Pool Sand vs. Play Sand

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
searching online i found that chromite sand is alot heavier than silica sand but im having trouble finding more information on it's affects with water chemistry. it says they use chromium to make stainless steel so MAYBE it's fish safe, also it's a nice black color.
 
http://www.weiku.com/products/5445611/Black_Magnetic_Sand_Chromite_Sand.html ?

Being used to MAKE stainless doesnt make it anywhere near safe.


Playsand, rinse well looks more natural. High powered filters can blow it around
Pool Filter sand, rinse most sand is white. High powered filters can blow it around.

I have both I will do either of them over and over and over again. PLaysand tank has sponge filter on the bottom. When I rinse it some sand comes out, but when you have a 15"+koi its bound to happen. The PFS tank all the filters are up on top so naturally no sand gets in the filters and the biggest fish is a 5" syno decorus. My canister filter actually filled 75% up with PFS because the big pump got moved and blew everything in the inlets direction. Its sand, it moves.
 
after using both pfs and play sand i agree pfs was alot less headache . but if you dont mind the extra work play sand is pretty neat to have in a tank
 
I would rinse the pool filter sand one time.

It's not as dirty as playsand, but you can't just dump it in and have crystal clear water - at least from my experience. Rinsing it once was easy and worth it IMO.
 
I went play sand on my 75 gallon. For fish only its fine I guess. But it does contain a crap ton of silica, in which diatoms build on, in which brown algae will feed (crap is like fertilizer) if your nitrates start to run high....and trust me it's a nightmare when this happens lol

Also on a tank that large (220), play sand is going to take forever to settle, we are talking days here. And this is every time you vacuum, knock it up into the water etc. It's super thin and almost dust like in my experience. It will also fill your XP3 up with sand if you run the intake low. It did mine at least.

I am building a 135 gallon right now, and am only using live sand mixed with a few pounds of Aragonite. Figured I would do it right this time around lol
 
I dont know what kind of play sand you people are buying but mine doesnt float in the water for days. I pour it in, it goes to the bottom and thats that. Maybe you are all confusing sand with not washing every particle 100%
 
ITHURTZ said:
I dont know what kind of play sand you people are buying but mine doesnt float in the water for days. I pour it in, it goes to the bottom and thats that. Maybe you are all confusing sand with not washing every particle 100%
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I've never had any problems with it either. I usually put it in a 5 gallon bucket and run a hose through while mixing and the water will run clear in about 15-20 minutes which it should then be perfectly fine to put in the tank.
 
never used pool sand but i hear great things. I've ALWAYS gotten all of my sand from Home Depot, gravel too. Just rinse it first and you're good to go. Also, it's literally a fraction of the price you'd pay at ANY pet store.
 
I got a 100 lb bag of fine white commercial stand from home depot for 6 bucks. Its only a few bucks more but you get double the ammount. I must say it is way better looking to they eye then pool filter sand or play sand and washes just as easy as i had play sand before upgrading to my 75 and i like the commercial 10x better
 
I got a 100 lb bag of fine white commercial sand from home depot for 6 bucks. Its only a few bucks more but you get double the ammount. I had play sand before upgrading a few months back and i am impressed. It washes just as quickly as play/pool filter sand if not quicker and doesnt cloud the water up to bad when doing a water change which is a plus. It's also more appealing to the eye. I like it 10x better then the other sand
 
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