Pool sand

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captmicha

captmicha

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Dec 6, 2006
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I'm thinking of just getting pool filter sand since it'll be easy on the fish and I like a natural look and the plant substrates are rather ugly and expensive, and mineralized substrate is also ugly and I don't think I'll be able to move things around if I need to without brutalizing the roots. But I have pool filter sand already in some of my smaller, sparsely planted tanks and it seems too compacted and heavy to grow anything that well. Even with root tabs and good lighting and easy plants.

Maybe I'm just doing something wrong... Can I get decent results with pool sand for low light plants with root tabs, water column dosing and DIY CO2? Or is it just going to end up smothering roots no matter what?
 
jpappy789

jpappy789

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I guess it depends on what you mean by "decent results." Oftentimes growth is limited by other variables as well, so it's not that straightforward.

But for a lower tech tank I think it's a good choice based on how inexpensive it is...certainly don't need to invest anything more than that for undemanding, low light plants. Never had issues with roots.
 
ktrom13

ktrom13

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jpappy789 said:
I guess it depends on what you mean by "decent results." Oftentimes growth is limited by other variables as well, so it's not that straightforward.

But for a lower tech tank I think it's a good choice based on how inexpensive it is...certainly don't need to invest anything more than that for undemanding, low light plants. Never had issues with roots.
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I agree. There are more things neccesary to have a planted tank than just the substrate. Lighting is probably the most important factor to get plants to grow. Without sufficent lighting plants just wont grow. What type of lighting do you have? What type of plants do you intended to grow. As you already may know, some plants require much more light and additives compared to other plants.

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wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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I use PFS in my tank and don't dose anything. Regular water changes and nitrates supplied by the biofilter serve the nutrient needs. My lighting is around 1.5 wpg 6500K NO fluorescent. I grow many varieties of anubias and crypt in the substrate, bolbitis and java moss on the DW. This past weekend I thinned the plants and took 4 gallon zip-loks of anubias and a gallon bag each of bolbitis and java moss to a friend who owns a lfs.

Mark
 
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goneRogue

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Stick to low light plants and you should be fine. It is good to have redundancy (soil and column ferts), but not necessary if you are diligent with dosing. Low light leaves you much more room for error if you are on vacation, forget, etc. Pool filter sand isn't supposed to compact. Is there a possibility you got play sand somehow? I'm happy with the PFS I get from Leslie's Pool Supply and I believe that's what many folks are using on TPT.
 
captmicha

captmicha

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Dec 6, 2006
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Maybe I ended up using play sand, I'm not sure. I could have sworn it was pool filter sand but my dad may have switched bags on me.............

I'll give it a try then in all my tanks. Unless I can find REALLY small pebbles at Lowes or something. The smallest I've been able to find is pea gravel and that's not small enough. I'm not paying Caribsea Naturals prices, although I do like the look of their small gravels.
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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captmicha said:
Maybe I ended up using play sand, I'm not sure. I could have sworn it was pool filter sand but my dad may have switched bags on me.............

I'll give it a try then in all my tanks. Unless I can find REALLY small pebbles at Lowes or something. The smallest I've been able to find is pea gravel and that's not small enough. I'm not paying Caribsea Naturals prices, although I do like the look of their small gravels.
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There is an option with grain sizes that are smaller than pea gravel, yet larger than pfs. There is a company in the Houston area called Texblast. They screen a large-size blasting sand just for the Aquarium trade. There is a lfs in Houston called Aqua Zoo, that sells it. It works very well for the above-mentioned plants as well as others and is, IMO and IME, a perfect size for UGF and RUGF.

Mark
 
F

fishorama

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You may be able to find small gravel at a rock yard, they sell graded stone & sand but may not want to sell such a small amount. I didn't find a good size sand at 1 near me but it was interesting to walk around the giant bins. They also had a sample board of available products. Plan on lots of washing. I've never had pool sand compact either.
 
captmicha

captmicha

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Dec 6, 2006
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I'm no where near TX and also can't find soil amendment products (Turface, etc.) in the sizes I want near me so I'll look for a rock yard. Thanks for the great idea!
 
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