freshwater fish and sand?????

Question
55g, 6 months running, 1 Bala, 3 Tiger Barbs, 5 Redtail Sharks, 3 Blue Gouramis, and 1 pleco.

My question is about sand. I had an idea to put sand and shells into my fishtank, but all I can find is reef sand. Is this ok or are you not supposed to put sand in freshwater tanks? Someone suggested I use play sand...But I worry that play sand may not be safe for my fish.
  Basically, can I put sand into my freshwater tank and if so, what kind?
  Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Checka;

I have never done it in any of my own tanks but I have heard "play sand" is safe. It has to be safe for children in case they eat it (yuck) so apparently is okay for fish too. A couple of drawbacks I can think of are that it has to be rinsed VERY thouroughly before use or your tank will be cloudy. When the fish disturb the sand it may cause the tank to be cloudy too, even if rinsed. I know that live plants really like it but you don't want it to be very deep. The sand can become compacted with waste if too deep and it will foul the water.

Avoid shells and reef sand in a freshwater tank. They will cause the pH to rise and could become dangerous to your fish as the water becomes harder over time.

You might want to post your question about the sand over on the freshwater fish forum at About.com. I know there have been members there that use it;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins