Suggestions for Sand for a Show Tank.

[Spencer]

I am in the thinking process of setting up another discus tank, This time around I would like to have a nice piece of driftwood and some sand on the bottom, my old tank was bare bottom and I would like to make this more a show tank for my living room. What type of sand is best, I believe I read a few years ago "play" sand?..... I plan just a thin layer..... any suggestions from people who has set up a "show" tank with wood sand, I plan on putting some low light anubias on the wood.... I plan on buying large 5 inch discus so I don't have to feed heavy, and have a school of tetras. 75 gallon tank.

[jmf3460]

my personal favorite Caribsea's instant aquarium in sunset gold, to me it looks so natural and biotopish, but its expensive and getting harder and harder to find. My second favorite is seachem's super naturals sand also in sunset gold.

[Spencer]

Thanks Jacklyn... I will have to check into that. I used Caribsea's live sand in my saltwater tanks, I didn't realized they made a freshwater mix. I do want a light bottom so the fish don't darken. I have heard some use regular play sand but not sure if I would want that?

[jmf3460]

regular play sand is great, I just prefer the more orangish/brown tones to match my wild discus. I think the whiter sands are too unrealistic for a freshwater tank, more like what you see at Caribbean oceans.

[DonMD]

I always use pool filter sand, from Leslie's Pool Supply.

[Adam S]

This is completely unfounded, but the "Instant Aquarium" stuff from Caribsea makes me uneasy. The "Super Naturals" line is the same stuff without the bacteria. Sunset Gold is beautiful, but it is on the finer side.

PFS and any of the white sands are fine, but watch your lighting. They can color up with algae and diatoms if things are out of wack.

Regardless of what sand you go with, I'd limit the depth to 1/4" to 1/2" at most.

[geo57]

I am in the thinking process of setting up another discus tank, This time around I would like to have a nice piece of driftwood and some sand on the bottom, my old tank was bare bottom and I would like to make this more a show tank for my living room. What type of sand is best, I believe I read a few years ago "play" sand?..... I plan just a thin layer..... any suggestions from people who has set up a "show" tank with wood sand, I plan on putting some low light anubias on the wood.... I plan on buying large 5 inch discus so I don't have to feed heavy, and have a school of tetras. 75 gallon tank.

I'm in the process of setting up a discus tank also, and i use national geographic white sand from Pet Smart. it's made for aquariums and is the perfect size to allow air to breathe thru and keep all debri on top. Wouldn't use anything else, it's a bit pricey at $1.00 per pound. Used with the right scavengers and it is pratically maintenance free.

[Filip]

I am in the thinking process of setting up another discus tank, This time around I would like to have a nice piece of driftwood and some sand on the bottom, my old tank was bare bottom and I would like to make this more a show tank for my living room. What type of sand is best, I believe I read a few years ago "play" sand?..... I plan just a thin layer..... any suggestions from people who has set up a "show" tank with wood sand, I plan on putting some low light anubias on the wood.... I plan on buying large 5 inch discus so I don't have to feed heavy, and have a school of tetras. 75 gallon tank.

Play sand is too dusty and can get blown away and dust the water . You need a Pool filter sand , grain size grade #20 .
Here is a thread about a prefered discus tank sand .

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?121391-Sand-grain-size-and-type

[Spencer]

Thank you all for the suggestions, now I will have a idea what to get.

[Jack L]

i use quickcrete sand for concrete, has pebbles mixed in