Pool Filter Sand

Does anyone have a specific favorite brand of pool filter sand?

I'm looking to transition from gravel to sand, and am looking for some opinions.

I would like black Tahitian sand, but that's a lot of cash.

PFS is cheap, and I hear good things about it.

Please share opinions and experiences.

Thank you

I have been using HTH PFS from Ace Hardware for about 6 months now and love it. I think it was around $20 for 100 pounds. My old sand was too sharp for my cories and loaches but this stuff works really well. It only comes in an off-white color though if that makes a difference.

I love it and use it in almost all of my tanks.

Brand I use.
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A couple of pictures under different lighting.
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It's a tan color and a good sized grain compared to some of the other sands I've tried. The pfs is on the right.  I have bought mine at pool/spa supply stores and also at McClendon's.
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I am using this same brand in my first setup, a 75G African.  +1 to all the things Betty said (without all of the pictorial evidence to back it up!).  I rinsed an entire bag using three 5 gallon buckets in about 20 minutes, and even then I think it was overkill.  No real particles came out of my buckets after the 3rd or 4th rinse.  I've got it in the tank now, but no water yet, so can't tell you for sure how it looks, but so far against the black background and under my new current satellite+ LED with all the colors, it looks pretty great.  I got mine at the local pool supply store in Silverdale.

Thank you all very much. This is exactly what I was looking for!

Now to devise the best way to change gravel to sand without breaking the tank down...

If you have fish that like to dig and spit the sand all over the place... make sure to get a pre-filter sponge on your intake so the sand will not tear up the impellers. A buddy has a cichlid tank and this saved his HOB.

I very much so agree with the pre-filter. I had a cichlid that loved to screw up my filters impellers!

But I also prefer sand over rock by far!

I run an FX5, so I'll need to figure out a way to avoid getting sand in my filter without detracting from the aesthetics of the tank.

I've done it a couple of different ways if the tank was already up and running.  

One thing I would recommend before making the switch is to do some serious gravel vacuuming in the couple of days leading up to switch day.  You'd be surprised how much shtuff will be stirred up if you don't -- and probably even if you do.

The first way I changed over was to remove all of the fish into coolers. Then I used a large aquarium net that I wasn't worried about damaging and used that to scoop the gravel out.  After a large water change and more vacuuming, I used a big plastic cup to slowly lower the sand down to the bottom and carefully poured it out without getting it too stirred up. This minimizes the amount if cloudiness in the water.

The other way was doing half of the tank at a time.  I moved all of the decor to one side of the tank, removed the gravel, then moved the decor to the other side and did the same.  The fish moved themselves over to the side I wasn't working on. Then again, large water change and carefully adding the sand.

It's a good idea to allow the sand to come to room temperature if you have just washed it with cold water. And make sure your equipment is turned off before you start adding the sand.  It will damage hang-on-back  filters if you get much sucked in there. I've never had any problems with canister filters though and I always find a good amount in them when I clean them.

Betty wrote:I've done it a couple of different ways if the tank was already up and running.  

One thing I would recommend before making the switch is to do some serious gravel vacuuming in the couple of days leading up to switch day.  You'd be surprised how much shtuff will be stirred up if you don't -- and probably even if you do.

The first way I changed over was to remove all of the fish into coolers. Then I used a large aquarium net that I wasn't worried about damaging and used that to scoop the gravel out.  After a large water change and more vacuuming, I used a big plastic cup to slowly lower the sand down to the bottom and carefully poured it out without getting it too stirred up. This minimizes the amount if cloudiness in the water.

The other way was doing half of the tank at a time.  I moved all of the decor to one side of the tank, removed the gravel, then moved the decor to the other side and did the same.  The fish moved themselves over to the side I wasn't working on. Then again, large water change and carefully adding the sand.

It's a good idea to allow the sand to come to room temperature if you have just washed it with cold water. And make sure your equipment is turned off before you start adding the sand.  It will damage hang-on-back  filters if you get much sucked in there. I've never had any problems with canister filters though and I always find a good amount in them when I clean them.

