Pool Filter, Black Diamond, Or Black Petco Sand?

I've been researching for days. I can't decide.

I want black because it gives a great contrast to every other color. I also want tan or natural sand color because cleaning black substrate is a pain without a lot of light.

I've heard PFS (pool filter sand) is easier to vaccuum/clean than traditional sands, due to it not "kicking up" as easily. Is this true? What about Black Diamond Blasting Sand? Do the two compare?

Is the generic, 'traditional' Petco Sand just as good? I want something that won't fly all over as a cory or a vacuum glides over. Thanks! Post pics if you have them. I've seen a ton, but there's close to no such thing as too many pictures when deciding on something like this.

 

I only have experience with pool filter sand but I love it. If it does get kicked up from vacuuming it falls back down immediately and does not cloud the water at all. I rinsed mine thoroughly though before adding it to the tank. Looks great as well.

 

Here's a link to a thread I started a week or so ago:
Converting My 15 Gal To A 20 Long
I washed the Black Diamond Blasting Sand yesterday and was surprised at how "relatively" clean it was right from the start.

 

If you want black by all means go with the BDBS. A lot of people use it with success. As for me, I like the "natural" look so I used Quikrete Play Sand and I really like it. I actually think the play sand has a better grain than commercial aquarium sand, but that is just opinion.

 

Play sand is supposedly worse to use than PFS because it has non-uniform grain sizes, and this can cause compaction of the sand, encouraging anaerobic air pockets more than PFS does.

I've used PFS and BDBS, and I much prefer BDBS. Fish look better on darker substrate - white sand tends to bleach them out. Additionally, over time, PFS (or any white sand) looks dirty, even with a strict maintenance schedule. It's much harder to keep clean looking than black sand.

 

It was/is my first tank with sand. An experiment if you will. After seeing other tanks with Black substrate I agree: I think I prefer the black substrate. As far as the compaction goes, I don't have a problem. I have a plethora of Malaysian Trumpet snails that came with some plants that I ordered and I assume that they churn the sand up?

 

You might as well go with both worlds and create a marble (like marble cake) like landscape. Boom, problem solved!

*Drop mic*

Honestly though, you have an opportunity to actually trying to a small sample to smash together and see how that would look. Too much black, add PFS, too much PFS, add black. Does it look natural? Sure it does.

 

Correction: I meant black substrate is a pain to CLEAN without a lot of light. Some have claimed BDBS too sharp for corys. However only a couple people claimed this. Maybe they were using a hard grit instead of a medium? Is the 20/40 medium the best in terms of least amount of 'sand' flying around while cleaning and bottom feeder fish traffic?

 

Why is black sand a pain to clean?

 

Why is black sand a pain to clean?

When siphoning the gravel/substrate I have to take off the lid/lights. Thus leaving me only with the light from my bedroom light, making it harder to see especially since it's all black.

 

Medium or fine grit work, though I prefer medium because it's heavier.

 

Medium or fine grit work, though I prefer medium because it's heavier.

Do you have any bottom feeders? Main reason for me changing to sand is due to my hopeful possibility of having a school of cories with my betta.

In my new 10G tank I am setting up.

 

Either PFS or black diamond blasting sand will be fine for bottom dwellers. I've used both. I prefer black diamond both from an aesthetics point of view and the fact it has less silica in it than PFS. But really you can't go wrong with either

petco sand is also fine and very similar from a grit standpoint to the medium grit black diamond/pool filter but it's quite a bit more expensive.

 

When siphoning the gravel/substrate I have to take off the lid/lights. Thus leaving me only with the light from my bedroom light, making it harder to see especially since it's all black.

I do agree with this to some extent. I have made sure to do cleanings in the mornings so that I have plenty of light. It can be difficult to see what you are vacuuming. But I have found if you make a swirling motion over the sand, it will stir up stuff you couldn't see also.

