Oh, it says 20-grade. Do you think it would be ok to mix it with some white aquarium sand to make it a little whiter? Or would it compact too much, or the aquarium sand all end up under the PFS?
Pool Filter Sand Clarification
- Thread starter Kristinann
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I'm not sure I'd want to use it, based on your description. Since the bag was cut open, you might not be able to return it, however. (If not, you could always use it in the garden, to fill low spots on the lawn, or mixed in with potting soil for plants that need really fast drainage.) I found my PFS at Home Depot, but near the pool supplies not the other sands and gravels. Might be a seasonal product.
Wait to return but keep shopping if it's not what you want. All sand is local-ish, any road trips planned? You might find some you like better. I wanted tan & could mostly find white. Bought some that looks like road grit & that's what we use it for now. I'm still knda substrate obsessed.
Whereabouts do you live?
Whereabouts do you live?
I bought my PFS over at a pool supply place. $10 for a 50 lb bag. It's more of a brownish tan color. I like it though... I put it all into a small plastic swimming pool I got from petsmart and hosed it down for.. what seemed like forever. I didn't really like how they kept the bags outside though :-/
Just a tip for cleaning any sand which I found out... I use silicon tubing (airline tubing.) suck it and start a siphon going. Don't bury the end in the sand, just run it over the top (like 1cm from the top of the sand) and siphon into a bucket. Run the end over all the poo and dirt etc. This is great because it doesn't suck up much sand and doesn't suck up much water but has a really strong 'sucking' power so it picks up all the surface debri 
anyway, hope I helped!!
anyway, hope I helped!!
At least in my area all pool filter sand is made of mechanically crushed quartz. All this talk about pfs that isn't sharp is amusing. It doesn't matter how fine you crush it if you get enough magnification on it it has sharp edges. The only way you'll get rounded grains is if the sand is mined as sand from deposits that were worn smooth by the action of water. Just because it looks smooth to the eye or feels smooth to the touch doesn't make it smooth! I think the need for smoothness is highly exaggerated, as I've never had a problem with any bottom dwellers kept on #0 pfs.
Using airline tubing in my 50 gallon would be such a nightmare.. I just use my gravel vac and use a swirling motion with the tip to bring up any debris. Then I strap a chopstick to the end extending a couple of inches so I can occasionally stir up the sand.
Good info ... hadn't really thought about how the sand was made. Bottom line, though, sand that feels smooth to us is surely better than sand that feels sharp, imo.
I like that chopstick idea! There are times when I want to stir the sand a bit, but then I end up vacuuming some of it up and end up with sand sprinkled all over my plants and wood. It drives me crazy. Will try adding a "stirrer"!
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The softest bellies I plan to keep are otos or cories, and I think it should be fine for them. I'm sure it's alright, I would just prefer something lighter, larger, and rounder. But I might actually use it. I look at it again and it didn't seem as dark or sharp as the first time around. I would say grains are around .5-1mm, do you tihnk this is too small?
