I've used pool filter sand as well and that I have as much of a trouble with it. I ended up switching to moonlight Sand by caribsea. I literally use a air line hose to vacuum up the detritus sitting on the surface of the sand. My Royal pleco likes to chomp away at the bogwood which leaves little specks all over the place as well as fish waste. Just takes a few extra minutes while doing my water change to clean it up, to me it's worth it.
Gravel
- Thread starter BeePike
- Start date
I've used pool filter sand as well and that I have as much of a trouble with it. I ended up switching to moonlight Sand by caribsea. I literally use a air line hose to vacuum up the detritus sitting on the surface of the sand. My Royal pleco likes to chomp away at the bogwood which leaves little specks all over the place as well as fish waste. Just takes a few extra minutes while doing my water change to clean it up, to me it's worth it.
PFS is not all equal. Some of it has really inconsistent grain sizes. Companies change there suppliers all the time so I couldn't even make a good recommendation. I haven't needed sand in a while but when I do I go check a bunch of different places and see who has the most consistent stuff at that moment. The good news is that living in Texas there are lots of different places to get it from.
I have really wanted to try one of the colored products like spectraquartz, colorquartz, permaquartz, etc but I have never found a great source for it locally. A few years ago I found someone willing to sell me a full pallet but that was way more than I wanted to deal with.
Lol I keep extra impellers and shafts on stand by I got 10 months use with no intake cover before having to replace the shaft.
I been using sand for years and I don't remember ever replacing a single impeller due to sand. I still think a lot of it depends on what sand you use and how well you wash it. Luck is probably a factor as well.
My Guianacara literally carry the sand up to the filter intake and spit it in there to get it out of the way when they dig.
My Guianacara literally carry the sand up to the filter intake and spit it in there to get it out of the way when they dig.
Play sand is too light/small for me. I lose some due to gravity siphoning. I've found pool filter sand, size #20 silica sand does not get sucked up as easily, and still stays small enough for my cichlids who like to dig. I haven't tried any sand sifting species recently with it. One thing to note is that #20 size does not compact, so I don't have worry about dead zones in the sand like play sand, where it will actually turn black underneath.
I've used lots of different substrates over the years. Everything from home/hardware store pea gravel or "marble chips" (not really marble) for $3 per 60lb bag, expensive fortified for plants substrates, expensive fine black sand and many types of gravel.
To me, it depends on how big the tank is and what you intend to keep in the tank. Like mentioned above, some fish do much better with soft sand. Corys, lots of catfish for that matter and various cichlids pretty much need it to do well.
For my tank that has an oscar and a green severum, I like black gravel mixed with natural gravel. This hides the giant deuces they drop between weekly gravel vacs.
For my goldfish tank I use fine, round pebble natural gravel because they are constantly sucking it up and spitting it out.
For my 2 tanks with plants, one has a super fine natural gravel and the other black chunkier stuff. Both do well. Smaller tanks with sand and super fine substrate can be a challenge on water change day because it will stir up very easily.
To me, it depends on how big the tank is and what you intend to keep in the tank. Like mentioned above, some fish do much better with soft sand. Corys, lots of catfish for that matter and various cichlids pretty much need it to do well.
For my tank that has an oscar and a green severum, I like black gravel mixed with natural gravel. This hides the giant deuces they drop between weekly gravel vacs.
For my goldfish tank I use fine, round pebble natural gravel because they are constantly sucking it up and spitting it out.
For my 2 tanks with plants, one has a super fine natural gravel and the other black chunkier stuff. Both do well. Smaller tanks with sand and super fine substrate can be a challenge on water change day because it will stir up very easily.