I do love the bdbs though. It looks so nice. It didn't take more than 20-30 minutes of rinsing max. I am using the medium grit. I have it in 3 tanks. It has a bit of a sparkle to it also, which I have to say, makes me like it even more lol

If you are only doing a 10 gallon tank, the bdbs, pfs, or play sand might be excessive. They are sold in 25-50lb bags. Although the bdbs is $8 for 50lbs so very cheap. But make sure you have a place to store the leftover. Otherwise I would spend the extra money and get the pet store sand.

 

For future reference, where can I purchase BDBS?

 

tractor supply has black diamond. menards has a similar product folks have used on here. Some places will call it blasting abrasives. They are all coal slag and you are wanting something around 20/40 or 40/60 grit

 

Ah cool. I have a Tractor Supply close by. Thank you. I have wanted to try BDBS for a while, but I hate unplanting my Crypts and Swords.

 

I do not like play sand. I use either MPS or black diamond blasting media. I do have a lot of the nat geo black sand and I do prefer it, but it's expensive compared to the previous.

I received a bunch of the nat geo stuff for free when I scooped up a ton of supplies from a breeder who was closing up shop.

I generally use the nat geo stuff as a cap as not to waste it. But I have plenty of black diamond aquariums. You cannot use it with (at least I won't) bottom dwellers like cories and sifters like some loaches and cichlids because it is quite abrasive for them. Otherwise I've never had issues with it. I use multI purpose sand for almost all of my cichlid aquariums but it gets mixed with aragonite (I mix 1 part aragonite to 3 parts MPS). In some of my shell dweller aquariums I also have some of the nat geo sand mixed in. The small multies have probably moved metric tons of it by mow without issue.

 

Unfortunately, a 10 gal is not appropriate for a school of cories, but your betta would love a 10 gal to himself! Or you could add some inverts like shrimp or snails.

 

I just picked up black Petco sand. I didn't want to risk it. It is rinsing and soaking overnight.

I also got some shrimp pellets and an LED hood for my 10G, and Seachem Purigen to put in my larger DIY filter. I've got a silicone place mat coming tomorrow to reduce water getting on the side table it is on during water changes.

My betta seemed to be doing better with the albino cory, but I caught him nipping at him today. Maybe the cory just swam too close. Or maybe I just need to give him more time. I only have one at the moment solely for 'testing' the waters if my betta will be nice enough to live with cories. No chunks missing out of the albino so far, so I'm glad about that.

 

Your poor cory should be in a larger group in a larger tank. Can you upgrade to a 20 gal long? Even a 20 gal high isn't big enough for a school, as these cories get around 3" long

 

Your poor cory should be in a larger group in a larger tank. Can you upgrade to a 20 gal long? Even a 20 gal high isn't big enough for a school, as these cories get around 3" long

I know he needs to be in a school. I'm testing the waters to see if my betta will tolerate them. I'll hopefully be switching to smaller pygmy cories and bringing this guy back. Pygmy cories get to be about 1" instead of 2". I made a special order at Petco for them. Four or five 1" pygmy cories and a 2.5-3" betta sure surpasses the 1" per gallon rule if you follow that.

 

Pygmy cories aren't temperature with bettas, and aren't appropriate for a 10 gal tank either. The inch per gallon rule is bogus and shouldn't be followed. In the meantime, you're subjecting a cory to a lot of stress.

 

Unfortunately, a 10 gal is not appropriate for a school of cories, but your betta would love a 10 gal to himself! Or you could add some inverts like shrimp or snails.

Look at what I saw tonight at PetSmart! I took a picture just so I could show you. The tank was empty, so I couldn't teach anyone anything lol I was bummed, but moreso because I wanted to pick up some Julii's tonight lol (to go in my 29 gallon, btw)

 

Look at what I saw tonight at PetSmart! I took a picture just so I could show you. The tank was empty, so I couldn't teach anyone anything lol I was bummed, but moreso because I wanted to pick up some Julii's tonight lol (to go in my 29 gallon, btw)

View attachment 308118

Same size as albinos. Did they have any pygmy cories? I'm looking for them as they're even smaller.

 

Same size as albinos. Did they have any pygmy cories? I'm looking for them as they're even smaller.

