Sand as substrate

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I use "Mystic white" Pool filter sand by U.S. Silica 1-800-258-2500 it is inert and very pretty. See if you can get the large size I got standard and I like it but I think bigger grains would have been better as an after thought.

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I love the stuff!!! Only thing like somone said above lighter colors tend to make fish lighter as they try to blend in. It does make your pictures better though because there is more light and more contrast. I guess you cant have everything....lol
 
Going with a very white sand will show every speck of debris, especially with wood eating plecos. Black shows quite a bit also so a tan, off white or even a red that someone on here has will look the best. To clean just hover vacuum above substrate. Depending on fish stock you may never have to stir sand as they will do it for you.
 
I switched my 46 gallon over to PFS. And I love it. Once the tank is settled, it's so heavy that it doesn't float at all. I have my intake pipe only 2 inches above the sand bed and and have not had any sand sucked up.

For cleaning its alot easier, I use my phython to clean it and push it down into the sand just like I used to for gravel. The only difference is the timing and how strong the water flow is in the python. For normal water changes I just "hover" over the sand to sweep up any mess.

That being said, I would never switch to sand for a tank holding any "large" fish. I'm sure they would enjoy it more, but there poop would show up way too much.
 
I put sand in my tank that came with it when I bought the tank. The bag it came in said "All around the World" and was marked $39.99. (Not a very big bag but just enough for my 55 gal) Its very white & verrrry pretty. But its so fine I had to leave a layer of gravel underneath. I put pics up in the photo lounge if you care. the thread is called "finally got pics" with a little thumbs up =)
 
i also use the mystic white pool filter sand and love it to this point. i have very fish fish in there right now but it is not stirred up easy, it is not super fine, its cheap and it looks quite nice. i probably will use that in all my tanks from here out.
 
BushFishRox;1647032; said:
Someone on here tried it, and while they were washing it out found a whole bunch of critters, so I wouldnt do it.
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Would that person be me? Anyway, I'm against beach sand. Learn from experience. The sand doesn't seem to fully settle either causing the water to be cloudy. Going to have the horrible task of removing every bit of it from my 5'. Argh. :D
 
i use T- grade color quartz from 3- m it comes in different colors and is just like sand but better its cleaner and you do not have to rinse it out as much and it is heavier then sand , my fish love it
 
cornbread_5;2230686; said:
i use T- grade color quartz from 3- m it comes in different colors and is just like sand but better its cleaner and you do not have to rinse it out as much and it is heavier then sand , my fish love it
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Where did you buy yours from?
 
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