Thank you for your explanation, Betty.

I was planning on getting a thin sheet of acrylic that'll fit snuggly between the walls of my tank so that I can section it off while changing the substrate. I will definitely be moving my fish into a cooler or bucket during the change...The majority of them are skittish to begin with, and bounce around like pinballs when doing anything in the tank.

I have red hook silver dollars so I know what you mean about skittish. When I swapped out gravel for sand in my 210g I used a plastic strainer from the dollar store to get the majority of gravel then used a fish net to get the smaller amounts and finally a hose to suck out water wand gravel through a strainer to catch any small gravel. I used the CaribSea Peace River which has a nice 1-2mm grain size and does not get stirred up too easily. I also raised the intakes of my FX5's off the bottom a couple of inches and have had no problems yet with sand in my filters. But then I really dont have diggers in there.

DMD123 wrote:I have red hook silver dollars so I know what you mean about skittish. When I swapped out gravel for sand in my 210g I used a plastic strainer from the dollar store to get the majority of gravel then used a fish net to get the smaller amounts and finally a hose to suck out water wand gravel through a strainer to catch any small gravel. I used the CaribSea Peace River which has a nice 1-2mm grain size and does not get stirred up too easily. I also raised the intakes of my FX5's off the bottom a couple of inches and have had no problems yet with sand in my filters. But then I really dont have diggers in there.

Good advice, DMD123. I'm pretty sure my wife will be pissed if I use the plastic strainer we have in the kitchen, and I've been meaning to raise up my intakes on the FX5 for a while.

Easier to get the stuff from the dollar store than face the wrath of the wife!   

i use and like the target pfs. i am also looking for the mystic white brand which is actually white in color rather than the regular tan. cant seem to find it in Spokane and shipping it runs about $30. too rich for my blood.

Since I've never used sand in a tank I have a newb question.

Does sand use the same calculations as gravel for the suggested 2lbs of gravel per lb of gallons?

125g tank = 250lbs of sand?

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FWIW, I bought 2 50 lb bags for a 48x15 75 gallon tank, with about 35% of the bottom covered by hardscape rocks. It averages about 2 inches deep, and I only used 1 bag, and only 80 % of that bag. So, definitely not 250 pounds of sand! I'd say 2 bags, max, depending on your tank size.

i usually do about an inch deep sand bed to avoid toxic gas pockets building up. never paid attention to the lbs per gallon ratio though.

iandraco wrote:i usually do about an inch deep sand bed to avoid toxic gas pockets building up. 

Whatt? I'm new to sand, does that happen?

I don't have any gas issues with 2" of sand in a couple of my tanks. I didn't have any bubbles in my walstad dirt tanks either (PFS cap), though I did soak the soil in a bucket for a week or two previous to planting.

Any idea what makes a substrate more prone to gas buildup? I've read about the dangers many times, but I've never encountered them. I do tend to keep my substrates under 3" in depth regardless of grain size.

So I picked up 200lbs of CEMEX Lapis Lustre from Manufacturer Minerals. Was wondering if anybody has used this brand before, and what kind of washing does it require?

I have read that it requires very little washing because its already been cleaned, kiln dried, and is ready to use in the aquarium as is, but I wanted to get other opinions before going Gung Ho.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

I have the Lapis Lustre in my 72g bowfront. I like the look but the last batch I got was pretty bad for consistency of grain size. I went for the slightly larger grain and found over half my batch was too small for my needs. Glad I had purchased extra. Otherwise I found it easy to clean and worked good otherwise.

DMD123 wrote:I have the Lapis Lustre in my 72g bowfront. I like the look but the last batch I got was pretty bad for consistency of grain size. I went for the slightly larger grain and found over half my batch was too small for my needs. Glad I had purchased extra. Otherwise I found it easy to clean and worked good otherwise.

Thanks for the info, DMD. I'm glad to hear that I wont have to wash this stuff 4-5 times.

Have you seen how geophagus react to this type of sand?

