f you want to know what our favorite sand is check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/W4nULCIHJs8/v-deo.html If you want to know how to keep sand clean check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/OeFp0iLw4yQ/v-deo.html Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics For more cool behind the scenes stuff consider becoming a member! ua-cam.com/channels/YVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTA.htmljoin If you want to see all the cool stuff Joanna does with other types of scapes check out her channel! ua-cam.com/channels/PEZk1MpOTGiBVh6BtWjlRg.html
I just watched this video again today prepping for a couple of tank builds and checked prices for CaribSea Torpedo Beach sand. Petsmart has 50lb bag for $19. I used a promo code I had for $15 off $45 and threw in a few cheap items for free shipping and got 3 bags for just over $50 shipped. This video is almost a year old so no one may see this, but thought I'd share.
Love that you guys have gone to the expense, trouble, and time, to show us the differences in white or light colored sands. Nice way to kick start a Monday while daydreaming about setting up a couple of bigger tanks. Have a great week guys. 💕💓💕 👍💓👍
Ohh, sand parfait! Joanna, you are so crafty even talking white substrate. I use pool filter sand usually with some pea gravel mixed in. Don’t mind the extra work too make up for the cost savings.
Try Home Depot play sand. It comes in a green bag and where I live it costs around $4 for 50lb bag! It looks great super fine and a light brown color. Cory cats live the granule size!
I glued a plastic knife to the end of my Python to sift through the sand but keep the end of the Python just far enough away that it doesn't suck up the sand. It's really quite effective.
I used the Sunset Gold over red ecocomplete, I like their products just fine. I can use a bubbler under and not even stir it up, but I wish we had Pisces products more readily available, the gravels are lovely, but I've heard they make a black sand we can't get in the US.
I have found the HTH pool sand the best of any pool sand. I have snails, kuhlie loaches, cories and shrimp that really like to dig or burrow in it helping to keep it maintained. Also my live plants do very well in it. When I gravel vac I just skim over the top to clean. 50 lbs for 6.99 in my area.
Great comments here, you can dress your substrate with the sand you like best, or add pebbles to your sand, natural river pebbles look good scattered over sand.
I started off with the Caribsea Sunset Gold, but the grain size was just too fine and it would clump up and stick to the plants . I just put the Caribsea Torpedo Beach in today, which has a bigger grain size. I will see how it goes.
Happy Monday Jason and Joanna. I appreciate you going into depth on different types of sand. I think the pure white sand looks the best. However when I used white substrate in my previous tank it grew algae tremendously. All of my tanks now have black substrate except for my 150 gallon bare bottom. I have a 90 and 36 gallon tank that only have black substrate and it has been a life saver from algae growth. What a great way for me to start my Monday! Sincerely, Michigander Marty Borst 😀👍
I’m glad you did this. Sand is all in the eye of the beholder. Sand.....sand is the stuff you walk through barefoot on a Florida beach and squishes through your toes. It’s the stuff in your kids’ sandbox. Not the stuff that’s sold as aquarium sand. It’s more like gravel. And the stuff that’s like real sand, is sold as plain old substrate. Caribsea. I like the fine sand, like Florida sand. I find it easier to clean, I can see where all the junk is, and surprisingly, I have so little sand in my bucket, it’s not worth mentioning. Too late I discovered what I bought wasn’t what I wanted, but I had ordered it online, never opened the box until I was ready to use it, and then it was too late. My QT and fry tank have real sand, and when I do my betta tank and male guppy tank over this summer, I’m using the plain ol’ white substrate (that’s really sand) and not aquarium sand that’s more like gravel. 🤪
I can tell the BEST one right now. Home Depot play sand. Fine sand that cory cats LOVE. It is not white, but a light brown so that it can look basically clean even after a few months. It is also CHEAP only costing about $5 per 50lb bag! Only downside is it likes to get into filters, so use sponge filters, or prefilters on mechanical filters.
I love the Top Fin white sand. It looks great for a tropical scape! Just a bit of a swish when I do a water change is all it takes to keep it fresh looking. I was so surprised how easy it is to keep it looking good.
I got a clean my white sand in my 20 gallon it’s green the whole tanks green ain’t nothing in it it’s shut down but it was gravel it was grinding up into white Send also use the black that is done the same way it looks good
Your hand must be steady as a rock to layer and level the 4 different sands in that container. If you get a lot of detritus/poop showing on white sands you can always get a wave maker provided the inhabitants can handle it. I only turn it on for an hour or so and let all of settle to the back corner for easy siphoning on water change day
Once again The Small Scape Maestro mixes art and science to make the complex concept a accessible epiphany. In the area of marital harmony through nomenclature, may I suggest: “vase” + “canister” => “vanister” Thanks again, great video, Jim
I’ve used the top fin white and two different Caribsea type sands. Right now I’m cleaning the crystal river sand from caribsea that I got 50 lb bags on sale. It’s finer than I thought it would be but will still do the trick. It’s a “white” sand and I kinda like it. Just wanted something to fill my 125 gallon tank. I have one tank with black sand and I like it as well. I always end up sucking sand out when I siphon. Ruined a filter once too with the sand. Will invest I think in some prefilter sponges. Great topic! Well gotta go I’ve got 200 lbs of sand to wash!
