The Puffer Forum

Hey guys

Ive never used pool filter sand as a substrate before. My question is.

How do you clean it be for placing it in the tank.

The most common way to do this is to place sand in a good sized bucket(around 5 gallons) and run a hose all the way down the bucket, then run the water until the run off comes out clear.

Oh I see, so clean it normal way then. For some reason I was gone boil it

I put it in a 5 gallon bucket fill it till its about 2-3 inchs above the sand line then twirl it with my arm and pour off the extra water till its clear

I never used it but I know alot of frontosa hobbyist and breeders love it in their tanks because of its fine grain and not larger grains like play sand. I would think washin it like most subtrates.

Fade you got that backwards, playsand is finer then pool filter.

I forget where I got it, but the play sand I got has a really nice uniform, roundish grain. Not too fine, but soft enough for fish laying on their tummies. It cleans really easily and thoroughly, and does not make a dust bowl at all when I stir it up. My plants are also growing very well in it, I think better than when I had a tank with that substrate made just for plants.
I'm not sure which play sand I got before that was totaly useless. Very inconsistent, extremely dirty. I started to rinse it and the run off water had disgusting orange froth, looked almost like orange skimmate. As some people here say, "NIMFT" Lol

The uniformity and relatively large grain size are bot strong plus marks in blasting sand and pool filter sand's favor. Most play sand has a lot if fines which result in cloudiness when disturbed, and can damage impellers and their housings - which can be expensive for the hobbyist.

The relatively even grain size of the play sand you describe is unusual, but that is big plus.

xrayjeeper83 wrote:Fade you got that backwards, playsand is finer then pool filter.

Hahaha!!! seriously? I only ever used live sand for marine and reef tanks in the past. Afew different size grades of sand with those I know but I never used playsand or pool filter sand before.

I have pool filter sand in 3 tanks. I don't rinse it. Just dump it right in. It settles quickly and I've never had any issues not washing it. I've used play sand before, and it's a MUST to wash. There's all sorts of dust in it.

Ive made up my mind. Pool filter sand it is. Are there different colors of it or just one and which brand is recommended?

Don't make it deeper than 1".