PFS and cories

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Aloe Vera

Registered Member
Oct 11, 2012
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I have a 75 gallon aquarium that I would like to switch over to sand. ACE has a product, HTH pool filter sand (Aqua Quartz® 50lbs Pool Filter Sand (61308)) that I have heard good things about. One thing that hasn't been mentioned thought is whether it is too sharp for cory cats sensitive barbels. Alternatively I am looking at CaribSea's sunset gold sand but it is much more expensive.

Does anyone have experience with this sand with cories? I am hoping to breed my sterbai's so they really need to love it. Do you have any other recommendations?

Thanks,
Aloe
 

BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
there are many people that keep cories on pool filter sand.

what i would do is ask to feel the sand. if it feels 'sharp' when you rub it between your fingers, then it could very well be damaging to cory barbels.

i use play sand in my tank with cories. they love it. and it's cheap! a good size bag at home depot was 7 bucks or so. Quikrete brand. one bag should be enough to do a 75 if you don't want the sand too deep.
 

discuspaul

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Jun 22, 2010
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I have a 75 gallon aquarium that I would like to switch over to sand. ACE has a product, HTH pool filter sand (Aqua Quartz® 50lbs Pool Filter Sand (61308)) that I have heard good things about. One thing that hasn't been mentioned thought is whether it is too sharp for cory cats sensitive barbels. Alternatively I am looking at CaribSea's sunset gold sand but it is much more expensive.

Does anyone have experience with this sand with cories? I am hoping to breed my sterbai's so they really need to love it. Do you have any other recommendations?

Thanks,
Aloe
I use that particular PFS - It's great for Cories.
 

fishorama

AC Members
Jun 28, 2006
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BFM has it right, pool sand ok with cories. But sand is usually a local-ish product (expensive to ship) so there can be a lot of variation in color etc. That said, there's an interesting article in the skeptical aquarist (AFAIR) comparing cories kept on a bare substrate with dirty mulm & water vs cories kept on ground glass but with mulm-free clean water...guess which fish were healthier without barbel loss?

Pool sand can be vacuumed, it's heavier & larger than many finer substrates. I've used both 20 "grit" & 0 "grade", the larger 20 grit is much easier to vac but both need some practice with a gravel vac to avoid sucking a lot out each (weekly) water change (plunge & quickly lift). I love pool sand! I wish it came in a dark version but it's always white or pale tan where I've lived. I also had better results with a ~2 inch depth, 3+ was crudier with either size.
 

Aloe Vera

Registered Member
Oct 11, 2012
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I have been holding of cause I like darker sand too! My cories seem to have healthy barbels but I've been watching some videos of cory tanks that most do have longer barbels than mine. My sterbai cories are still small too I feel like they should be growing faster. The nice thing about light sand is its really easy to spot food thats been ignored, might help me keep the water conditions higher.
 

excuzzzeme

Stroke Survivor '05
If you are using HTH PFS, I wouldn't be concerned at all. I too use it and I like what I see compared to other types of sand. Yes, more color option would be nice but of course that will drive up the price. In a pool filter system it's never visible so color isn't a large concern. We are technically using it for other than intended purposes and that's fine by me. Just think, if they changed it to Pool and aquarium sand it would just about double the price! lol No thanks! Just leave it at PFS and keep the price down.

I wouldn't compare my cories barbels to someone elses cories. There are many reason this could occur. I would just watch them for unusual wear. I certainly wouldn't get worked up over them or overly concerned.
 

Aloe Vera

Registered Member
Oct 11, 2012
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Alright thanks! And I totally agree. The second they put the word aquarium on anything they just have to double the price, its insanity!
 
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