Happy Monday! I really appreciate the visual example and the comparisons of the sands. Thank you for sharing all the pros and cons on the the different types. I've only used a few certain sands and don't have the experience with the other ones!! This does help me choosing a sand substrate. This is going to be a great reference video to help others because that's a really big question asked all the time? "What kind of sand do I use?" And I've heard people answer back and say "sand is sand" 🤔🤣That might be true to a certain extent, but this proves all sands are not created equally 👍😁🤣 For me, I want it to be the easiest to care for! At the top of my list is the ease of care and not getting into places it shouldn't!! Great video Jason and Joanna thank you guys so much!! Have a great day 👍🌿🐟🌿💚🙏
I usually go with black sand in my fish tanks, but I wanted to try something different. Not exactly white... I chose Caribsea "Sunset Gold" for my African Dwarf Frog / Snail tank. 🐸🐌 I love it's very natural appearance (Especially if you have driftwood, the tannins really give it that pale amber glow. Reminds me of the streams & creeks I used to play in as a kid) ❤️ but because it isn't "white" it doesn't easily look dirty! 😃 My favourite thing about it though, is how SOFT to touch it is compared to other types of sand. If I were any kind of aquatic, bottom-dwelling creature I would love to rest, swim, dig or play around this sand! ❤️ Caribsea FTW!! 👍 Thanks for all of your great content!! 🥰 🐟 👍
Happy Monday!!! Another very informative video. It was very helpful seen them side by side. Couple of questions. Would you do a video or mention wich sands will alter ph? What are your thoughts on black sandblasting sands? Would you mix different color sands to achieve a desire color, overall texture?
Very nicely done comparison. Just what I was looking for. I had pretty much settled on the Torpedo Beach after thinking pool filter sand was the ticket. Nice to hear the maintenance issue you found with it. I am planning on converting from my Angelfish tank to Discus, and want the brighter white type sand to help their coloration and also the ability to benefit from the sand as a biological substrate over a bare bottom glass view. I will keep the sand less than 1" I am thinking will be sufficient.
Excellent comparison! I currently have pool filter sand (AquaQuartz), play sand, and TopFin sand in 3 different aquariums. For me, the AquaQuartz is fabulous - it barely moves when I siphon (as opposed to the TopFin which always comes up, even with the nano siphon, and the play sand which personally I love for the natural look but is dusty even after 2 years). It was a little expensive off Amazon than I’ve heard at hardware stores (couldn’t find any locally - poor delivery person!) but worth it. My corys and Bolivian Rams love to sift through it.
You got to try the black diamond sand from tractor supply. 50 LBs for 10 bucks. You just need to do quick 5 minute rinse and it is clean. The best sand I have ever used.
Not sure if you guys have ever used them seachem makes a few pretty awesome sands ! My favorite is onyx sand ! Not the same as all the innert sands you mentioned in the video ! Different texutes and colors ! Awesome substrates ! :)
Good job as as always Professor and Farmer Jo might try a sand one day ,all my tanks are gravel. Did some trading yesterday, got a ton of frogbit and a trio of Black Bar Endlers for a Super Red. Put the endlers in Grimmie’s tank try something Cory mentioned in one of his videos,letting Grimmie hunt the Fry for exercise plus it’s natural big fish eat little ones. As heavy as the plants are coming in most will have hiding spots so most will probably make it.Dwarf chain swords are spreading like crazy!
I bought 10lbs of the top fin white sand a year ago and just got around to swapping it with the granular rocks. Still needed about 10lbs more and now I can't find it anywhere. Petsmart has the exact same bag but it's now an off white. And every product I find claiming to be white ends up being an off white with a light brown color. Would be so grateful if you could tell me where some is.
Hello! I'm thinking about starting a Community betta tank, and ive done tons of research (this channel), forums and other readings about the matter, however, The local fish experets tell me i shouldnt attempt this as my Betta would just "Kick the snot out of its tank mates". i'm wondering what I should do, whether I should intoduce my Betta slowly (obviously), and keep on eye on it for an hour or so to ensure he doesn't go after his tank mates... or should I just get him his own 3 gallon and leave my Neons, Khuli Loaches and Mollies to do their own thing in the 30 gallon (the community tank in quesiton).
