# pool sand



## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

how exactly do you *rinse* pool sand? i mean its sand..... sifting ti wont really work i dont think.


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Add sand and water in a pail and stir. Pour off the top water then add more water and repeat until the water is clear or severe boredom sets in.  Probably best done outside on a nice day.


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

hummm belive it or not that was the only way i could think of... lol thx


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

where did you get your pool sand?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Alarm bells are ringing and red lights are flashing!

Are you using silica sand? Do you have Corydoras in the tank with the silica sand?

I just replaced the silica sand in one of my tanks with beach sand (hopefully it's better) because I kept losing Corys.

I put it down to the coarseness of the sand. On most of them, the barbels are all worn off.

Be careful using that stuff.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I don't think pool sand is silica sand (for sand blasting). I think pool sand is safe for all fishes.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

conix67 said:


> I don't think pool sand is silica sand (for sand blasting). I think pool sand is safe for all fishes.


Well, it wasn't for mine...


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Hmm.. pool sand appears to be a type of silica sand as well, but not same as sand blasting sand. Pool sand is finer grain silica sand vs sand blasting being more coarse grained?

I think Cory here also uses pool sand in many of his tanks.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

I bought the sand from Seaway Pools when I had to replace my cracked filter. Home Depot sells the same product based on look and feel.

My Corys loved to filter the sand through their gills and that's why I think there was a problem. I can't see there being a problem for Danios, Platies, etc. because they're mid to upper level fish.

That's the only point I was trying to make. I had never used silica sand before and decided to give it a try. Ian Fuller, renowned Corydoras expert told me that he's kept Corys with silica sand with no problems but in light of my personal experience agrees with my decision to replace the silica sand.

Not trying to start a flame war here, just trying to relate me personal experience.

Cheers.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Sorry I thought pool sand was a different kind. Thanks for letting us know of your experience. I was thinking of changing substrate of my puffer tank from eco-complete to pool sand when I make it into a brackish tank.

Maybe I should just use Play Sand instead then.


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

i picked it up at a pool store. im pretty sure pool sand is silica sand. but apparently pools fiter sand is a lil more pure and requires less cleaning. ive used silica sand from the petstore before with no issues, and i cant tell the differnce between the too. alot of guys seem to recommend pool filter sand . although i dont think you can grow plants in it.. i dunno ive never used it before i guess i will find out eh?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

My plants loved the silica sand. You should have seen the root system when I pulled them out. The nice thing about silica sand is it pretty uniform in size and doesn't compact which allows excellent root penetration. (calm down boys)


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## sawman88 (Sep 29, 2008)

man i just opened up opne of the bags and its got like flakes of black shit in it? i looked on the bag and all it says is. Nepheline syenite. witch when i look on the internte says.. silica sand. the bag doesnt say anything about added chemicals or anything. is it just junk that im supposed to rinse out? pices of charcole maybe? has anyone else seen this?


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

I've taken a picture to show the silica and beach sand side by side.

The silica sand granules seem to be quite uniform in size but the beach sand is all over the place.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Which one is which? Based on your description, the one on top looks like the pool sand. They look good to me, rounded edges and all.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Yup, the top one is silica sand, the bottom one beach sand.

You're right, it does look rounded. So why were the barbels worn?


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## Gargoyle (Aug 21, 2008)

I use playground sand. I don't have many Corydoras, but I do have a lot of Geophagus in my 120. They flush a teaspoon of sand through their gills every few seconds when feeding. And they like to feed.
Two years in, and two species spawned, the sand is a positive, not a negative.
Rinsing it is a colossal pain in the butt when you start, but it is an ideal substrate for sifters. As for black gravel, etc - it's natural sand. 
There's also no quality control between suppliers. Cory Dad may have gotten a batch with rough edges, hence the barbel problems. Mine is rounded. I bought pool sand one time, rinsed it religiously and added it to three tanks. Within a few months, I had to remove it as the algae blooms were unbelievable in those tanks. Nothing's perfect...


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Cory_Dad, you're from Markham. Which store did you get your pool sand from? I'd like to purchase some in the near future.

I don't understand why the sand would cause Algae bloom though, especially after rinsing... some mineral crystals mixed in?


