# Silica or Pool Filter Sand



## PitBully (Apr 14, 2009)

Which one should I get? I want white sand that wont cloud my tank. I'm having a hard time finding pool filter sand in L.A. so Silica may be my only option.


----------



## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Big sell for Pool Filter Sand here:
http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic ... substrate/
I have play sand and am happy with it.
Neither will cloud your tank for too long if you rinse it well first.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/cleaning_sand.php

kevin


----------



## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

I have silica. It's the same stuff really, just pool filter sand has larger particles which is easier on HOB filters, sinks quicker. Flip side is I guess if a particle does make it into the filter it would do that much more damage. The silica stuff sinks readily too, but mine is just small enough that surface tension can leave some on the surface. When I had an HOB I learned pretty quick to be careful.

If I had to do it again, I'd look more diligently for PFS.

What kind of filtration do you have? I might be able to give a little more specific information.


----------



## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

ridley25 said:


> Big sell for Pool Filter Sand here:
> http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic ... substrate/
> I have play sand and am happy with it, but it's, well...sand coloured.
> 
> ...


Edit: the play sand is sand coloured, so if you want white, it obviously won't do.


----------



## FedEXguy (Feb 24, 2005)

ridley25 said:


> the play sand is sand coloured, so if you want white, it obviously won't do.


I have play sand in a planted tank from Home Depot that came in a brown bag and it is sand colored. It also took awhile to clean and had some fairly fine particles that took a number of grave vacs to remove. It's settled now but it does tend to pack down and need stirring.

I have another brand that came in a clear plastic bag from Lowes in another tank. This sand is a white that rivals some pool filter sands. It's also heavier and required less cleaning and doesn't pack as readily.

Brand names? I don't remember, but in both cases it was the only bags labeled Play Sand in my local stores. I would say look at Lowes if you have one in your area.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Been using Quickrete play sand for years. No complaints what so ever.

I recently used a cheaper white play sand from Lowes and it sucked royally! It was dyed and all the white took over 3 months to leach out and ten the sand turned its natural yellow color. To this day if I stir the sand bed it will cloud with dye.

The brand was pavestone.


----------



## FedEXguy (Feb 24, 2005)

I don't think JWerner2's sand is the same I use, but I suppose it could be. I've not had any dye issues or cloudiness with mine. It doesn't show up on Lowe's website (at least the pictures don't look like what my bags looked like.) Maybe I just got lucky.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Well, mine was light and very fine. So if yours was heavy I doubt it. It also didnt come in a brown bag. It was clear with a blue header.


----------



## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I thought pool filter sand was silica sand. Either way, I use play sand myself.


----------



## Floyd R Turbo (Jan 18, 2010)

I live in Iowa and no PFS at Home Depot or Lowe's, but there was some at Menards. I went and looked at it, $5 for 50 lb bag, white bag with blue print, Granusil silica fillers, made by Unimin corporation. The guy I talked to at Menards said that people use it for their pool filters, although they don't sell it as PFS, because that's not what it's made for.

Leslie's Pool Supply had some for $20 for a 50 lb bag, but the guy I talked to there was very honest, I told him what I was looking for and what Menards had told me, and he said that it is the exact same stuff, the difference it that theirs is sold as "made for pool filters" and Menards stuff isn't, and it's just one additional set of certification tests that their stuff goes through so it can be labeled as "pool safe". Otherwise, it's 100% identical.

So I got 4 bags of it for use in a 225g in I'm turning into a Cichlid tank. It's a customer of mine, I maintain his 125 FOWLR. He used to keep Discus in the 225, but they all died from bad water. I joined this forum so I could get some info specific to cichlids. I used to keep them myself on and off for a number of years (about 1985 through 2001) until I managed to neglect and kill them all (I was partying a lot in 2000). I will be starting up a thread for that tank, as I have some questions and want to get it right the first time!!


----------