My bettas enjoy their Community aquariums❤️ I do have a lot of plantts, so they can find cover from each other. With that being said there are a few that did not work out and I had a backup plan which meant having its own separate 5 planted tank!! I've had about a 80% success rate.. only two out of 10 have their own tanks! One of those fish had to come out of the community tank because the other fish were picking on the Bettas tail. The other one was in a sorority and just wouldn't play nice.🤣😢 Both tanks have Little Panda corys with them for tankmates ❤️
I'm not sure if its only me but I stopped using white sand for my aquarium because they tend to have this yellow-ish tone the longer you use it. I checked if it was something to do with my water or maybe because of the fish droppings but when I tested it nothing really came out surprising
Hi love fishes! Question:( I'm wanting to switch from gravel to playsand in my 10 Gallon community tank,) so I was wondering with 2 inches will I be having issues of anaerobic pockets? Ive watched KG tropical, and that issue came up. I dont have earth movers. Just dwarf frogs and peaceful tropicals.
What’s the difference between caribsea torpedo and crystal river?? Which one is better for freshwater and cory catfish? And for HOB filter l don’t wanna clog my filter.
I have white sand in the front of my blood parrot tank and it gets so dirty. I do weekly cleaning of all of the sand in the front of the tank, the heavy gravel in the back of the tank tends to not get as bad and is quick to clean.
Hey guys! I know this is an older video, but are coarser sands like the CaribSea Torpedo Beach ok for sand sifters like Geophagus? Or could it hurt their gills? Thanks if you’re able to respond!
Hi there, I'm keeping multifasciatus, got told the best sand I can use would be coral sand because that's the best for pH levels is that right ? Thank you both 👍🏼
Probably the finer grain sands would do a better job of creating an anaerobic environment. Either way, I have never found H2S to be an issue even with deep sand substrate beds. It has never harmed any of our fish.
..... 50lbs. What they mean is probably that it’s dense, so feels very heavy to carry. Whereas 50 of say, dog kibble wouldn't feel as heavy because since it’s a lighter substance, it takes much volume more to reach 50 lbs so the weight’s more spread out. If I’m not mistaken, aquarium substrate is typically sold in 10, 20, 30lb bags.
did you do anything to the eletricals in your housr to withstand that many tanks, im trying to get a 40gallon breeder and my dad thinks it takes sooooooo much power to run the tank it with burn the house down, i have a 50 super tall, 20long, a 10 gallon on only sponge filter and a 10 gallon lizard tank with only a heating pad, and window unit a ps5 and a tv. im just trying to get your thoughts and what you think about the power im drawing
@@PrimeTimeAquatics i looked at all the watts in my room and its good would only be 88 more and that would be like 6 dollars a month more if the lights heater and stuff was to never cut off
HI. I have a question. Not about sand but about cichlids. I am thinking about getting a 5-foot long tank just to keep a pair of t bars and a pair of fire mouths. I want to put in plenty of rocks and make a lot of caves for privacy. Do you think this will control aggression when it comes to having babies? Just my idea only I may be wrong but any advice would be helpful. Thanks
@@PrimeTimeAquatics i’m thinking about that. But I’m also thinking it might look cool seeing the separation of the sand and the golden water. I ordered darker white sand online anyway. Thank you for responding 🙏🏻😊
sand is no good for a planted tank though right? Sand looks the best aesthetically but I'm looking for substrates that plants can properly grow roots in.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics even things like rotala, dwarf hair grass, s reppens, wistheria can grow in sand well? I'm using aqua terra natural tan sand and it's kind of fine grained. And my tank smells kind of funky and there's brown stuff all over the sand. You don' t think it's time to switch to the planted substrates like eco complete , ada amazonia, or fluval stratum?
This vid was on white substrate. I think they did one with Black Diamond. I use Black Diamond and love it so far. Just make sure you get medium not fine in my opinion. Good question.
@@wendihamlett105 ty cause I did just get some and dropped it in my 55gl and a couple ten gallons and just wondered if that had ph fluctuations or not it looks amazing.
@@wendihamlett105 I agree! I set up a 29 gallon over 2 months ago with Black Diamond. I'm very happy with the results!! It's heavily planted, so inexpensive, an absolutely no issues with any fish 👍💚
I have the caribsea (forget which name?) but it’s the super fine one. 🤦🏼♀️ My problem is no matter what I do the poop will not go up the tube? I’m good at not sucking up too much sand but WHAT THE HECK? It’s like the poop is lead? Seriously it just won’t suck up? So I have to use a net to sift through the sand. Anyone else deal with this and any suggestions?
SOmetimes it can be the amount of suction from the gravel vac. I usually try to increase it by either lowers the exit point or you could try a different diameter gravel vac?
I'm new to the hobby, but I've read white sand is bad for most freshwater fish and adds stress. This is due to it not being in their natural environment and makes them feel exposed to predators. Can someone with experience weigh in on that?