Should be fine. I had bichir on mine and they would dig and bury themselves in it with no issues. Its a nice heavy sand with no sharp edges so I think the geos would do just fine.

Any before and after pics? We want to see pictures of your tank transformation.   

DMD123 wrote:Any before and after pics? We want to see pictures of your tank transformation.   

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This is the before pic of the tank. My apologies if the picture sucks, mom never said I'd be a photographer.

I've got a large manzanita stump coming tomorrow, and picked up some java ferns from fishNAbowl to help break up the amount of plastic I have in my tank.

And I have my daughter washing the sand right now (hopefully). 200lbs of sand is a pretty big order, but all of the gravel was taken out of the last two days...Hopefully the sand will be put in tonight, because my geo red heads are coming tomorrow.

Looked good before! Cant wait for the after pics.

Thanks, DMD123!

I have 4 geo red heads, 3 green phantom L200 coming tomorrow...Will thin out my spotted silver dollars in a month or so, and hope that my aequidens jenaro herrera grow to be big and beautiful.

Might be a bit crowded in the 125g, but it'll help diffuse aggression until I get can a larger tank.

The spotted SD's do stay smaller but after a while the school can really dominate a tank. My Red Hooks cause a huge commotion during feeding time, like a pack of hungry piranha. I have 7 in my 210g and am considering taking it down to 5 to see if it calms things down.

DMD123 wrote:The spotted SD's do stay smaller but after a while the school can really dominate a tank. My Red Hooks cause a huge commotion during feeding time, like a pack of hungry piranha. I have 7 in my 210g and am considering taking it down to 5 to see if it calms things down.  

Yeah I was looking to remove the majority of females, and leave 6 males / 2-3 females. It should make the males show their patterns more, in theory   

Ive had my Red Hooks do the mating dance a couple times but have never seen eggs drop or anything. If I knew they were able to reproduce in my tank I might change my mind since they are so expensive for my variety. Would be nice to sell off babies for a bit of money.

DMD123 wrote:Ive had my Red Hooks do the mating dance a couple times but have never seen eggs drop or anything. If I knew they were able to reproduce in my tank I might change my mind since they are so expensive for my variety. Would be nice to sell off babies for a bit of money.

From what I've heard its nearly impossible to get them to breed in aquaria. I would love to get spotted silver dollars to spawn, they run $15+ for quarter size babies in the LFS.

They sometimes will come into Petsmart and they will have their sales going. But it is hit and miss as to them having the spotted in the mix.

All the sand went in perfectly with very little clouding, washed 200lbs only once and it was exceptionally clean.

Waiting on the stump, supposed to be here today. Geophagus Tapajos Red Heads look amazing, but seem to be breathing heavy even after a 1 hour acclimation. The L200 Green Phantoms are super nice.

Will post pics once everything is rescaped

Sounds like some nice fish. Cant wait for the pics!

So here's what it looks like after the substrate switch. Its CEMEX Lapis Lustre, which is around $15 per 100lbs at Manufacturer Minerals. It was very clean, and easy to wash. Had very little cloudiness to it upon installation. Its not entirely finished being scaped yet, but I'm trying to find my green thumb again...Been a long time since I had plants.

I scooped the sand into a pillow case that was used to wash the substrate, the sand was poured into a 5 gallon Lowes bucket, and to install the sand I just took several large clear bags that I've collected from LFS and stuffed them full of sand. Rolled up the ends of the bags, and lowered them into the aquarium. The pressure of the water sucked the bags tight, and I just had to grab the bottom of the bags and lift, the sand came out without much hassle.

The stump on the left side came in on Thursday, and has been sitting in hot water ever since. Its being held down by a manzanita branch, and the stump is leaching tannins big time into the tank, but its not something I haven't dealt with before. Got it from a place down in California for $40 plus $16 S&H, was a really good deal for such a nice piece of wood.

I'm open to comments or suggestions, and thanks to everybody who commented about PFS...It helped me make my decision, and so far I'm very happy with the choice.

