Psychlist1972

Just thought I'd post this.

I'm starting a new tank that is roughly 1/2 sand and 1/2 eco complete, separated by a dam of rocks.

The pool sand I picked up is awesome. It has a beautiful mixture of dark and light grains, is "soft" to the touch, and... no rinsing. The bag is fairly generic looking. It just says "pool sand" and cost me $9 per bag.

I tried rinsing some and the water stayed almost perfectly clear, so I decided just to dump the bag in, except the bottom-most stuff which is likely dust (or at least that's the case in almost any other bagged product)

Anyway, getting away from rinsing is a HUGE plus. I figured I'd be swishing that stuff around all night.

I'll post pics once the water clears from the eco-complete (that stuff is "no rinse" due to being packed in water, and clouds things up for a bit unless you use the little packet it comes with)

Pete

Psychlist1972

This is the pool sand bag

Attached Images

pool_sand.jpg (76.0 KB, 53 views)

aquarist48

Good morning Pete. Sounds like you have everything under control. Glad to hear you're setting up a new tank. Keep us posted as you progress.
Ken

mike-mike

looking forward to your pics.

iloveengl

Great tip psychlist! I'm going tomorrow to get substrate for my new tank (& I'm new to sand) and this is just perfect timing. Did you find Pool Sand at a hardware store or did you go to a specialty place?

Time

My substrate was a fortune! It is really cool. How does that pool stuff look like? Can't wait for pics either.

Psychlist1972

There are a few photos in this thread:
Just finished planting

The dual substrate looked great, and would work well with fish who don't like to relocate substrate. With goldfish, though, I've quickly ended up with a salt and pepper effect throughout the tank.

I did my tropical tank in just eco-complete (5 bags at 29 per bag is not cheap) and I'm doing in 10g just in pool sand.

Pete

Time

Very nice. lol I have seen goldfish pick up pebbles and drop them from the top. It is so amazing to watch. I hope the salt and pepper looks good.