Sand!!

[pHii]

Can I use play sand (from Home Depot) for my discus tank? I saw a lot peoples recommended use pool filter sand, is there any different? This set up going to be in my living room so I don't want to go with bare bottom, and I already have 150g bare bottom in my basement. This gonna be 75g set up with 5 green wild discus + driftwood+ couple plants. Still thinking about substrate. Thank you!!

[Second Hand Pat]

I have read play sand is too fine and clouds the water, and others say they use it without issues. Home Depot also sales pool filter sand. If you always try the play sand in a bucket with water and see if you like it.

[discuspaul]

As Pat mentioned, some will tell you that their experience with play sand is just fine, but generally speaking it's not only finer than PFS, but dustier and grittier, and needs a lot of rinsing to avoid clouding the tank water. More importantly than that, it's not nearly as dense as PFS, and depending on how you proceed to clean it when doing your tank cleansing routine, it can readily free-float into the water column when disturbed, and potentially get sucked into your filters and clog them up. It's also easily siphoned up when vacuuming. PFS has none of those characteristics - I've used both over the years, and imo the only advantage of play sand over PFS is the lesser cost.

[bleublaze55]

I have used play sand from Lowe's. It works alright. the only downside is that it will be sucked up when you vacuum the substrate. So expect to replace it every so often if you vacuum heavily.

[GrayLadyPat]

Right now, I am using a mix of about 50/50 play sand vs. PFS... Mostly, because I started with play sand, and I am in the process of switching over without trying to completely tear down a well balanced tank. I figure if I keep at it, I will be completely switched in the next month or two of water changes.

In my experiences, I have never had any problem with play sand clouding my tank if it is extremely well rinsed. The main reason I am switching is that play sand is not consistent. It may have some grains like powder and others the size of salt crystals. It may even have small pebbles in it. PFS has none of these inconsistencies, and is very uniform in color. It also vacuums well, and slides right out of my siphon whereas play sand will sometimes siphon right out the door with the rest of the water.

Just my two cents' worth.

[Skip]

home depot has 4 types of sand..

in the concrete/cement area
one is in a white paper sack.. play sand..
one is in a tan plastic type sack.. used for Morter mix in brick laying..

in garden section..
another brand of PLAY SAND in plastic bag>>
and there is a PAVER SAND.. not sure about how that would work..

but those are the "Play sands"

[dirtyplants]

Sand from the pool sand good quality quartz will cloud little, but will scratch your tank up badly. Volcanic sand is what Amano uses won't clog filtration, also will not compress, you can get on Amazon for about 11.00 for 40lbs but shipping will cost about 30.00. I use clay which is light won't scratch, clog or have any of the sand issues. It needs to be rinsed though and you can get for about 11.00 for 40lbs.

[pHii]

Thanks a lot guys. I will go with pool filter sand.

[discuspaul]

Good move - I suggest though, that you get your PFS from a swimming pool or spa supply store to ensure you're getting a good, clean/dust & grit-free quartz-based sand of uniform color, size, and good grade density, such as #20 grade.

Here's mine in white, which I've used in all my tanks for years, to give you an idea of the look & quality:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Anubias

I vacuum the sand with each wc and never siphon any up. As GrayLadyPat says, it will just move up into the vac tool head an inch or two and fall right back down.

[pHii]

Very nice Paul!! I really like it, hope it not gone hard to find!! :))

[aggriffin3]

I use PFS from Leslies Pool Supply, and love it. If you have an acrylic tank, be very careful. If not, just make sure you dont get any under the sponge, but in general, dont go below the sand line and you will be fine. Also, I dont lose that much sand via the vacuum, and what I do lose, goes in the bottom of the buckets, where I scoop it out once I have enough sand to make it worth while.

Art

[White Worm]

I used the play sand from home depot and didn't like it after a while. It compacts and darkens with time which wasn't pretty. Never had any other problems, just didn't like the look. Will try PFS next.

[tonytheboss1]

Very nice Paul!! I really like it, hope it not gone hard to find!! :))

:bandana: Not sure where you are but if there's an Ace Hardware nearbye http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11683357 . Much cleaner than play sand. Very uniform. "T"

[LisaT]

Just curious as I have not started setting up my discus tank yet...I've used sand used for cichlids in another tank that I had and I was constantly battling algae up against the glass. Also, I lost a good portion every time I vacuumed. I'm considering PFS for my discus tank, but I don't want the algae problem again. Will I have the same issues with PFS?