Pygmy cories will probably harass your betta more than full-sized ones, considering they tend to swim farther up in the water column and not just surf the substrate. Also, there are 3 separate kinds of pygmy cory (habrosus,hastatus, and pygmaeus) , and I believe that 2 of the 3 cannot handle the warmer temperatures that bettas enjoy. I have seen most people recommend a minimum of 20 gallon even for pygmy cories due to activity, but I have no experience with them.

Since this thread is about sand lol (oops), I've had black sand and have changed to PFS. Black sand just made everything a bit too dark for me, and PFS just makes everything so bright and natural looking. However, and I am unsure if this is actually due to the PFS, I believe that the PFS's silica content has made it impossible to get rid of my diatoms, so keep that in mind.

 

Went to Petco and found out their vendor doesn't carry pygmies. Here is a list of Petco's current availability of smaller corys from their vendor:

If you have a Bridges Pets in your area, (I'm not sure if they're nation wide, but I'm in Washington state) they DO have pygmy cories. They said they didn't know the actual scientific name, but it's the gray one with a stripe on its back. I'll for sure be getting some when my bigger 10G is set up.

 

As mentioned, even the smaller cory species aren't appropriate for a 10 gal tank due to their activity level and the size of the shoal they should be in.

 

I put my 'old' filter media into my new tank as well as 'old' anacharis into my new tank ith dechlorinated water. Would it be acceptable to introduce my betta to the new tank having the filter run in the new water for 24 hours?

 

I put my 'old' filter media into my new tank as well as 'old' anacharis into my new tank ith dechlorinated water. Would it be acceptable to introduce my betta to the new tank having the filter run in the new water for 24 hours?

I didn't even wait 24 hours for mine. I switched the media and waited for 3 hours to be sure the temp was set at the right level. So you should be just fine.

 

I didn't even wait 24 hours for mine. I switched the media and waited for 3 hours to be sure the temp was set at the right level. So you should be just fine.

Don't tempt me! It's 11pm at night and I'm eager to get my betta all set up in the new tank!

I set up my first tank and plopped my betta in without cycling any way at all my first time, he did fine, but I'd better ask to make sure I'm not possibly going to harm him this time (if I even did the first time, doubt it).

Here's where we're at if anyone's wondering: I bought some amazon sword. I love it.




Also got some filter media bags for my purigen to put into my DIY filter. Btw, I returned the albino cory if anyone was worried lol.

 

Hahahaha I would definitely wait until morning. That way you won't be up all night wondering how he is doing. It's why I start all my tank stuff very early in the day. Sometimes the worrying is the worst part of it lol

 

No need to wait 24 hours.

If you moved your media it's instant.. introducing your fish will provide food for the bacteria to flourish and spread

 

Awesome thanks. What would you guys recommend for someone without a cycled aquarium handy to "boost start" their tank? As I did not boost start my first tank at all. Kind of just put my fish in.

Bio starter chemicals?

 

Awesome thanks. What would you guys recommend for someone without a cycled aquarium handy to "boost start" their tank? As I did not boost start my first tank at all. Kind of just put my fish in.

Bio starter chemicals?

I use often and have never had a bad experience with seachem stability and prime. I cannot vouch for anything else since I refuse to use anything else after successful startup of 30+ aquariums with the seachem combo. I can say that api's quick start is garbage and I wouldn't use it even if I was given a swimming pool of it for free.

This forum has plenty of members who have successful use of tetra safe start plus though if I had to use something other than seachems stability it would be Dr tim's one and only as it's truly a live nitrifying bacteria.

 

I use Prime & Stability also and have no complaints at all. Cycled with fish in 14 days. There is an easy formula to follow. Very self explanatory.

 

Awesome. Thanks for all your help guys. Should I create a general "build" thread of my tank and ask general questions there or would this suffice?

 

Awesome. Thanks for all your help guys. Should I create a general "build" thread of my tank and ask general questions there or would this suffice?

Yes I would. I have one that I ask all sorts of questions in. Then you can show your progress and pictures etc.