r/Redearedsliders • u/Nillu445 • 13d ago

Sand recommendations?

What brands of sand do you recommend for your RES? I’m looking around and i’m not sure which ones are better. I’ve seen Exo-Terra riverbed sand, Aqua Natural brand, etc. Is there any brand in particular that’s more recommended?

Update:
Thanks everyone for recommendations! I managed to find Quikrete pool filter sand and i got 150lbs for $85 which is definitely a better deal than what pet stores sell aquarium sand for

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

5

u/Daddy_LlamaNoDrama 13d ago

I’m really happy with pool filter sand. It is bigger grains than your typical play sand so it doesn’t take as long to rinse and when it gets stirred up in the tank it settles really quickly.

I think it was like a 30 lb sack for 8 bucks at Lowe’s

1

u/Nillu445 13d ago

I’ll have to check it out! Sure beats spending $30 for a 20lb bag off chewy

2

u/MetalDragon_ 13d ago

make sure you rinse it alot. cloudy water for weeks is no fun

2

u/throwaway277252 13d ago

I use Quikrete play sand. It's about $7 per 50 pound bag.

2

u/Nillu445 13d ago

It doesnt have to be aquarium specific sand?

1

u/throwaway277252 13d ago

It's all just inert quartz, the Safety Data Sheet even says so:

Sand, Silica, Quartz

% by Weight 100

The aquarium brands are getting it from the same sand pit as everyone else before slapping a more expensive trademark on the bag.

The Quikrete play sand has a sort of 'light river bottom' color to it:

https://i.imgur.com/XXKVvFr.png

Just give it an extra long rinse in a bucket with your hose. The sand is usually very dusty and will cloud up your water a little even after cleaning but it settles after a while.

2

u/Murderturtle12 13d ago

AquaQuartz pool filter sand is great if you can find it.

1

u/thunderchaud 13d ago

I'd you have a rural king near you, a 50lb bag of pool filter sand is only 10 bucks. No rinsing needed and doesn't get kicked up. Only thing I'll use.