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discusjoe27
05-22-2009, 01:09 AM
I forgot the name of it, what is it called? I want to use it in my tank once my discus get a little bit bigger.

kenhappen2u
05-22-2009, 01:26 AM
silica sand .....AKA pool filter sand . there is no reason you can use sand now with them being smaller ,, just use a light colored ( as close to white as you can get ) and vacume it often and you should be ok , although BB tanks are much easyer to keep clean when they are small and your feeding them more often and doing more water changes ,

discusjoe27
05-22-2009, 01:49 AM
so I can go to "any pool" store and ask for pool filter stand. would a fish(aquarium) store carry it(just wondering because I have a friend who owns a fish store that just opened up:)

Eddie
05-22-2009, 01:52 AM
Most hardware stores carry it.

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/hth-pool-filter-sand-50-lbs-p-69631.html?ref=42

Eddie

discusjoe27
05-22-2009, 02:27 AM
how many pounds would I need(84Lx16W)

Apistomaster
05-25-2009, 12:29 PM
how many pounds would I need(84Lx16W)

Rough guide:
Calculate the volume of sand you plan to use in cu inches.
Divide by 231 to get the volume in gallons.
Multiply the weight of the displaced water, 8.34 lbs/gal by the specific gravity(unit weight of sand relative to unit weight of water) of the sand(use 2.65)
That will give you the number of pounds of sand it will take to fill with sand to the thickness you used in your calculation..

discusjoe27
05-26-2009, 03:04 AM
Rough guide:
Calculate the volume of sand you plan to use in cu inches.
Divide by 231 to get the volume in gallons.
Multiply the weight of the displaced water, 8.34 lbs/gal by the specific gravity(unit weight of sand relative to unit weight of water) of the sand(use 2.65)
That will give you the number of pounds of sand it will take to fill with sand to the thickness you used in your calculation..

wow,:confused:

TankWatcher
05-26-2009, 04:41 AM
here's a substrate calculator that might help http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html

discusjoe27
05-27-2009, 06:35 AM
here's a substrate calculator that might help http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html


THANKS!, can pool sand still be used if I wanted to use it with some wild caught discus?

TankWatcher
05-27-2009, 07:17 AM
IMO, silica pool filter sand is perfect for wild caught discus. It's what mine are in. Be sure to show us pictures when you get this set up. I love looking at the wild caught's

tcyiu
05-27-2009, 02:26 PM
I've been on the hunt for sand for the last several months. Here are some things I learned: (Note that the prices are for my area in Bay Area in Northern California. But the relative amounts may apply to yours)

- 50lb of sand from a hardware store is priced around $6. Make sure you look for prescreened and NOT play sand. Prescreened sand will have more uniform size and therefore less dust.
- 50lb of filter sand from a pool supplies store is priced around $10. These will be similar to prescreened sand from a hardware store. The store employee says the sand will still need to be washed for dust.
- 20lb of Carib Sea sand from a fish store is priced around $30.*

I finally ended up with 3M Colorquartz (white). This cost me $40 for 40lbs.

* NOTE that CaribSea may not be appropriate for discus. You'll need to check for how CaribSea affects water hardness.

Tim

discusjoe27
05-28-2009, 04:05 AM
I've been on the hunt for sand for the last several months. Here are some things I learned: (Note that the prices are for my area in Bay Area in Northern California. But the relative amounts may apply to yours)

- 50lb of sand from a hardware store is priced around $6. Make sure you look for prescreened and NOT play sand. Prescreened sand will have more uniform size and therefore less dust.
- 50lb of filter sand from a pool supplies store is priced around $10. These will be similar to prescreened sand from a hardware store. The store employee says the sand will still need to be washed for dust.
- 20lb of Carib Sea sand from a fish store is priced around $30.*

I finally ended up with 3M Colorquartz (white). This cost me $40 for 40lbs.

* NOTE that CaribSea may not be appropriate for discus. You'll need to check for how CaribSea affects water hardness.

Tim

thanks tim, so I need to go to a hardware store,like home depot or lowes and ask for silica prescreened sand?

discusjoe27
05-28-2009, 10:48 AM
is this what I should get?
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?jspStoreDir=hdus&catalogId=10053&productId=100555293&navFlow=3&keyword=pool%2Bfilter%2Bsand&langId=-1&searchRedirect=pool+filter+sand&storeId=10051&endecaDataBean=com.homedepot.sa.el.wc.catalog.bean s.EndecaDataBean%4010790760&ddkey=Search#reviews

or would sand blasting sand work from a tractor supply store?

discusjoe27
05-29-2009, 09:20 AM
ok, now I'm confused because I was talking to a guy who has german discus at his pet store in the white rock lake area of texas, and he said the carbon doesn't hurt the fish or anything and that I should of just needed it out, and that I shouldn't use pool filter stand because it is stager, and that I should of left the gravel in there.

SO, I did all that for nothing, what should I do?

Apistomaster
05-29-2009, 02:31 PM
Pool filter silica sand is a preferred substrate for a wild Discus tank.
Gravel is not the right choice regardless of what your fish shop guy thinks.
Discus are never found living over gravel in the wild. They spend much time sifting the sand for edible bits in the detritus which requires them to be able to puff the sand to expose the small bits of food and they need fine enough sand for them to sift through it. Gravel tends to collect more dirt and doesn't allow wild discus to feed in the way that is natural for them.
Almost half of what wild discus eat is detritus they find in sand.

TankWatcher
05-29-2009, 09:24 PM
I agree with Larry (Apistomaster) and I'm sorry to say that I disagree with what the LFS guy told you about gravel being best. Have a look at the posts in the wild section here, particular those where Heiko Bleher has contributed to wild biotype setups.

discusjoe27
05-30-2009, 02:32 AM
Pool filter silica sand is a preferred substrate for a wild Discus tank.
Gravel is not the right choice regardless of what your fish shop guy thinks.
Discus are never found living over gravel in the wild. They spend much time sifting the sand for edible bits in the detritus which requires them to be able to puff the sand to expose the small bits of food and they need fine enough sand for them to sift through it. Gravel tends to collect more dirt and doesn't allow wild discus to feed in the way that is natural for them.
Almost half of what wild discus eat is detritus they find in sand.

A+ ha_ha thanks you get a gold star. I'll stop buy the pool filter store this more and see what they have.

discusjoe27
05-30-2009, 06:14 AM
thanks I'll be getting some prescreened pool filter sand today hopefully.
I got some driftwood to from the warehouse XXL for a really good price.
I need to more piece of XXL driftwood, the sand, the water, and I'm good to go.
if my fx5 is still filled with water and the media in it is still wet am, I going to go though/throw a cycle when filling the tank back up?

discusjoe27
06-01-2009, 05:46 AM
thanks everyone, I got my silica prescreened pool filter sand from leaslies(spelling?) pool supplies. I bought two 50 pounds bags, and it gave me 1.25 inches tall of substrate. now I'm just waiting for the water levels to get good and the heater to warm up the warmer a few degrees higher and i'm good to go. I'll take pictures if I can get the computer to upload them right.
got a kodak easyshare and I've download the software and it's not working right.