http://m.homedepot.com/p/Pavestone-50-lb-Tan-Sand-54209/100345636/
There are two colors white or tan
There are two colors white or tan
Sand options
I already know I will be spited for this...but I'm almost out of battery and cannot browse and I have no patience!
I have no Tractor Supply store around me, so that rules out the Diamond Black Sand. Petco wants $16 for 20lbs. No way.
I have 10x 10 gallons to fill, so cheap and quantity is a must, and of course aquarium safe! No silicates that will leach etc.
Give me some options planted people!
I live in SoCal too, so the amount of stores carrying heavy equipment etc is VERY limited, as there are two seasons here, Spring and Summer...thanks for your help everybody!!
I have no Tractor Supply store around me, so that rules out the Diamond Black Sand. Petco wants $16 for 20lbs. No way.
I have 10x 10 gallons to fill, so cheap and quantity is a must, and of course aquarium safe! No silicates that will leach etc.
Give me some options planted people!
I live in SoCal too, so the amount of stores carrying heavy equipment etc is VERY limited, as there are two seasons here, Spring and Summer...thanks for your help everybody!!1 - 12 of 12 Posts
Pool filter sand:
Natural coloration
Uniform particle size
10-15dollars 50lbs
Prewashed so no mess when filling very many tanks.
Found at most pool supply shops.
You also cannot control silicates. You WILL have silicates with sand or really any substrate. Unless you specifically filter them, using GFO or something.
Natural coloration
Uniform particle size
10-15dollars 50lbs
Prewashed so no mess when filling very many tanks.
Found at most pool supply shops.
You also cannot control silicates. You WILL have silicates with sand or really any substrate. Unless you specifically filter them, using GFO or something.
Pool filter sand. Light color, doesn't need washing. We use it in all the tanks at the shop. Downside is it doesn't work well for photography as it tends to wash colors out.
I'm using paver sand in a couple of my tanks and I love the more natural color and texture. Downside is it needs to be washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed.
And washed.
You get the point.
I'm using paver sand in a couple of my tanks and I love the more natural color and texture. Downside is it needs to be washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed.
And washed.
You get the point.
I read that as the intro to the Itchy and Scratchy Show...Downside is it needs to be washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed. And washed.
And washed.
You get the point.
Fight fight fight.... fight fight fight! ...
Wash wash wash... wash wash wash!!!
I also suggest PFS .. I paid $12 for 50 lbs. If you buy it, bring buckets. The stuff my place carries isn't in bags.. well it is, but there are holes in the bags like they're breather bags and it leaked out about a palm full of sand which luckily was in my trunk. I'd start with 2 bags and bring 2 five gallon buckets to set it in.
You can always get some osmocote plus (which is eeking back onto the market) and some size 00 capsuls from amazon (cheap.. like $4 for 100 and cheaper in quantity) and make your own capsuls and that'll help with the inert sand. My cories went from almost never heavily feeding and rummaging around in Tahitian moon sand to diving head first in the PFS. My khuli loaches like it too. I didn't have to rinse mine. It was pre rinsed.
I would not skip the rinsing of PFS. I still got a lot of dust/particles out of mine, the settle time was not long at all.
Is there a specific brand?? And to everyone else, thank you for the responses! I'm going to go to a pool shop today. Is there anything to be careful of, I have no clue about sand or its composition!I read that as the intro to the Itchy and Scratchy Show...
Fight fight fight.... fight fight fight! ...
Wash wash wash... wash wash wash!!!
I also suggest PFS .. I paid $12 for 50 lbs. If you buy it, bring buckets. The stuff my place carries isn't in bags.. well it is, but there are holes in the bags like they're breather bags and it leaked out about a palm full of sand which luckily was in my trunk. I'd start with 2 bags and bring 2 five gallon buckets to set it in.
You can always get some osmocote plus (which is eeking back onto the market) and some size 00 capsuls from amazon (cheap.. like $4 for 100 and cheaper in quantity) and make your own capsuls and that'll help with the inert sand. My cories went from almost never heavily feeding and rummaging around in Tahitian moon sand to diving head first in the PFS. My khuli loaches like it too. I didn't have to rinse mine. It was pre rinsed.
It's sand lol. You can rinse it but it's not as bad as play box sand. I don't know the brand I got. It was light tan in color
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Each area will have its own PFS.
Leslies is one pool company.
SWP is another.
PWP is another...
Pool Filter Sand may also be available in hardware stores.
The key to PFS is that is is screened so all the particles are the same size (usually 30 mesh) so they will not pack together.
Play sand is a mix from dust to fine grit. This blend of sizes can compact in the aquarium, reducing the water movement through the substrate.
There are not a lot of different kinds of sand.
Basically you will have silica sand or limestone sand.
Silica is aquarium safe for hard and soft water fish. It does release silicates, which encourages diatoms.
Limestone based sand is OK in hard water tanks, but will raise the GH, KH, pH and TDS of the tank water if you try it for soft water tanks.
If there are any landscape, rock, masonry or similar stores (bark, soil, rock, stone... in bulk) these places will also carry many types of sand. Some loose, many bagged. Ask. Go out into the yard and see. Maybe there is a broken bag you could see the actual product.
the lub, I just got some top sand (paver sand). Nice color and texture, but I can see the fines. Thanks for the warning. I might just set up a baffle table and turn the hose on for a few hours. Think that will do it?
Leslies is one pool company.
SWP is another.
PWP is another...
Pool Filter Sand may also be available in hardware stores.
The key to PFS is that is is screened so all the particles are the same size (usually 30 mesh) so they will not pack together.
Play sand is a mix from dust to fine grit. This blend of sizes can compact in the aquarium, reducing the water movement through the substrate.
There are not a lot of different kinds of sand.
Basically you will have silica sand or limestone sand.
Silica is aquarium safe for hard and soft water fish. It does release silicates, which encourages diatoms.
Limestone based sand is OK in hard water tanks, but will raise the GH, KH, pH and TDS of the tank water if you try it for soft water tanks.
If there are any landscape, rock, masonry or similar stores (bark, soil, rock, stone... in bulk) these places will also carry many types of sand. Some loose, many bagged. Ask. Go out into the yard and see. Maybe there is a broken bag you could see the actual product.
the lub, I just got some top sand (paver sand). Nice color and texture, but I can see the fines. Thanks for the warning. I might just set up a baffle table and turn the hose on for a few hours. Think that will do it?
If you are near palm springs there is a place off the 10 before you get to ps that sells all kinds of great scaping rocks and sand. You can get 80lbs of black sand for $20 bucks
You can get Quikrete pool filter sand at Home Depot for cheeeap
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I'm going to be using Quikrete commercial grade medium sand. It's only $6 for 50 lbs. This sand is used for many purposes, but the description specifically mentions aquarium use. They also have a 100 lbs. bag for $8. If you are going to use 2 inches of sand for each of the 10 tanks, you'll need about 230 lbs. of sand. Three 100 lbs. bags will cost you $24 and give you a little wiggle room if you want to create slopes along the back. Also, this sand seems to be readily available at Home Depots in SoCal.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-100-lb-Commercial-Sand-196201/100318538
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-100-lb-Commercial-Sand-196201/100318538
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
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