pool filter sand

[aweeby]

are there any Hawaii people here who know where I can get some pool sand in town without emptying my wallet? I only need a very small amount (252 cu in, to be exact), so if someone has a bag open already, I'd be willing to buy some off of you, even.

does anyone know where to get pool filter sand or play sand? I went to home depot, i saw 'coral sand'... has anyone used that in lieu of pool sand?

[CatB]

i'd be worried about "coral sand" because if it is indeed made of coral, it's like the stuff salties/cichlid keepers use and it would raise your water hardness/pH.

[stevenjohn21]

Leslies pool supplies is where i got mine from. They are natonwide so hopefully have one near you.

[discuspaul]

Please do yourself a favor & don't buy ANY sands from the big box stores, even though it may be very inexpensive. For sure do not buy play sands (very dusty, gritty & dirty - needs to be rinsed a ton - is small-grained and low density, and will free-float into the water column, getting into filters & clogging impeller assemblies, and will get siphoned our when vacuuming).
Some of those stores will even sell you what they call pool filter sand, but it's usually not, or not good quality, so don't be fooled.
Apart from some good quality sands that you can get at some LFS's, which are usually very expensive, go only for pool filter sand bought at a pool or spa supply store. I suggest a good grade of high density PFS - e.g. # 20 grade or larger, preferably quartz-based silica sand - which will cost you around $10. for a 50# bag.
Very clean, little or no rinsing needed, easy to keep clean, will not get siphoned up easily, and will not clog filters.

[aweeby]

Maybe I should rephrase the question: are there any Hawaii people here who know a specific place where I can get some pool sand in town without emptying my wallet? I only need a very small amount (252 cu in, to be exact), so if someone has a bag open already, I'd be willing to buy some off of you, even.

and thanks for the replies, but i asked specifically in this subforum because we don't have a lot of options here, so the things that work on the mainland won't work here necessarily. and if i could afford it, i wouldn't buy from big box stores. but i'm running on a razor thin budget and sometimes these things can't be helped. sad but true. yeah i know, i'm hesitant to buy coral sand, although my water's hardness and pH are already quite low. :/

[discuspaul]

Well, if you don't find someone nearby who has a small amount to give you, or sell to you, go a pool supply store - there must be many of them in Hawaii. As for cost, you may be able to buy less than a 50 lb. bag, but even if you had to do that, in Hawaii, the price should be less than $10. In some places in the U.S. mainland, it's as low as $6.
Check it out.

[RianS]

Not sure what qualifies as emptying your wallet but just go to mr sandman off nimitz.
I picked up 50lb bag of 3M colorquartz about 2 years back for ~25. I'm sure off brand silica will be much cheaper.

[not_sponsored]

Just get some from the beach?

[Alec8100]

You can usually get the pool filter sand at your local pool supply store...

[EdwardN]

Originally Posted by aweeby

are there any Hawaii people here who know where I can get some pool sand in town without emptying my wallet? I only need a very small amount (252 cu in, to be exact), so if someone has a bag open already, I'd be willing to buy some off of you, even.

does anyone know where to get pool filter sand or play sand? I went to home depot, i saw 'coral sand'... has anyone used that in lieu of pool sand?

Here is the source: http://www.redflint.com/filter_gravel.htm

Call them and ask who is the distributor in your neck of the country.

[Kai808]

Do you still need this? I keep forgetting that my co-worker's husband has a pool maintenance service. I can see if they have some extra. Hmmm, 252 cu in... that's like a 6" cube or about 1 gallon of sand?