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Wow, lots of question.

I think Gargoyle said it best. There is little quality control here in Canada anyway. In some places, silica sand is divided into several grades. Some, like the sand blasting silica sand is very sharp. It's that way for 1 purpose. To cut glass. Stay away from these sand if you have cory.
Some place make no distinction of these. From the same manufactuer, you get different grade depending on your luck. I've been buying my silica sand from Home Depot. My first 3 bags where good. 1 year later, I have 2 sucky bags of sharp sand. All from the same manufactuer. (and the 2 sucky bag some 5 bucks more too).

As for the algae issue. Gargoyle, it has more to do with the lighting and chemistry of your tank than the sand itself. I have the same batch of mixture of sand in two of my tanks. One have algae problem (still trying to clear it up) and the other is algae free. Hope that helps.

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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi conix67.

Are you referring to the white silica sand at the top or the brown beach sand at the bottom?

The silica sand was originally purchased at Seaway Pools, McCowan & Heritage several years ago but they no longer carry it. I purchased a similar product (which reminds me, I need to photograph them side by side to make sure they're the same) at the Home Depot, Hwy #7 & Woodbine.

The beach sand I purchased at Ronna/Lansing, McCowan & Bullock.

The use of silica sand in an aquarium, especially SW is quite controversial when it comes to algae. Some people say that it is cause by the silicates leaching out of the silica sand that precipitates it. Others say that no way; your aquarium glass is made of silica sand and if it were true then it by itself would cause algae blooms.

I tend to believe the latter BUT, I did notice quite a bit of brown algae in the tank at the end. I put it down to a Corydoras only tank but I don't have that problem in my other Corydoras only tank. The more I ponder the subject the more I question the inertness of the silica. Is it possible that the act of the fish filtering and general water movement would cause the silica sand to run against each other and release silica which would chemically be changed to silicate?

Anyone else out there have any views or at least anecdotal evidence on this subject?


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## breeze905 (Feb 1, 2009)

Is it bad if i ressurect dead threads??

I have something to say on this as i am currently using pool filter sand in my tank. I too am having a bloom of brown algae...

I definitly think that the sand leaches silicates... i've had many different comments on why would the tank have this stuff... some attribute it to too much lighting... other web sources say it's from not enough light for the plants to take on the nutrients therefor the diatoms are taking the nutrients as they don't need strong light... Maybe both can be a cause sure... silicates is the source of this stuff IMO.

A theory...

The people who argue about the glass would leach too if that was the case don't have a case. glass is made by undergo-ing a serious processing of the sand... heating it till the point of melting releasing air trapped within the sand turning all these particles into one liquid pile which is then processed further depending on the grade of glass creating a very compressed and compacted version of the same sand in which we call glass. the leaching properties of glass i beleive would have a difference than the sand it was made from do to the hardening process... IMO. 

Another arguement is that what about all the sand in the beaches all around the world... which is comprised of silica sand! the oceans measure of silicates in the water is very low and even lower in the deeper depths... if sand leeched wouldn't the silicate level in the ocean be gianormous? 

My theory... the earth has been around for millions... maybe billions... or even trillions.. ya get my point... these sands have leeched all its got to leech. Tannins in wood just thrown into a tank will leech for months and months! A harder more non decomposable material like silica may have taken millions of years before it was all slowly leached out. the world also has gone through many a changes... who knows what efect it had as maybe that could be why life didn't pressumably start right at the earths birth as the whole system had to be created... Yeah i'm crazy... but ya get my point. 

the sand in the tank of this silica pool filter sand... is leeching... and we don't have a gianormous space for it to blend with like an ocean or a system that is ready to combat such things... From a few reports i heard from other hobbyists, they think that it stops leeching after a while... which from what i gather may actually be shorter than it's taking me to get this driftwood piece to stop releasing tannins without boiling! from my understanding of my brown algae issue which i never had in any tanks before until i tried this sand is that frequent water changes will keep the levels good in the tanks and a good cleaning of the sand once a week will help get the leeching closer to the finish line. or get some good algae eaters that like brown algae. Also i hear that if another type of green algae starts that the brown algae won't fair well in the competition. I don't know about that last piece at all... but i'd gather have green at this point.  

my $1.50


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I've been using pool sand in one of my 10G planted tank for several months, top layer has browned a bit (due to waste, etc), this tank doesn't get frequent water changes or filter material changes but it has been the cleanest tank of all. I've not cleaned the sand either, the depth of substrate is at least 2" everywhere.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Interesting theory.

