haha sorry bout the confusion..maybe i shouldnt b lazy n actually spell the words out properly.. =]
sandy gravel dat dont hurt filter
- Thread starter LA213
- Start date
so play sand is no good..how do i know if its fish friendly or not? u guys ever heard of pool filters? is dat fish friendly?
I just got some black onyx sand for my new tank. Its really good for plants and for building up bio. I am a idiott thou ididnt rinse it to get rid of the fines and my tank is now cloudy as **** and when i put my fish in they will prob stir it up crazy and cloud it up lots.
i don't know how to tell you if it's safe or not... but if it came from a lfs then it's safe. if from homedepot...some are safe and some... i really don't know. i'll be using gravel.. not sand. it's a lot easier to clean and i believe it has more capabilities in having beneficial bacteria since sand is soo compact it eliminates the O2 in the sand. 
i use play sand and also quickrete 30 grit sand that you can buy from home depot. it doesn't really stir up at all and get to the filter like you would think. if in doubt put a pre filter like a foam on your filter intake. if in doubt in using home depot sand, test it out on some feeder fish. at $5 a bag, you won't lose much if it doesn't work. make sure you rinse it well a few times before adding to your tank. also the finer sand like the 30 grit sand compacts a lot more and can build anerobic areas compared to the play sand.
pool filter sand is the best go to any pool place ask for it...should only cost 5 to 8 bucks a big bag of it..