My best decision is to never use sand again 🤣 Every time I see your tanks I'm thinking, "I should try that again because it looks so awesome!" And then I remember the pile of HoB filters in the closet and the fact that my utility sink no longer works, I pull back on that idea again 😳🤔😆
@@PrimeTimeAquatics I mean, theoretically it's all easy, right? You just have to have patience. I don't have patience. I am the guy swinging the two handed, twin bladed battle axe and making a mess of things. I am definitely not the guy with the fencing foil capable of putting its tip through the eye of a needle. 😆
the only true bright white sand was National Geographic White Sand it was really clean and the only true sand ever sold ! unfortunately its not sold anymore! the rest is not white if even sand at all! it was a breeze to clean too , I still have some in my 55 gallon wished I could buy more!
f you want to know what our favorite sand is check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/W4nULCIHJs8/v-deo.html
If you want to know how to keep sand clean check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/OeFp0iLw4yQ/v-deo.html
Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch
For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics
For more cool behind the scenes stuff consider becoming a member!
ua-cam.com/channels/YVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTA.htmljoin
If you want to see all the cool stuff Joanna does with other types of scapes check out her channel!
ua-cam.com/channels/PEZk1MpOTGiBVh6BtWjlRg.html
I actually appreciate the layering in the glass! It makes comparing them in site sooooo much easier! Thank you!
I just watched this video again today prepping for a couple of tank builds and checked prices for CaribSea Torpedo Beach sand. Petsmart has 50lb bag for $19. I used a promo code I had for $15 off $45 and threw in a few cheap items for free shipping and got 3 bags for just over $50 shipped. This video is almost a year old so no one may see this, but thought I'd share.
Great idea putting the sands in the vase for comparison! Another great video, Very helpful!
So glad to hear it! ☺️
Love that you guys have gone to the expense, trouble, and time, to show us the differences in white or light colored sands. Nice way to kick start a Monday while daydreaming about setting up a couple of bigger tanks. Have a great week guys. 💕💓💕
👍💓👍
Thank you!
We were hoping it would be helpful ! Thanks for the sweet words ✨☺️✨
Ohh, sand parfait! Joanna, you are so crafty even talking white substrate. I use pool filter sand usually with some pea gravel mixed in. Don’t mind the extra work too make up for the cost savings.
Lol!! I parfait anything when given the chance. Ooh - I like that mix, I just might have to try that!
We call it lasagna gardening, outside lol
Oh man, I just got some caribsea naturals substrate. I hope i like it... ive used landscape gravel, play sand or black diamond in the past
IDK... Im sceptical... It seem fairly fine (as opposed to coarse) washing it lets off more tiny debris than black diamond... odd
Really good information. The thought of trying to keep white sand clean has always kept me from using it.
Ya. I hear ya. It looks really good by itself though. Not in a tank. Lol. 😂
Try Home Depot play sand. It comes in a green bag and where I live it costs around $4 for 50lb bag! It looks great super fine and a light brown color. Cory cats live the granule size!
I glued a plastic knife to the end of my Python to sift through the sand but keep the end of the Python just far enough away that it doesn't suck up the sand. It's really quite effective.
That is a great idea!!!!👍
I just use fine netting to catch the sand (I use imagitarium brand sand which have bigger grains)
Clever!! 👍
Caribsea Torpedo Beach is what I have in my multi tank - love it!
I used the Sunset Gold over red ecocomplete, I like their products just fine. I can use a bubbler under and not even stir it up, but I wish we had Pisces products more readily available, the gravels are lovely, but I've heard they make a black sand we can't get in the US.
Happy Monday!! Thank you for showing the layered comparison. Pretty too!!! 😊
☺️☺️☺️
I have found the HTH pool sand the best of any pool sand. I have snails, kuhlie loaches, cories and shrimp that really like to dig or burrow in it helping to keep it maintained. Also my live plants do very well in it. When I gravel vac I just skim over the top to clean. 50 lbs for 6.99 in my area.
Wow, you can’t beat all that! It’s always great to have something tick all the boxes! ☺️
Nice Lisa NJ😁👍
Great comments here, you can dress your substrate with the sand you like best, or add pebbles to your sand, natural river pebbles look good scattered over sand.
I started off with the Caribsea Sunset Gold, but the grain size was just too fine and it would clump up and stick to the plants . I just put the Caribsea Torpedo Beach in today, which has a bigger grain size. I will see how it goes.