[pHii]

Been looking around 3-4 pool and spa supply but couldn't find white pool sand, so I bought 2 bag pool sand from Leslie pool supply.

[Mgardner]

Mine isn't white. Just PFS. It's kind of tan. Not sure you'd want white... It would show everything on the bottom of the tank.

[discuspaul]

Mine isn't white. Just PFS. It's kind of tan. Not sure you'd want white... It would show everything on the bottom of the tank.

Yes it does, and that's why I use it - so I can vac up everything I can see that's on that sand bottom. That keeps the discus tank squeaky clean, all the time -which is also what I want.

[OC Discus]

Home Depot also has pool filter sand in the pool section. The girl working said she didn't think they had it. I went to the pool section and searched. There was a whole pallet. Doesn't take much at all to cover the bottom. Just rinse it good. About 1/3 5 gallon bucket covers the bottom of a 55 gallon tank. The stuff will last forever.


home depot has 4 types of sand..

in the concrete/cement area
one is in a white paper sack.. play sand..
one is in a tan plastic type sack.. used for Morter mix in brick laying..

in garden section..
another brand of PLAY SAND in plastic bag>>
and there is a PAVER SAND.. not sure about how that would work..

but those are the "Play sands"

[OC Discus]

Nice planted tank. What is your feeding/wc regimen? Filtration and plant care?


Good move - I suggest though, that you get your PFS from a swimming pool or spa supply store to ensure you're getting a good, clean/dust & grit-free quartz-based sand of uniform color, size, and good grade density, such as #20 grade.

Here's mine in white, which I've used in all my tanks for years, to give you an idea of the look & quality:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Anubias

I vacuum the sand with each wc and never siphon any up. As GrayLadyPat says, it will just move up into the vac tool head an inch or two and fall right back down.

[discuspaul]

Nice planted tank. What is your feeding/wc regimen? Filtration and plant care?

I feed small amounts 4-6 times a day - everything from blackworms, bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, krill, to good flakes, pellets, granules, crisps, spirulina - whatever - they eat it all.

On my main 75 gal planted discus tank I use 2 A/C 110 HOB's. I do 3 - 60%/70% wc's per week.
The tank is low-tech, with 2 X 39w T5- HO's - lit 7 hrs/day.
For the plants, I use root tab ferts and dose Excel with Flourish Comp. Supp., and NPK Plant-grow twice a week.

[OC Discus]

Its working for you.


I feed small amounts 4-6 times a day - everything from blackworms, bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, krill, to good flakes, pellets, granules, crisps, spirulina - whatever - they eat it all.

On my main 75 gal planted discus tank I use 2 A/C 110 HOB's. I do 3 - 60%/70% wc's per week.
The tank is low-tech, with 2 X 39w T5- HO's - lit 7 hrs/day.
For the plants, I use root tab ferts and dose Excel with Flourish Comp. Supp., and NPK Plant-grow twice a week.

[dkeef]

I feed small amounts 4-6 times a day - everything from blackworms, bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, krill, to good flakes, pellets, granules, crisps, spirulina - whatever - they eat it all.

On my main 75 gal planted discus tank I use 2 A/C 110 HOB's. I do 3 - 60%/70% wc's per week.
The tank is low-tech, with 2 X 39w T5- HO's - lit 7 hrs/day.
For the plants, I use root tab ferts and dose Excel with Flourish Comp. Supp., and NPK Plant-grow twice a week.

hey paul, if u had BB tank, would u say you would do much less WC to keep good water quality vs having sand?

[OC Discus]

Also, do you use a rapid water change method, or do you vacuum the bottom each time?


Its working for you.

[discuspaul]

hey paul, if u had BB tank, would u say you would do much less WC to keep good water quality vs having sand?

I'm quite sure I would do about the same - 70% changes 3 X a week.


Also, do you use a rapid water change method, or do you vacuum the bottom each time?

I do a full tank cleansing with each wc - substrate vacuum, interior glass wall wipedowns, filter media changes or rinses, plant trimmings, etc.

[dkeef]

thinking of going with PFS like u Paul.

[discuspaul]

thinking of going with PFS like u Paul.

You won't be sorry you did, David.
When you find white PFS, I can give you a couple of small tips on how to keep it looking fresh and clean over the long term.

[dkeef]

that's great. I think I saw some white PFS at leslies pool before. it was a bit more expensive but only by few bucks...

I hope this will be the end of my nitrate problems.