Pavestone high desert play sand
- Thread starter Pmoney101
- Start date
The biggest problem I found with playsand, is its grain size.
It is very small and easily stirred up, which can allow it to get into filters and ruin impellers, especially if you have fish that are large enough to stir it up, or mouth and spit it around.
After a while an opposite problem occurs where it compacts and if you have high mineral content water can become cement like (in one tank, it bonded completely with the bottom glass).
Using something like pool filter sand that has dense (heavier) grains, and is inert chemically, and made to be backwashed and quickly settle, is a better choice.
The impeller above became scarred and stripped after I tried play sand, which too easily became sucked into filtration equipment. The inside housing of the filter also wore away into a figure 8, causing cavitation and eventual replacement of the entire pump.
It is very small and easily stirred up, which can allow it to get into filters and ruin impellers, especially if you have fish that are large enough to stir it up, or mouth and spit it around.
After a while an opposite problem occurs where it compacts and if you have high mineral content water can become cement like (in one tank, it bonded completely with the bottom glass).
Using something like pool filter sand that has dense (heavier) grains, and is inert chemically, and made to be backwashed and quickly settle, is a better choice.
The impeller above became scarred and stripped after I tried play sand, which too easily became sucked into filtration equipment. The inside housing of the filter also wore away into a figure 8, causing cavitation and eventual replacement of the entire pump.
Thanks I'll try and find some pool filter sand my next trip to home depotThe biggest problem I found with playsand, is its grain size.
It is very small and easily stirred up, which can allow it to get into filters and ruin impellers, especially if you have fish that are large enough to stir it up, or mouth and spit it around.
After a while an opposite problem occurs where it compacts and if you have high mineral content water can become cement like (in one tank, it bonded completely with the bottom glass).
Using something like pool filter sand that has dense (heavier) grains, and is inert chemically, and made to be backwashed and quickly settle, is a better choice.
The impeller above became scarred and stripped after I tried play sand, which too easily became sucked into filtration equipment. The inside housing of the filter also wore away into a figure 8, causing cavitation and eventual replacement of the entire pump.