ok, i used store baught sand for my first tank, and well, use caution, what brand is it? some are very harmful, some arent as harmful. But anywho, let me know what brand it is. just put a little bit at a time, like a couple scops ful (4 cups) in a jar or tupperware, and just rinse with a hose very thouroughly, like rinsing out all of the very fineer parts of the sand out, becsue the finer parts is what get syou in the most trouble, so i rinsed mine for like an hour, and little by little is the key. Just keep on t doing that, and you should buy like maybe 3lbs. of LS for every 20lbs. bad you use, to plant the sand, and it also makes it look better.