I'm not going to argue with your reasoning but have you also considered that maybe it's just that you can't get the silica sand as clean as you can gravel so maybe there's just more nutrients available for the algae.

Just a thought.


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## breeze905 (Feb 1, 2009)

*lol*

yeah that's true!

And i did think of that while i was cleaning the sand the other day... like damn this isn't as easy as i thought it was gonna be. lol oh well. luckily the pool filter sand is heavy and i can take big clumps of it up in the syphon and barely any of it ends up in the bucket. a lil does tho.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

I've replaced the silica sand in my one tank with beach sand (not because of brown algae) and I find it much easier to maintain.

The way I clean all my tanks with the beach sand depends on how dirty the substrate is. On my 25 gal I have a power head that keeps the bottom pretty darn clean so I just need to siphon from mid level. But I do comb the sand every one and awhile to release and trapped gases.

On my smaller 10 gal tanks I actual siphon just above the sand (due to decreased water flow). I also stir up the sand a bit and re siphon whatever settles. All gets siphoned into a bucket that gets empty of water but I leave the sand on the bottom. That can be returned to the tank either along with the replacement water or you can let the sand dry out in the bucket and pour it back in that way. It's a bother but the sand looks nicer than gravel and you don't want the siphoned sand going down the drain.

Good luck.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

I have play sand in my cory tank and 90 gal hardly any brown diatoms same with my planted shrimp tanks. But the one I just set up wuth eco complete and white gravel has it like crazy Iam going to have to put my ottos in there or clean the plants it looked so nice when I planted it its a mess now.


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## breeze905 (Feb 1, 2009)

thanks for the tips dad! I read similar tips and i'm still trying to get the handle on doing exactly what your talking about.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

pat3612 said:


> I have play sand in my cory tank and 90 gal hardly any brown diatoms same with my planted shrimp tanks. But the one I just set up wuth eco complete and white gravel has it like crazy Iam going to have to put my ottos in there or clean the plants it looked so nice when I planted it its a mess now.


Sorry if this sounds snarky but, duh!

Eco complete is great for a heavily planted tank where the water parameters are properly controlled in order for the plants to use up the nutrients. Otherwise you'll get a lot of algae because of the over abundance of nutrients.

Or, I suppose, you could set up a heavily populated shrimp or oto only tank.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

breeze905 said:


> thanks for the tips dad! I read similar tips and i'm still trying to get the handle on doing exactly what your talking about.


Yikes! I just reread my post and I can understand you trying to get a handle on what I'm talking about.

'every one and awhile to release and trapped' -> 'every once and awhile to release any trapped'

and so on...

Sheesh.

If you're still confused I suppose I can do a write up, with pictures, of my procedure. I'm not saying that it's the only or best way, but it seems to work for me.

Cheers.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Cory_Dad said:


> Sorry if this sounds snarky but, duh!
> 
> Eco complete is great for a heavily planted tank where the water parameters are properly controlled in order for the plants to use up the nutrients. Otherwise you'll get a lot of algae because of the over abundance of nutrients.
> 
> Or, I suppose, you could set up a heavily populated shrimp or oto only tank. [/QUOTE My tanks are heavily planted which I cant understand why I get brown diatoms in the one tank but not the others the cory tank has very little plants and no diatoms .


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

pat3612 said:


> Cory_Dad said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry if this sounds snarky but, duh!
> ...


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Cory_Dad said:


> pat3612 said:
> 
> 
> > What I intended to point out is that the eco complete tank would naturally have the algae if the over abundance of nutrients in the water are not consumed by the plants or eliminated with cleaning and flushing water changes.
> ...


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Try serving it with a lite balsamic vinaigrette dressing and a nice glass of Sterling Chardonnay.

If that doesn't work, roll up your sleeves then get out the razor blade scraper.


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