Quikrete play sand

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J

jagd24

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 20, 2009
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michigan
ok back story:

2 years ago get a killer deal on a 125 tall tank which came with 3, 5 gallon buckets of red gravel. I use the gravel from the start knowing at some point I wanted a more natural look.

fast forward to a month ago. I have to move, so it was my chance to get rid of the hideous red gravel. I wanted a natural look like i said, so I checked into some pool filter sand (I didnt like how white it looked). I decided to go with the quickrete play sand......horrible choice. If I try to "gravel vac" with the sand all it does is get sucked up. Its not heavy enough to vaccum....and my fish are messy eaters. This is all coming when i try to switch up foods and I realize they wont eat sinking pellets. I dont want to mess up my system....so I try to clean up the uneaten food. To bad half the sand comes up with it.


man I wish I would have went with the pool filter sand, or a "heavier" sand. So just warning anyone who wants to buy this stuff
 
bits don't sink down into the sand, so there is no need to stick your gravel vac down into it. Instead, hover the tip of the vac just above the sand surface. The poop/food/gunk gets sucked up, and the sand stays.

Secondly, if you do want to mix up the sand, you can stick the vac in and pull it out, then gently shake the sand out.

Its a bit of a learning curve, and you'll always get *some* sand out. Typically on a 10 gallon water change on my 55g, I'll end up with about a tablespoon in the bottom of the bucket each time. 2 tbs of sand per waterchange.

I love the stuff, but it takes some getting used to.
 
I have playsand in my 55 and hate it. Its to small and compacts bad. And just doesnt look as good as pool sand i think
 
As far as "vacuuming" sand is concerned, kallmond said it pretty well. You don't actually vacuum sand. The thing you hate about the sand you have, you'd hate about PFS as well.

For what it's worth, I have Sakrete's All Purpose Sand that I'm about to start fish-testing in the next few days when the tank's done cycling. So far though, it looks good. I also have Colorquartz, which is quite a bit heavier in make up than PFS, and MUCH heavier than playsand. The vacuuming process is the same for both.
 
Gervahlt;4448026; said:
As far as "vacuuming" sand is concerned, kallmond said it pretty well. You don't actually vacuum sand. The thing you hate about the sand you have, you'd hate about PFS as well.

For what it's worth, I have Sakrete's All Purpose Sand that I'm about to start fish-testing in the next few days when the tank's done cycling. So far though, it looks good. I also have Colorquartz, which is quite a bit heavier in make up than PFS, and MUCH heavier than playsand. The vacuuming process is the same for both.
Click to expand...

I can pretty much vacuum my blasting sand like gravel. :naughty:
 
I know youre not supposed to "vaccum" it....maybe I need a new python because its not really even doing a good job skimming the surface. I might be moving to the blasting sand soon I like the way it looks.
 
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