Pool filter sand?

[Bc chick]

Anything I need to keep in mind while buying pool filter sand?

[LizStreithorst]

I would advise you not to use any substrate unless you plan on ordering adult Discus.

[Bc chick]

I want a planted tank. Is there a certain size I was wondering. I see my post now. Did I just not wait long enough? Also why does my other post say last post by so and so but I don't see a post from them.

[LizStreithorst]

I can't answer your questions about the workings of the forum. Ricardo will have to do that for you.

If you want to put your Discus in a planted tank buy adults. I hope that you will be set up to do daily WC.

[rickztahone]

As Liz mentioned, avoid sand or any substrate for that matter unless you can get adults. If you get younger discus, you will have a hard time raising them with substrate.

[Bc chick]

I thought bb was for the breeders and people who want max growth. No?

[Bc chick]

Liz, you we're the so no so but when I clicked on her pic I saw your fish pic and thought you we're someone lol sheesh

[Bc chick]

So n so

[Bc chick]

Ricardo,
About the bb?

[LizStreithorst]

Liz, you we're the so no so but when I clicked on her pic I saw your fish pic and thought you we're someone lol sheesh

I don't understand what your are trying to say. If you don't want my advise I'll butt out.

[discuspaul]

Bc chick from Thunder Bay:

Please speak English properly so we can all understand what you're saying & asking, and then we can help you.

[Bc chick]

No no liz sorry not at all...i had asked why it said there was a post from so n so but i could not see a post from the. Well you were the "so n so" i just didnt recognize it was you because when i clicked on it i just saw your fish pic instead of the pic i see here. Im sorry. Didnt mean to confuse. Please NEVER butt out....thats why im here lol

[Bc chick]

Sorry discuspaul. My mistake i was in two threads with liz and i posted in wrong one. Needless to say the other thread is called learning. Btw i grew up in abbotsford lived there my whole life

[discuspaul]

To try & answer what I think your question is - :

I lived in Thunder Bay for several years from the late '60's until early '70, and I can't recall whether or not there was a pool supply store there at that time. If there is now, see if they have # 20 or # 30 grade density quartz-based silica pool filter sand - and if so, buy it, in whatever color(s) they have that appeals to you. Should be approx. $15 cdn for a 50 lb bag.
If there's no pool supply store, you might get it at a big box store, but just make sure it's true pool filter sand, and not any other type of sand. Hope this helps.

[Bc chick]

Small world. Thanks for the info.

[Larry Bugg]

I thought bb was for the breeders and people who want max growth. No?

So you are saying you don't want your discus to reach their potential or "max growth"?

[Kyla]

i am in thunder bay. craigs plumbing sells pool filter sand.

[Bc chick]

Well to be honest I haven't done enough research yet in that area so I haven't quite decided what is it about the bare bottom that makes them grow better also does a small discus make for an unhealthy discus

[Bc chick]

Do you know what collors?

[discuspaul]

Do you know what collors?

Are you asking about pool filter sand colors that may be available ?

If so, most stores carrying it will have it in only a beige/light brown/sandy color.
It can also be found though, in at least 2 shades of beige/brown, in white, and in a light greyish color.
Very occasionally, it might be found in a light pinkish white color.

[LizStreithorst]

Well to be honest I haven't done enough research yet in that area so I haven't quite decided what is it about the bare bottom that makes them grow better also does a small discus make for an unhealthy discus

You need to search around and read what folks say about grow outs in a planted tank. Some one who can search the forum more easily than I and will devote a bit of time to posting links will do it. Paul, an Admin here on Simply said in a talk at NADA that he did it once but it was so much work that he has never done it since. This is what it comes down to for me...Either you want a pretty tank with expendable.

As far as I'm concerned it comes down to this...Either you want a tank that is a beautiful work or art or you want to watch the fish.

[Kyla]

if u try a BB tank u will be shocked at how much waste is actually produced by the fish... the substrate can hide a lot of debris, even when siphoned regularly, so the BB allows u to keep a cleaner tank. i'd suggest to start off with BB and then add sand afterwards.

[Bc chick]

Thx for the info

[Bc chick]

Doesnt the debris sit on top of sand? If not, how do u siphone without sucking up sand?

[discuspaul]

It does sit on top of sand. And if you use PFS, which is denser, heavier, and larger granuled than many other sands, you can vacuum with a standard plastic vac tool, by hovering it approx. 1" over the sand. It'll collect any wastes without siphoning up any of the sand.
If some sand does flow up into the vac tool, it'll only rise an inch or so & drop right back down. No problem.
Been dong it for years.