Happy Monday Jason and Joanna. I appreciate you going into depth on different types of sand. I think the pure white sand looks the best. However when I used white substrate in my previous tank it grew algae tremendously. All of my tanks now have black substrate except for my 150 gallon bare bottom. I have a 90 and 36 gallon tank that only have black substrate and it has been a life saver from algae growth. What a great way for me to start my Monday! Sincerely, Michigander Marty Borst 😀👍
White sand always looks awesome at first! :-)
I’m glad you did this. Sand is all in the eye of the beholder. Sand.....sand is the stuff you walk through barefoot on a Florida beach and squishes through your toes. It’s the stuff in your kids’ sandbox. Not the stuff that’s sold as aquarium sand. It’s more like gravel. And the stuff that’s like real sand, is sold as plain old substrate. Caribsea. I like the fine sand, like Florida sand. I find it easier to clean, I can see where all the junk is, and surprisingly, I have so little sand in my bucket, it’s not worth mentioning. Too late I discovered what I bought wasn’t what I wanted, but I had ordered it online, never opened the box until I was ready to use it, and then it was too late. My QT and fry tank have real sand, and when I do my betta tank and male guppy tank over this summer, I’m using the plain ol’ white substrate (that’s really sand) and not aquarium sand that’s more like gravel. 🤪
Ya, some of it is more like pulverized gravel.
I can tell the BEST one right now. Home Depot play sand. Fine sand that cory cats LOVE. It is not white, but a light brown so that it can look basically clean even after a few months.
It is also CHEAP only costing about $5 per 50lb bag!
Only downside is it likes to get into filters, so use sponge filters, or prefilters on mechanical filters.
Love it too. I have it in my 55 gal and 100 gal turtle tub. The cities in the 55 gal love it just like yours!
Quickrete pool filter sand is better because is not as fine and won't get into your filter. Also from home depot
I have also white sand since 11 years but i have strong filteration system😃 Thank you friend for sharing your thoughts ❤️👍
I love the Top Fin white sand. It looks great for a tropical scape! Just a bit of a swish when I do a water change is all it takes to keep it fresh looking. I was so surprised how easy it is to keep it looking good.
Ya, that stuff is nice because it can be gravel vacuumed!
Guys can you send me a link where to buy it please?
I can't find anymore anywhere. Do you know where I can?
I got a clean my white sand in my 20 gallon it’s green the whole tanks green ain’t nothing in it it’s shut down but it was gravel it was grinding up into white Send also use the black that is done the same way it looks good
Putting them in the case against each other was excellent! If you’re going to do more of these videos (I think you should), keep that up!
It’s the way I’d appreciate seeing a comparison. ☺️ So glad you liked it! Yay!
"You're the looks expert" 🤣🤣
I feel it can be used as a quote for sitcoms or fashion TV shows
Yes! Lol!
🤣💚
Your hand must be steady as a rock to layer and level the 4 different sands in that container.
If you get a lot of detritus/poop showing on white sands you can always get a wave maker provided the inhabitants can handle it. I only turn it on for an hour or so and let all of settle to the back corner for easy siphoning on water change day
Wow why haven’t I thought of this. Ty
I love RedFlint Pool Filters and, i don't even rinse. I put it in and done. Great video. Love from Wisconsin.
Once again The Small Scape Maestro mixes art and science to make the complex concept a accessible epiphany.
In the area of marital harmony through nomenclature, may I suggest:
“vase” + “canister” => “vanister”
Thanks again, great video,
Jim
You saved us! Haha
I’ve used the top fin white and two different Caribsea type sands. Right now I’m cleaning the crystal river sand from caribsea that I got 50 lb bags on sale. It’s finer than I thought it would be but will still do the trick. It’s a “white” sand and I kinda like it. Just wanted something to fill my 125 gallon tank. I have one tank with black sand and I like it as well. I always end up sucking sand out when I siphon. Ruined a filter once too with the sand. Will invest I think in some prefilter sponges. Great topic! Well gotta go I’ve got 200 lbs of sand to wash!
This was just what I was looking for as I am going to scape with sand next!
My Favourite White Sands Beach Sand SO Cheap 👍🇭🇲🇭🇲🇭🇲Enjoy Your Wisdom Thank You ❤️
SUPER HELPFUL! Thanks, fine folks!
Awesome video - been thinking about adding a layer and this was super helpful!
Thank you for this video. Going for Top fin sand.
Happy Monday! I really appreciate the visual example and the comparisons of the sands. Thank you for sharing all the pros and cons on the the different types. I've only used a few certain sands and don't have the experience with the other ones!! This does help me choosing a sand substrate.
This is going to be a great reference video to help others because that's a really big question asked all the time? "What kind of sand do I use?" And I've heard people answer back and say "sand is sand" 🤔🤣That might be true to a certain extent, but this proves all sands are not created equally 👍😁🤣
For me, I want it to be the easiest to care for!
At the top of my list is the ease of care and not getting into places it shouldn't!! Great video Jason and Joanna thank you guys so much!! Have a great day 👍🌿🐟🌿💚🙏
Thank you! Ya, once you start using different types it becomes more clear that they all have their ups and downs. :-)
I usually go with black sand in my fish tanks, but I wanted to try something different.