Cheers   

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Wanted to post up some pics of the new addition to my tank. The geo's are quick, and tough to get a good clean picture of and the plecos never come out to get a good picture of them either.

And I'm not sure why they are sideways

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Looks good! I like how it turned out.   

That orangehead in the first pic has great color.   

DMD123 wrote:Looks good! I like how it turned out.   

Thanks! I picked up some Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red from Aquarium Co-Op, and looking to get more Java Fern and some moss.

The tanks current residents are not the most plant friendly, so I'm looking for hardy plants that can handle the low light of the Satellite +

dwarfpike wrote:That orangehead in the first pic has great color.   

Thanks dwarfpike! Yeah I'm really happy with those geo's, they have some crazy attitude on them and amazing patterns.

Love the look of the pothos running the full length of tank and the fish look great. Wonderful job on the rescape.

cichlid-gal wrote:Love the look of the pothos running the full length of tank and the fish look great.  Wonderful job on the rescape.

Thank you very much. The pothos can get unwieldy at times, but much less so now that the species of the tank are much smaller. (large cichlids x high nitrate levels = Jumanji!)

The new piece of manzanita is leaching tannins like crazy, which adds another nice dynamic to the tank however I have worries that it might lower my already low PAR readings from the Satellite+ LEDS.

I'm trying to get some low light and very low light plants to help remove the plastic plants from my tank, but we'll see how a partially planted tank works after 2 years of having large cichlids and no plants.

Cheers!  

CMooreCichlids wrote:I picked up some Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red from Aquarium Co-Op, and looking to get more Java Fern and some moss.

The tanks current residents are not the most plant friendly, so I'm looking for hardy plants that can handle the low light of the Satellite +

I was wondering how it was working with the Silver dollars and the plants....

Missgrumpygills wrote:

iandraco wrote:i usually do about an inch deep sand bed to avoid toxic gas pockets building up. 

Whatt? I'm new to sand, does that happen?

If your sand bed is too deep you run risk of anaerobic pockets forming. These are colonies of bacteria that produce things like methane gas. If a bubble of this stuff gets large enough to erupt it can poison/suffocate your fish, plus it smells terrible. The best way to combat this is to ensure your sand gets mixed enough, either manually using a stick or something, or through things like Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

DMD123 wrote:

CMooreCichlids wrote:I picked up some Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red from Aquarium Co-Op, and looking to get more Java Fern and some moss.

The tanks current residents are not the most plant friendly, so I'm looking for hardy plants that can handle the low light of the Satellite +

I was wondering how it was working with the Silver dollars and the plants....

So far I've only seen one instance where a Wendtii Red was being nibbled on, and the Java Ferns seem to be left alone.

Pretty soon I'll be thinning the number of silver dollars in the tank, and the plants should have more of a chance to thrive, but right now the plants are low to the substrate and keeping the silver dollars well fed will divert their attention from the plants, in theory anyways.

bronzefighter wrote:

Missgrumpygills wrote:

iandraco wrote:i usually do about an inch deep sand bed to avoid toxic gas pockets building up. 

Whatt? I'm new to sand, does that happen?

If your sand bed is too deep you run risk of anaerobic pockets forming. These are colonies of bacteria that produce things like methane gas. If a bubble of this stuff gets large enough to erupt it can poison/suffocate your fish, plus it smells terrible. The best way to combat this is to ensure your sand gets mixed enough, either manually using a stick or something, or through things like Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

There's currently 4 geophagus Tapajos in the tank that'll help mix the sand up a bit, however I plan on adding a bit of sand stirring to my weekly maintenance to avoid any pockets

CMooreCichlids wrote:So far I've only seen one instance where a Wendtii Red was being nibbled on, and the Java Ferns seem to be left alone.

Pretty soon I'll be thinning the number of silver dollars in the tank, and the plants should have more of a chance to thrive, but right now the plants are low to the substrate and keeping the silver dollars well fed will divert their attention from the plants, in theory anyways.

I have wanted to try my hand at real plants one day but I dont think they would have a chance. Every plastic plant I own has nibble marks on them.