[Bc chick]

How do i reply with the original post pasted in my reply

[discuspaul]

How do i reply with the original post pasted in my reply

Go to the original post & click on "Reply with Quote".
It will appear in a new panel (at the end of the thread) for your comments to be inserted below the quotation.

[Kyla]

sand is better than gravel, because most of the waste sits on top of it, whereas junk gets trapped between the crevices of gravel to rot. but i feel BB is much cleaner than sand, even pool filter sand, which is why ive been holding off on adding it to my discus tank. plus even with an 18inch endpiece for my siphon and i still manage to suck up the sand in my other tank lol

[megatrev62]

Please go bare bottom. It's the only way.

[Bc chick]

Im sorry but i just dont like the look at all. I cant help it. Im hoping when i get my 3d background in that it will change my mind

[LizStreithorst]

Like I said earlier. You either want a beautiful tank with plants and substrate or you want to focus on the fish. I remember what it was like when I was new. I thought that I could have both. After many months I discovered otherwise.

This is a Discus forum. Of course we consider doing right by the fish the first priority. We can't help it. We are Discus nuts! Others want a beautiful planted tank with Discus. Everyone want's to fulfill his dream in his own way.

[megatrev62]

Go with angels and forget about the discus.

[Bc chick]

Wow. How rude

[megatrev62]

Didn't mean to be sorry.

[Bc chick]

Oh ok. Thought u were. I cant help how i feel about the look but im assuming is because of the open back. Just lloks so empty. Im having a 3d background custom made. I made sure to ask for some ledges on the back wall that i can plant some plants. So im hoping thats gonna make up for having a empty bottom. Im trying to have the best of both worlds. A eye catching tank but bb for the discus.

[Filip]

Oh ok. Thought u were. I cant help how i feel about the look but im assuming is because of the open back. Just lloks so empty. Im having a 3d background custom made. I made sure to ask for some ledges on the back wall that i can plant some plants. So im hoping thats gonna make up for having a empty bottom. Im trying to have the best of both worlds. A eye catching tank but bb for the discus.

Nothing is strictly black or white BC chick . There are always 50 shades of gray in every rule :-).
If you leave the bottom bare and just add some driftwood with plants attached on it for more appealing look, I think youll be off to a good compromise.
That's just my opinion.

[Bc chick]

My thoughts exactly. That what im gonna try. Ill have the planter ledges on back wall and a piece of drift wood on each end with moss tied to make them look like trees. Ill have a sand waterfall off in the back somewhere. Other than that, empty bottom im thinking

[LizStreithorst]

You're doing fine, BC. BB with plants on the background will work just fine. Paint the bottom of the tank. Most of us use light blue but I think you would like beige better. Don't go with back if you are considering buying Pigeon Blood strains. Drift wood with Anubis on it is something else you might also want to consider.

[Bc chick]

If i recall cirrectly i think ricardo was talking about a white speckle paint that had look sand effect look. Cant remember where i read that. Ill have to ask him what it was called. I was thinking white because the background will be light grey stone color

[LizStreithorst]

Let me know what he says. I bought paint that was supposed to look like sand once. It had a sandy texture to it. It turned out that the sandy texture was only noticeable from the outside It looked smooth on the inside and it chipped off easily. I want to know if Ricardo's paint is different from what I used.

[rickztahone]

If i recall cirrectly i think ricardo was talking about a white speckle paint that had look sand effect look. Cant remember where i read that. Ill have to ask him what it was called. I was thinking white because the background will be light grey stone color


Let me know what he says. I bought paint that was supposed to look like sand once. It had a sandy texture to it. It turned out that the sandy texture was only noticeable from the outside It looked smooth on the inside and it chipped off easily. I want to know if Ricardo's paint is different from what I used.

It sounds like the same stuff Liz:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpA0fBhP6r2J8QusV-fpvoGk_iGF4heXxgyqUmgDrd7Oedb5GK98GUKfXtGVRoUbCYtn 1jAbVb&usqp=CAY

Any paint you use, no matter if it is textured or not, will look smooth from the inside. This one has enough speckled paint in it to make it less "uniform" if you will and lends itself well to mimicking sand. Nothing is ever going to be as close to, but it kind of does work:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1611/26055116801_7c72583063_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FGphtK)75g (https://flic.kr/p/FGphtK) by Rick Vasquez (https://www.flickr.com/photos/138339753@N07/), on Flickr

[LizStreithorst]

Same stuff. Why bother with textured paint when you can't see the texture and the paint doesn't hold as well as normal paint?

I wonder if she might speckle the bottom with with a dark very brown and after it dries give the bottom a coating or two of sand colored paint. If I were into repainting my bottoms it's what I would try. I'd use gloss black and flat sand color.

