I just set up a 55 gallon and I would like to put sand in it and have it settled before I put the fish in it. I am running a tight budget now and don't want to spend much money and definitely don't want to buy the expensive stuff at petco/petsmart. Other than pool filter sand, I am unsure of if anything else works. I was told I could find pool filter sand at home depot, but when I checked they either really didn't have it or it went by another name. There were several kinds of sand; play sand, tube sand, leveling grouting sand, but I didn't want to waste my money on something that wouldn't work. If I can't find it within this week I will just use some cheap gravel I found at the landscape store. I would really like to try sand for once, but if I can't find pool filter sand, will anything else work? Can someone please clarify?
Sand
- Thread starter Batboi3000
- Start date
I have used play sand and hated it. I wouldn't use leveling sand.
My pool filter sand is from a pool shop. Just look for a shop that services pools or Jacuzzis. They should have it.
My pool filter sand is from a pool shop. Just look for a shop that services pools or Jacuzzis. They should have it.
Thanks! Any other thoughts? What about the sand in the tube bags? Is that garbage? That is about the only thing I can find in town. Otherwise i'm going to get some cheap pea gravel from the landscape store and wash that off. Let me know if you have any more thoughts.
I just called a hardware store in town and they have something called "silica sand" for $8 a 100lb bag. Good price! He said it would probably be okay. It's the same stuff autobody guys put in their guns to strip paint off a car. It is a whitish gray color. Anyone ever heard of this? Would it work?
Ive heard silica not being all that good for sand sifters like geos and whatnot, but I know people have used it wil great results. I HATE playsand. Its so messy, sticks to fish, ruins filters, and just doesnt look very good. Im using 3m quartz sand from a pool store. The stuff is awesome and sinks right to the bottem, never stired up.
i bought play sand from home depot $5 for 50 lbs. not bad just had to wash every bit about 20 times! looks real nice now though and doesn't cloud water.
FishingOut;4615489; said:
I would buy pool filter sand, I just can't find it as I'm pretty much in the middle of no where South Dakota, and Sioux Falls (2 hours away) isn't the most convenient place to get to. I'm putting a red devil in this 55 for now, and I want to get the sand in before I get him in. Right now he's behind a divider in my 125 but still managing to stress out the others by his presence so he needs to go and get some more swim room away from the other kids. I was in Omaha Nebraska this last weekend and couldn't find pool filter sand in the time frame I had. Sadness. But from what I have read in the last few minutes of researching I think this silica business will work fine for the big red guy!
I think you'll be fine with the sand that you are getting. But as posted several times earlier, Pool Filter Sand is one of the best choices with a cheap price to match. Some people prefer more expensive sand but I have no complaints about PFS. When ever you come across PFS, buy a few bags and stash them until you are ready to remodel your tank. What ever you get, don't forget to rinse...rinse...rinse.
I definitely would have gotten the PFS. Gruff, I'm planning on stocking up when I run across some PFS. I love the look of this silica so far. It is kind of a whitish color. I got a 100lb bag of this silica sand last night and rinsed it what I thought was thorough enough. However, I don't think I rinsed enough as the water is fairly cloudy. Looking into the front of the tank it's not bad. But trying to look from one end on the side to the other, you can't see through. Do I just need to do a little water change to help that or will the filter take care of the cloudiness?
You may have to do another water change. I had the same problem when I used play sand. You don't want too much sand flowing into your filter. Then just let it settle. It really doesn't take long. I turned off the lights so I wouldn't have to keep worrying about the cloudiness. Cloudy water really bugs me! The following morning it was crystal clear. Good luck to you.