Not exactly white...
I chose Caribsea "Sunset Gold" for my African Dwarf Frog / Snail tank. 🐸🐌
I love it's very natural appearance (Especially if you have driftwood,
the tannins really give it that pale amber glow.
Reminds me of the streams & creeks I used to play in as a kid) ❤️
but because it isn't "white" it doesn't easily look dirty! 😃
My favourite thing about it though, is how SOFT to touch it is compared to other types of sand.
If I were any kind of aquatic,
bottom-dwelling creature
I would love to rest, swim, dig
or play around this sand! ❤️
Caribsea FTW!! 👍
Thanks for all of your great content!! 🥰 🐟 👍
That sounds cool!
Happy Monday!!! Another very informative video. It was very helpful seen them side by side. Couple of questions. Would you do a video or mention wich sands will alter ph? What are your thoughts on black sandblasting sands? Would you mix different color sands to achieve a desire color, overall texture?
You can mix them to get different colors. We have a bag of blasting sand they we are going to use soon!
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thank you. Looking forward for more great content as usual.
Very nicely done comparison. Just what I was looking for. I had pretty much settled on the Torpedo Beach after thinking pool filter sand was the ticket. Nice to hear the maintenance issue you found with it. I am planning on converting from my Angelfish tank to Discus, and want the brighter white type sand to help their coloration and also the ability to benefit from the sand as a biological substrate over a bare bottom glass view. I will keep the sand less than 1" I am thinking will be sufficient.
Have fun!
Excellent comparison! I currently have pool filter sand (AquaQuartz), play sand, and TopFin sand in 3 different aquariums. For me, the AquaQuartz is fabulous - it barely moves when I siphon (as opposed to the TopFin which always comes up, even with the nano siphon, and the play sand which personally I love for the natural look but is dusty even after 2 years). It was a little expensive off Amazon than I’ve heard at hardware stores (couldn’t find any locally - poor delivery person!) but worth it. My corys and Bolivian Rams love to sift through it.
Check Leslie pool supplies
I’ve used mason sand and top dressing sand from a golf course.
This video really helped a lot. Looking to move away from play sand as a substrate for my cichlids.
Love side by side comparisons😊
I like the top 1. Is it to big for corydoras? Thanks
You got to try the black diamond sand from tractor supply. 50 LBs for 10 bucks. You just need to do quick 5 minute rinse and it is clean. The best sand I have ever used.
Got a bag - just waiting to put it in a tank. :-)
Nice video
Informative
🐟🐟🐟
Great to hear! ☺️
Not sure if you guys have ever used them seachem makes a few pretty awesome sands ! My favorite is onyx sand ! Not the same as all the innert sands you mentioned in the video ! Different texutes and colors ! Awesome substrates ! :)
I used onyx with my Pisces gunsmoke gravel, it is ok, but I'm glad it kind of settled into the lower substrate, lol.
I use the top fin white sand and its easy to vacuum!
Looking for white sand for my 55 looking forward to this
Happy Monday. Nice review, would hate trying to keep the top fin sand looking clean 🤓
Good job as as always Professor and Farmer Jo might try a sand one day ,all my tanks are gravel. Did some trading yesterday, got a ton of frogbit and a trio of Black Bar Endlers for a Super Red. Put the endlers in Grimmie’s tank try something Cory mentioned in one of his videos,letting Grimmie hunt the Fry for exercise plus it’s natural big fish eat little ones. As heavy as the plants are coming in most will have hiding spots so most will probably make it.Dwarf chain swords are spreading like crazy!
Tank is coming along well!
Thank you for this information.
I bought 10lbs of the top fin white sand a year ago and just got around to swapping it with the granular rocks. Still needed about 10lbs more and now I can't find it anywhere. Petsmart has the exact same bag but it's now an off white. And every product I find claiming to be white ends up being an off white with a light brown color. Would be so grateful if you could tell me where some is.
You could check online - CaribSea has at least one white sand.
Hello! I'm thinking about starting a Community betta tank, and ive done tons of research (this channel), forums and other readings about the matter, however, The local fish experets tell me i shouldnt attempt this as my Betta would just "Kick the snot out of its tank mates". i'm wondering what I should do, whether I should intoduce my Betta slowly (obviously), and keep on eye on it for an hour or so to ensure he doesn't go after his tank mates... or should I just get him his own 3 gallon and leave my Neons, Khuli Loaches and Mollies to do their own thing in the 30 gallon (the community tank in quesiton).
My bettas enjoy their Community aquariums❤️ I do have a lot of plantts, so they can find cover from each other. With that being said there are a few that did not work out and I had a backup plan which meant having its own separate 5 planted tank!! I've had about a 80% success rate.. only two out of 10 have their own tanks! One of those fish had to come out of the community tank because the other fish were picking on the Bettas tail.
