Who Gives A Fish Forums

Thinking about switching to play sand for my 55 gallon planted tank. Heard it's cheap and works well, but wanna know if it's gonna mess with my plants or water params. Anyone got experience with this?

Play sand can work, but you gotta rinse it like crazy. I used it in my 75 gallon and had zero issues after rinsing. Just make sure it's silica based, not calcium. Also, keep an eye on your nitrates at first, it can sometimes leach stuff.

I tried play sand once and it was a nightmare. Cloudy water for days, even after rinsing. Ended up switching back to gravel. Maybe I did something wrong, but it just didn't vibe with my tank.

happyone wrote: ↑Tue Apr 29, 2025 4:16 pm I tried play sand once and it was a nightmare. Cloudy water for days, even after rinsing. Ended up switching back to gravel. Maybe I did something wrong, but it just didn't vibe with my tank.

Did you rinse it in small batches? I found that doing it in a bucket with a hose worked way better than trying to rinse the whole bag at once.

Thanks for the tips, folks. Gonna grab a bag and test it in a bucket first. Appreciate the heads up on the silica vs calcium thing too.

No prob. Let us know how it goes. Oh, and if you've got bottom feeders, they'll love it. My Corys dig through it all day.

Yeah, my Corys were the only ones who seemed happy with it. Maybe I'll give it another shot with the bucket method. Thanks for the idea, fluxe.

Happy to help. Just take it slow and you'll be fine. Also, if you're worried about cloudiness, adding a filter floss pad can clear it up faster.