6 Popular Types Of Freshwater Aquarium Sand

For most fish tank owners, freshwater aquarium sand is the best substrate for aquarium use. In the natural world, most of the freshwater fish come from sandy places in the wild. Thus, sand as a substrate is one they are already familiar with.

Depending on the kind of fish you have, sand is good lining for the bottom of a fish tank, especially for those with delicate types of fish. There are many species who like to hide and burrow into the sand. They cannot do that in gravel.

Aside from giving your aquarium that natural-looking beauty, the use of sand has other advantages. Sand is not just the ideal medium for your aquatic plants, but it also harbors the useful bacteria needed for the whole tank ecosystem. Gravel has less surface area than sand and that is why it is a less favorable surface for good bacteria to form on.

Advantages

In the natural world, sand is the bottom surface of most fish habitats that include ponds, rivers, and lakes. This makes it more natural for your fish and for breeders, make a note that some species will only breed in sand filled aquariums.

Some species of fish even eat a little sand to help in their digestion. Needless to say, sand is also ideal for the many species of aquatic plants.

Precautions

However, when using sand for your aquariums substrate let's review a common mistake. This mistake is not to control the thickness of your sand layer. Fine sand has a tendency to have "dead pockets", which are those areas without any water circulation and thus no oxygen circulation .

Undisturbed sand areas become oxygen-depleted, and no biological filtration is carried out. If you want your sand substrate thick, be sure to disturb it regularly. You can have some animals or fish that can do that for you - dig tunnels, burrow, and generally move the sand around.

Types

The importance of the choice of types of sand for your aquarium has been a source of wisdom among long-time aquarium owners for many decades . There are several considerations and you may need more than one to balance your choice.

One important factor is the mineral content of the sand which can affect the water chemistry. The color and the size of the sand grains are also important.

Some fish species are shy and they could be less stressed (threatened) if a brightly-colored sand is changed into something darker. If your pets have delicate bellies, it would be good if you use some smooth and fine sand for them to live with.

Large aquarium shops usually have at least six different types of sand to choose from. These are the silica (blasting sand), black beauty (powdered iron slag), play sand, coral sand, aragonite, and the black Tahitian moon sand.

Silica sand

This is the sand used by the sand blasting industry. Relatively cheap (around 100 lbs. for $10), it is pale tan and the texture is extremely fine.

Black beauty

Black beauty sand is not found in nature - it is a powdered iron slag. It is also used by the sand-blasting industry.

This type of sand will definitely alter the chemistry inside your aquarium. What's more, powdered iron slag may have sharp edges which are not ideal for those fish species that continuously sift sand.

Play sand

Play sand is more diverse in grain size and color than silica sand. It is also darker than silica and has much clay in it.

It is cheap, and is sold in large quantities for use in filling up sand boxes. It can also be bought from home supply stores because it is also used in making brickwork.

Coral sand

This is usually used in aquariums to keep the pH value alkaline, and the water hard. It is more expensive than silica sand, iron slag, and play sand, but cheaper than aragonite.

It is made from crushed corals, this is usually white with a diverse grain size as well.

Aragonite

This is one of the most expensive of all types of aquarium sand. It comes in many different colors and in many different grain sizes.

Like the coral sand, the aragonite can also help in adjusting the pH value and the water hardness in the aquarium.

Tahitian moon sand

Another expensive variety of sand is the famous black Tahitian moon sand. Beautiful by itself, the black Tahitian moon sand can make your colorful fish even be more showy because their colors are enhanced when placed in contrast against the black sand.

The black Tahitian moon sand is not iron slag.

Setup

As with most things (including sand), anything introduced into your freshwater aquarium needs to be cleaned and free from substances (and live things) that will pollute your tank.

The best way to do this is to thoroughly clean the sand by passing it through water to remove the debris and other detritus (living or dead) that will dirty up your aquarium.

Maintenance

It is good policy to vacuum the sand every 2 to 4 weeks, and siphon off floating debris. If you don't have animals to do it for you, manually churn the sand around 4 to 6 times a year. Churning releases trapped gas (and wastes) under the inert sand.

Move the stones and other décor (and the fish, if possible) and vacuum the water. Turn off the pumps and filters first before churning and wait for everything to settle down before turning them on again.

Choosing the right sand for your freshwater aquarium is like choosing the right landscape for your house. It will not only please your eyes but it certainly helps the lives of your fish.

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