The other one was in a sorority and just wouldn't play nice.🤣😢
Both tanks have Little Panda corys with them for tankmates ❤️
Usually we have the best success when the other fish are smaller tetras and rasboras.
My betta had a bristle nose ancistrus best friends. That is until I witnessed the betta eating baby plecos 😬.
I'm not sure if its only me but I stopped using white sand for my aquarium because they tend to have this yellow-ish tone the longer you use it.
I checked if it was something to do with my water or maybe because of the fish droppings but when I tested it nothing really came out surprising
Hi love fishes! Question:( I'm wanting to switch from gravel to playsand in my 10 Gallon community tank,) so I was wondering with 2 inches will I be having issues of anaerobic pockets? Ive watched KG tropical, and that issue came up. I dont have earth movers. Just dwarf frogs and peaceful tropicals.
Good question - I personally have never had that issue with deep sand pockets actually hurting my fish?
What’s the difference between caribsea torpedo and crystal river?? Which one is better for freshwater and cory catfish? And for HOB filter l don’t wanna clog my filter.
I have white sand in the front of my blood parrot tank and it gets so dirty. I do weekly cleaning of all of the sand in the front of the tank, the heavy gravel in the back of the tank tends to not get as bad and is quick to clean.
Great subject guys!!
Can you please tell me how did the crypts especially the wendtii green in one of the grow that bushy? Is that full sand substrate?
They grow that way in both sand and gravel. It just takes time. :-)
Great video but I was hoping you would include the Petco brand white sand in your list. Since that's what I just bought to put in my Discus tank. ;)
Dang it! We should have.
Hey guys! I know this is an older video, but are coarser sands like the CaribSea Torpedo Beach ok for sand sifters like Geophagus? Or could it hurt their gills? Thanks if you’re able to respond!
It would be better to have them on finer sand. Good question!
@@PrimeTimeAquatics That’s so helpful! Thank you!
Have you ever tried mixing any of the sands cus what if it makes a better looking sand?
We have mix substrate in a few of our tanks. :-)
Hi there, I'm keeping multifasciatus, got told the best sand I can use would be coral sand because that's the best for pH levels is that right ? Thank you both 👍🏼
That or aragonite - caribsea also makes a cichlid mix that is good.
We use aragonite in our shell dweller's tanks. We have a pH of 8.2 and it keeps it there.
Thank you for this video!!!
Caribsea FTW!
How about the differences in the black colored sands available?
Happy Monday! Do any of these sands have a higher propensity for H2S?
Probably the finer grain sands would do a better job of creating an anaerobic environment. Either way, I have never found H2S to be an issue even with deep sand substrate beds. It has never harmed any of our fish.
What sand do you recommend for setting up my Multi’s shell dwellers? Thank you.
I like the Caribsea Cichlid Mix.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics, Thank you.
You said the 50# bag is heavy, how heavy is it ?
..... 50lbs.
What they mean is probably that it’s dense, so feels very heavy to carry. Whereas 50 of say, dog kibble wouldn't feel as heavy because since it’s a lighter substance, it takes much volume more to reach 50 lbs so the weight’s more spread out.
If I’m not mistaken, aquarium substrate is typically sold in 10, 20, 30lb bags.
@@lf206 It was a joke, it is like asking how much a 55# bag of ol roy weighs
did you do anything to the eletricals in your housr to withstand that many tanks, im trying to get a 40gallon breeder and my dad thinks it takes sooooooo much power to run the tank it with burn the house down, i have a 50 super tall, 20long, a 10 gallon on only sponge filter and a 10 gallon lizard tank with only a heating pad, and window unit a ps5 and a tv. im just trying to get your thoughts and what you think about the power im drawing
btw hes a oldschool saltwater guy that used metal halides or whatever to light his tank, he has no clue about leds
All we did is add a few outlets on a separate circuit. Really nothing special.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics i looked at all the watts in my room and its good would only be 88 more and that would be like 6 dollars a month more if the lights heater and stuff was to never cut off
OMG lol i just bought the torpedo bay sand a couple days ago. Looks like i made a good choice :D
Woohoo!!
Good info!!
Where do you go to buy the top fin white sand?
That brand might be gone, but the alternatives sold at petco and petsmart work too.
HI. I have a question. Not about sand but about cichlids. I am thinking about getting a 5-foot long tank just to keep a pair of t bars and a pair of fire mouths. I want to put in plenty of rocks and make a lot of caves for privacy. Do you think this will control aggression when it comes to having babies? Just my idea only I may be wrong but any advice would be helpful. Thanks
I think it will certainly help. I would make sure you have rocks in the center as a line of sight block if possible.