[Bc chick]

Same stuff. Why bother with textured paint when you can't see the texture and the paint doesn't hold as well as normal paint?

I wonder if she might speckle the bottom with with a dark very brown and after it dries give the bottom a coating or two of sand colored paint. If I were into repainting my bottoms it's what I would try. I'd use gloss black and flat sand color.

I was thinking the same. Was thinking of spraying lightly with a silver sparkle then sponge paint most of it a off white color and then a a dark grey over top so the dark shows through just a tad. To match the grey stone background. Thoughts? Do you think the sandy/browns would look better against the grey colors? What do you guys think?

[LizStreithorst]

It sounds good but I've never tried anything like that. You'll have to try it and let it dry and turn the tank over and see for yourself it it you like it. Paint is easy to scrape off with a razor blade and running water.

[Bc chick]

Liz,
I started a tread on getting my tank set up called custom 3d background project if you ever want to check it out sometime

[rickztahone]

Just FYI, for my SW tank, I wanted a lighter color than sand and I introduced a lighter shade of white to the texture intermixed when spraying. I also added a clear coat to it to make it more scratch resistant, and it worked like a charm.

[Bc chick]

What do you mean by intermixed? Can you explain in dummy (bc) terms lol

[Bc chick]

Ok guys heres my first attempt. Whatcha think?

[LizStreithorst]

Did you take that from the inside of outside of the tank? If it was the inside I think it rocks. I didn't think that the sparkle paint would work but it does.

[Bc chick]

Did it on practice glass. Yup took it from proper side. Im happy with how it turned out. Sparkle shows up good. Did sparkle then light grey followed by a dark grey. Gonna paint tank tonight. Then will update my tank journey

[Bc chick]

Opps...sparkle then cream, light grey,dark grey

[LizStreithorst]

If I were doing this I'd prefer a warmer cream color but I won't know if I'm right until I see the painted bottom with the 3D background and see how they work together. I bet it's fine as it is. You have a good eye. You have proven that you have done research here and followed the advice of the right people. Both thumbs up to you:)

[Bc chick]

Thx. Im trying. I know i have lots of questions. I wanted to post a pic of the background thats being used as a "idea" for my custom so you can see colors but i only have a screen **** and its in png so i cant upload it 😞

[Bc chick]

Lol was that a typo. Should be screen shot hehe

[LizStreithorst]

lol. Profanity filters, don't you know...I hate them but I've learned to live with them.

[Second Hand Pat]

Thx. Im trying. I know i have lots of questions. I wanted to post a pic of the background thats being used as a "idea" for my custom so you can see colors but i only have a screen **** and its in png so i cant upload it ��

BC, you can upload a .png if you use the Insert Image icon (third in from the right). The image does need to be 2MBs or less.
Pat

[Bc chick]

Pat,

Not sure what happened the other day. Must have been the size. Thx glad i tried again 😃

Liz,

This is the background that mine is being inspired by

[Altum Nut]

That piece must have cost a fortune.
I'm not sure if yours is going to be similar but are you aware that that the entire outer sections will have to be siliconed to glass in order to keep in place and prevent debris from getting behind and rot.
It may also come in 2 sections that will also need to be siliconed together.
I would get in touch with the maker and have them give you proper recommendations on installation.
Very nice regardless.

...Ralph

[megatrev62]

Pat,

Not sure what happened the other day. Must have been the size. Thx glad i tried again ��

Liz,

This is the background that mine is being inspired by

Oh yes, looks lovely !! Hehe

[LizStreithorst]

It is lovely but those caves will hold debris. Besides, Discus have no use for caves. JMO. The color of your bottom will be great with the color of the background.

[Bc chick]

That piece must have cost a fortune.
I'm not sure if yours is going to be similar but are you aware that that the entire outer sections will have to be siliconed to glass in order to keep in place and prevent debris from getting behind and rot.
It may also come in 2 sections that will also need to be siliconed together.
I would get in touch with the maker and have them give you proper recommendations on installation.
Very nice regardless.

...Ralph

Well I'm new to the Fish World so I'm not sure what a fortune is apparently it comes in 10 to 15 pieces. I don't know if that makes it better to have less debris getting in behind I'm not sure. All I know is I've never done this before and im a scared im a scared

[Bc chick]

The caves will be for my plecos

[Bc chick]

Oh yes, looks lovely !! Hehe

Thanks!

[LizStreithorst]

The caves will be for my plecos

Got it. They will love them.

[Bc chick]

Is there such thing as a smaller suctioner for those spots?

[LizStreithorst]

I'd just wipe the caves with a nylon scrubby, let the debris fall to the bottom and siphon it out with WC. Once or twice a week should be fine. Do it when you wipe down your sides.