# Pool guy freaked about sand :/



## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

It's exactly the sand you want. Probably he didn't know too much about it, because quartz (silica) sand is usually the most gentle to your fish.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

I saw a whole bunch of HTH Pool Filter Sand at Lowe's and also True Value Hardware. I'll bet the price is cheaper than the local spa & pool store.

EDIT: Walmart for $10: https://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-67074-Aqua-Quartz-Pool-Filter-Sand-50-Lbs/119465404


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Pavers sand is slightly bigger and more mixed grain size, usually a bit rounder as well, often mixed colors. I think it looks prettier, but either will work just fine. If you but Paver sand in a bag stay away from the polymeric sand. It's designed to chemically form a skin when exposed to water


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## Stacy1 (Dec 15, 2016)

Go back and tell the man to give you what you asked for. You had it right. If you'd rather have the bdbs tractor supply carrys it and if they dont have any in store they can order it for you. Medium grit is the one I've had good experience with.


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## Christophe (Oct 23, 2013)

Any blasting sand is a good choice, you aren't just limited to Black Diamond. I got this #30 grit blasting sand from Lowes, $17 for 100 lbs. Nice even grain size, and a color I like -- I wanted to get away from dark substrate for my rescape.


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## Aqua99 (Jan 6, 2017)

As others have said, you were buying the correct stuff. Be careful with other sands (play sand and paver sand) as they may not be inert. Many sands are loaded with CaCO3. Pool sand and blasting sands are inert and work great. My Pygmy Corydoras were even fine with the pool filter sand I was using at the time.


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

Christophe said:


> Any blasting sand is a good choice, you aren't just limited to Black Diamond. I got this #30 grit blasting sand from Lowes, $17 for 100 lbs. Nice even grain size, and a color I like -- I wanted to get away from dark substrate for my rescape.


I saw that one on their site, unfortunately it's not available at my local Lowes (not much is) & they don't ship it. After going and feeling with my hands the sands available in my area, I'm going to try play sand. I'm setting this up primarily for the comfort of Corydoras. I know it can be messy, so I plan to spend a long time rinsing. I'm going to try it in part of a 10 gallon before I swap it into my 40 gal. This has been quite the substrate journey so far. =D **Don't ever move to a small town if you don't absolutely have to. 

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Aqua99 said:


> As others have said, you were buying the correct stuff. Be careful with other sands (play sand and paver sand) as they may not be inert. Many sands are loaded with CaCO3. Pool sand and blasting sands are inert and work great. My Pygmy Corydoras were even fine with the pool filter sand I was using at the time.


Ugh, I just read this. Picked up Sakrete Natural play sand...any idea if that one is ok?

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## Aqua99 (Jan 6, 2017)

harley said:


> Ugh, I just read this. Picked up Sakrete Natural play sand...any idea if that one is ok?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


The only way to honestly know is to put some in a bucket and monitor the KH over a time period (weeks maybe).

It seems like a total pain tracking down the right stuff but in the end you can avoid many problems. There's nothing worse than stripping a tank down to swap the substrate because your KH is skyrocketing. I was specifically trying to track down inert media because I wanted to keep my Corydoras close to their natural lower KH, GH, and pH. I did have reservations of the "sharpness" of the pool filter sand after reading stories about Corydoras supposedly shredding their barbels off, but my little guys were fine. I really believe they (at least my Pygmys) know just how much they can root around in any given substrate. That being said, they'd push around fairly aggressively in the HTH pool sand I had.

Sorry, none of this is the info you probably want to hear given that you already have the play sand. The main problem is that if loaded with carbonate, you're essentially keeping them in a substrate similar to crushed coral. Just my thoughts...


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Pool filter sand is an inert silica sand that is great for aquarium use - and #20 grade density is just the size you want. That guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Buy it.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

Is washed river sand still available from builder suppliers? It used to be sold as a nice aggregate include when doing your own concrete mixing and pours, as you could spray off the pre-cured layer of calcium hydroxide before it fully set and reveal the nicely colored sand beneath.


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

Ok, thanks all, going to pick up the PFS to tomorrow. That sounds like a much safer route & hearing that Corys did well with it makes me lean more that way.

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## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

This has been a very informative thread for me. I was wondering about this, too. 

As far as the pool guy is concerned, he shouldn't have given concrete info on a subject he doesn't know about. *BUT* I think its super cool he had your fish's best interest in mind. After all, he turned down a sale because he though it might hurt your fish. Sounds like a good dude even though he was incorrect


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

KayakJimW said:


> This has been a very informative thread for me. I was wondering about this, too.
> 
> As far as the pool guy is concerned, he shouldn't have given concrete info on a subject he doesn't know about. *BUT* I think its super cool he had your fish's best interest in mind. After all, he turned down a sale because he though it might hurt your fish. Sounds like a good dude even though he was incorrect


Same, the people here are so helpful.

My husband had the same opinion about pool guy; that he was trying to help. I'm on the other side, I don't like it when people try to assert their opinions when they don't know about a particular topic. [emoji19] 

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