Does the top fin sand looks good on black water? I couldn’t find beige sand in my area.
It might be a little too light?
@@PrimeTimeAquatics i’m thinking about that. But I’m also thinking it might look cool seeing the separation of the sand and the golden water. I ordered darker white sand online anyway. Thank you for responding 🙏🏻😊
Hello, is the top fin white sand natural white or is it painted/dyed white?
Seems natural - hasn’t lost any color yet.
Are you from Minnesota? I hear a Minnesota accent. I am from Minnesota.
We’re from Chicagoland!
sand is no good for a planted tank though right? Sand looks the best aesthetically but I'm looking for substrates that plants can properly grow roots in.
I've never had an issue growing rooted plants in sand.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics even things like rotala, dwarf hair grass, s reppens, wistheria can grow in sand well? I'm using aqua terra natural tan sand and it's kind of fine grained. And my tank smells kind of funky and there's brown stuff all over the sand. You don' t think it's time to switch to the planted substrates like eco complete , ada amazonia, or fluval stratum?
What about black Diamond blasting sand?
This vid was on white substrate. I think they did one with Black Diamond. I use Black Diamond and love it so far. Just make sure you get medium not fine in my opinion. Good question.
@@wendihamlett105 ty cause I did just get some and dropped it in my 55gl and a couple ten gallons and just wondered if that had ph fluctuations or not it looks amazing.
@@wendihamlett105 I agree! I set up a 29 gallon over 2 months ago with Black Diamond. I'm very happy with the results!! It's heavily planted, so inexpensive, an absolutely no issues with any fish 👍💚
@@Cichlid_4_everno problems with water parameters at all 👍
James Manning Hi James, I haven’t noticed any change in PH in the last several months. I DO have crazy high natural (well water) PH though, 8.2 plus .
I have the caribsea (forget which name?) but it’s the super fine one. 🤦🏼♀️ My problem is no matter what I do the poop will not go up the tube? I’m good at not sucking up too much sand but WHAT THE HECK? It’s like the poop is lead? Seriously it just won’t suck up? So I have to use a net to sift through the sand. Anyone else deal with this and any suggestions?
SOmetimes it can be the amount of suction from the gravel vac. I usually try to increase it by either lowers the exit point or you could try a different diameter gravel vac?
I'm new to the hobby, but I've read white sand is bad for most freshwater fish and adds stress. This is due to it not being in their natural environment and makes them feel exposed to predators. Can someone with experience weigh in on that?
I have never noticed a difference.
My best decision is to never use sand again 🤣
Every time I see your tanks I'm thinking, "I should try that again because it looks so awesome!" And then I remember the pile of HoB filters in the closet and the fact that my utility sink no longer works, I pull back on that idea again 😳🤔😆
Too funny - the larger grain sands are a little easier. :-)
@@PrimeTimeAquatics I mean, theoretically it's all easy, right? You just have to have patience. I don't have patience. I am the guy swinging the two handed, twin bladed battle axe and making a mess of things. I am definitely not the guy with the fencing foil capable of putting its tip through the eye of a needle. 😆
Is there a sand that doesn't get dirty?
Unfortunately, they all require a little maintenance. Dark tan sand tends to show it the least though.
How go clean white sand aquarium
Here you go: ua-cam.com/video/OeFp0iLw4yQ/v-deo.htmlsi=T4cUn0x7rsSyXpzv
Which sand increases the KH?
Go with aragonite or the Caribsea Cichlid Mix.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks for your quick response. :-)
I live near a beach how about that sand?
Woohoo!
How about beach sand?
It can certainly work - just have to be careful regarding parasites.
What a gentleman lol 😭
Thank you both for this upload! Thoroughly enjoyed it! Thumbs up and a sub from me... Stay safe... Rico
White sand is an ideal substrate for those who have nothing else to do but maintenance. Use white sand and you have a job for life.
Too funny!
The poop shows through so much it makes the tank look really dirty
You forgot 2 major points 1 which clumps and compacts, which is good for a planted tank.
the only true bright white sand was National Geographic White Sand it was really clean and the only true sand ever sold ! unfortunately its not sold anymore! the rest is not white if even sand at all! it was a breeze to clean too , I still have some in my 55 gallon wished I could buy more!
I mixed white sand with dark brown terrarium sand. It looks like whole wheat dough. 😂
Fun!!
@@mrsprimetimeaquatics5497
Thanks. My kids call it the “Brown Sugar Sand”. 😂
The best sand is $5 for a 50 pound bag at Home Depot. Lol
comment
👍:)
I'm scared of using sand because my anxiety will spike when it comes time to siphon 😂😩
The larger grain works better for us - Top Fin and the Caribsea Torpedo or cichlid mix.
What is this white sand that you speak of? LOL #blacksandgang
Too funny!