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June 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Can I use Quickrete play sand for my 120 tank??? Is it safe
Aloha,
Hello again fish people, I was just at home depot looking at styrofoam for my tank background and came across some play sand for children"not colored" and was wondering if it would be safe as well as work in my tank. I read the bag for toxins and it did not say. The only thing it said was that is had been thuroughly washed. If you know can you please let me know. It is on sale for 4 50lb. bags for $10.
Thank you, | 
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June 1st, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Hello. I would not recommend Play Sand. Swimming pool filter sand is recommended most. | |
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June 1st, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by aquarist48  Hello. I would not recommend Play Sand. Swimming pool filter sand is recommended most. | I agree with Aquarist. It costs a little more than play sand, but I think here it was only $8 for 50 lbs. Play sand is often much more difficult to rinse. | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Ok thank you, I'll look into pool filter sand. Will the play sand kill the fish? Just outta curiosity.
Aloha | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| It won't kill the fish unless there is toxins in it. But it can be very sharp, which can hurt bottom dwellers such as loaches, cories. plecos and so on. I know people do use it but you do have to rinse and rinse and rinse..lol...Pool filter sand IMO is best for a cheap sand bottom. It's what I use in my 120gallon. If you have pics we would love to see them.  | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| CHoffman,
I was just reading about the pool filter sand, it talks alot about silica. Have you had any problems? I'm currently working on my 120 gal. It might be month or two until I have it up and running. Right now I'm getting ready to start building the background from styrofoam/quickrete qiuckall. I have an 80 tall up and running that has gravel, so that's why I wanted to try some sand on this tank. Thanks for the info | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Pool Filter Sand is wonderful. It's clean and smooth. This sand goes in the filters of swimming pools and isn't rinsed first so it has to be clean.
I have used it for years with out a problem and I don't rinse mine before I put it in the tank. I do run a little floss in the filter for a couple of days to catch any stray dust(never is much)
I have also used play sand and I really didn't like it as well, it seemed to pack too much.
Carol | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by grneyez808 CHoffman,
I was just reading about the pool filter sand, it talks alot about silica. Have you had any problems? I'm currently working on my 120 gal. It might be month or two until I have it up and running. Right now I'm getting ready to start building the background from styrofoam/quickrete qiuckall. I have an 80 tall up and running that has gravel, so that's why I wanted to try some sand on this tank. Thanks for the info | Correct me if I'm wrong, it appears that you're asking about potential effects (diatoms/algae/etc.) from the silica. I've used a couple different types of PFS over the years in many different tanks and have never had a problem with it. Most recently, we put 150 lbs. of PFS in our 120 gallon tank and it looks wonderful, plus our loaches and plecos (clown and tiger) really like it. | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Quote:
Originally Posted by grneyez808 Ok thank you, I'll look into pool filter sand. Will the play sand kill the fish? Just outta curiosity.
Aloha |
I've heard that many brands of play sand are treated with anti-fungals and other chemicals so that they won't get moldy in the sand box. | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I've been reading up on the silica and won't be using it. From what I've gathered It's sharp. I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions. What color is the pool sand? | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Pool filter sand is silca. It is not sharp at all but very smooth and round. Pool filter sand is a whitish color with specs of black. Here is a pic of my 120 that has pool filter sand in it so you can get an idea of what it looks like | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Wow!!! That is exactly the look that I'm wanting. Thank you and you have a very pretty tank! | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Can I use the QuickRete pool filter sand  | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by grneyez808 Can I use the QuickRete pool filter sand | Yep it's just a brand name
carol | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Thaks Carol, I appreciate it. Do you know what kind of sand the LFS's carry that are colored? | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by grneyez808 Thaks Carol, I appreciate it. Do you know what kind of sand the LFS's carry that are colored? | I really don't have any idea  sorry. I've heard it's really expensive so I don't even look.
I do use a special sand for my shellies that is salt and pepper looking. That's the only sand I've ever looked at at the LFS.
Carol | |
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June 2nd, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Okay, thanks again. | |
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June 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I used play sand in my 75g SW tank with no problems. It has to be rinsed a lot to get out all the dust. My engineer goby seemed to love it! | |
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June 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Where can pool filter sand generally be purchased? Any chain stores? | |
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June 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Hi everyone, I purchased poolfilter sand for $8 per 50lbs. at a pool store in las vegas. It looks good and doesnt feel sharp. When I start cleaning I'll post pics. Aloha, Cam | |
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