# White sand suggestions



## suebe333 (Feb 17, 2009)

Pool filter sand  if you click my 15G link in my siggy you can see it


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

wonderful! that is it! where can i buy this, a pool specialty store or any large hardware distributor like Lowes, HD, menards? 

what brand is it or what type of sand at the very least? I'm guessing many varieties of ''pool filter sand" exist.


----------



## suebe333 (Feb 17, 2009)

I just walked into the local pool store and asked for a bag LOL it was only $7.50 for a 50 pound bag too YESsssssss.. I just rinsed it a few times in the sink and waalaa , the stuff is great ...


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

Alright! I know right where a pool store is. I'll swing by it tomorrow!  thanks so much for your suggestion


----------



## suebe333 (Feb 17, 2009)

No problem , I got the idea from here too LOL


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

I've been doing some research and silica sand is a breeding ground for diatom algae. Have you experienced this? Should I be expecting a problem? I am not sure I really want an army of snails to thwart this concern... *sigh*

Any alternatives? Aragonite in saltwater tanks is their solution, but that would kill my CRS or render them sterile at the very least :/


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

20/20 or just #20 is the largest grain size and what you want. Diatom algae will appear in a planted tank sand or not from time to time as the chemistry of the water changes. None of us are perfect. I've been reading on the subject of sand as a substrate for a new project tank. 
Raking the surface (moving it a bit) from time to time (weekly water changes) just to stir the surface a little and it should be good.


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

Sounds good. I'll give it a shot  #20 white pool filter sand.


----------



## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

ADA has some sand, but only two are a light color. These are the Nile and Branco Sand. 
http://www.adgshop.com/Decorative_Sand_s/23.htm

There are different colors of pool filter sand. So, check it out before you purchase it. You can collect some of the spillage on the skids or floor where the sand is. Then you can compare them and then get the color that you like the best.


----------



## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Left C is right. Some of the pool filter sand sold is more a cream color than solid white color. Estes makes a pure white marine sand that (as stated on the package) is supposed to be safe for fresh water planted tanks. I have no experience with it but I know Waterfaller uses it, so hopefully she will chime in about her experiences with it. It is not as cheap as pool filter sand. IME, I have used pool filter sand and am not convinced that the high silica content gives ongoing diatom algae. The diatom algae that I got when I set up a tank using it, lasted only 4-6 weeks which is normal for any new setup, and a otocat I put in the tank made short work of it. It was never an ongoing problem algae.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I really like pool filter sand. The stuff that I have purchased has been very clean with no dust at all, so I think that it is unlikely contribute much silica to water.

Does anybody know about grain sizes for pool filter sand? Are there different sizes? I would like to find something just a bit larger than the material that I have.


----------



## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Homer_Simpson said:


> Estes makes a pure white marine sand that (as stated on the package) is supposed to be safe for fresh water planted tanks. I have no experience with it but I know Waterfaller uses it, so hopefully she will chime in about her experiences with it.


 Yes I do, it's fine & very white. Does not raise PH in my experience. It needs to be wet before you use it, or it floats for a few days. I wet it in a bucket, and run my hands through it a few times a day to get it to settle.


----------



## cfi on the fly (Jan 28, 2009)

hydrophyte said:


> I really like pool filter sand. The stuff that I have purchased has been very clean with no dust at all, so I think that it is unlikely contribute much silica to water.
> 
> Does anybody know about grain sizes for pool filter sand? Are there different sizes? I would like to find something just a bit larger than the material that I have.


 
I think that what most of us are using as far as pool filter sand goes is #20. There is supposedly a larger grain #16, but I have yet to find anybody who sells it or knows where to get it. Thats what I am after too, if you find some let me know.


----------



## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I can not find white sand anywhere. Called 6 pool supply stores today. No one carries white. grrrr frustrating. Anyone have any ideas?


----------



## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

MedRed said:


> I can not find white sand anywhere. Called 6 pool supply stores today. No one carries white. grrrr frustrating. Anyone have any ideas?


Dude!! Have you see some of Waterfaller's planted nano tanks :icon_eek: :eek5:. She has some of the most beautiful tanks around and in some she covers areas with Estes pure white marine sand. If I were you, I would seriously look at Estes white sand. It is as white as you are going to get in a sand.


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

Haven't seen that... I bought pool filter sand... but this might be a good idea for an additional thing I'm contemplating that might require two varieties of sand to work well. I'll try to find those tanks. That isn't a form of aragonite that would raise pH is it?


----------



## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Can anyone tell me the difference in the color and grain size of estes marine sand and the carib sea moonlight sand?


----------



## Bzishka (Mar 14, 2009)

you can always go to meanrds or lowes or home depot and just buy white sand box sand, 4.50 or somthing close, for a 50lbs bag


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

Yeah, I filled a 220 gallon reef with 8 bags of that play sand this weekend. Be careful, it had some oil coating that was a nightmare to remove. Once clean it was beautiful, but man what a foamy slippery mess!


----------



## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Here it is the day I set up the finnex


----------



## blair (Feb 8, 2009)

I looked at your build threads waterfaller1... they are very beautiful!  Does that Estes Marine Sand raise pH though like aragonite or crushed coral does?


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

blair said:


> I've been doing some research and silica sand is a breeding ground for diatom algae.


I had a 10 gallon tank with just pool filter sand topping the dirt and some sand in half of 29 gallon tank. I had some diatom algae on the front wall in the 29 gallon tank for a while. Once it died it didn't come back.

Pool filter sand from pool supply is whiter than what I have seen at Home Depot or Lowes.


----------



## pat3612 (Mar 24, 2008)

This is very fine white gravel from walmart for hermit crabs I find it works very well and is cheap.


----------



## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

hey pat3612... what brand was the fine white gravel


----------

