended to stir it up occasionally to stop toxic gas pockets forming) it will cause the water to go cloudy again and may take a while to settle...

If it's a new tank and your axies are not in there yet then the best thing to do would be to remove all the water and then the sand and rinse it. Not ideal but it will save you from having problems in the long term D:

Ryder · Jan 29, 2012

Ah, ok great ^^' Any sugestions on how i get it out of the tank and then how do i rinse it?? Its like 20kgs of sand...

danchristopher · Jan 29, 2012

I've used a dustpan quite successfully to get sand out. Will make it a lot easier if you drain the tank first. Just put it in a bucket and run the hose through it while mixing it around and letting the water slosh out. It will take a while but eventually you'll start to notice the water running clearer.

Our experience with play sand

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