# Rock or Sand?



## nstanford99 (Feb 6, 2012)

hi all,

i currently have a 55g tank now with sand in it, and im looking to get a 180 or bigger. would you guys do white rock or sand? my 110 is a little louder now, i tried cleaning the impeller and didnt make it any better, i had the filter on my 75 and was fine for that. so if i use an fx5 on the bigger tank, will sand make that filter louder too? thanks for the help!


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Have you taken a look at the impeller shaft might be worn down from the sand. What do you mean by "rock" like gravel? IMO gravel dosnt look good unless its natural looking and flows good with the tank but its more up to you. Also start running a pre filter on your intake to stop the sand getting to the impeller.


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## nstanford99 (Feb 6, 2012)

i saw rock like sand, idk how to describe it, ill put a picture up. i dont mind black or white gravel, that doesnt look to bad. and do you mean put another tube on? my aquaclear 110 came with two intake tubes would that help? what is a pre filter? i love the look of sand but its hard to up keep.










i saw this at petco and it looks more rock like than sandy, but still has the appearance with sand, have you or anyone had any experience with it?


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

I put on a prefilter on my AC70 after 2 motors seized. It only takes a few grains of sand ruin a motor or an impeller shaft; other PFS is the way to go


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## nstanford99 (Feb 6, 2012)

could you show me a prefilter? and has anyone had experience with that kind of sand from petco that i put up?


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## DIYhunter (Mar 3, 2011)

Take out your AC 110 intake and slide a sponge over it; the Fluval Edge pre-filter sponge fits snug over the AC 110 intake. You can use all kinds of sponges, mesh, filter pad with a rubber band.


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## masonv (Mar 27, 2011)

Use pool filter sand. That's what I use, and it's cheap. I pay $15 for 50 lbs. PFS is heavy so it shouldn't get sucked up into your intakes. At least mine hasn't. You can find PFS at a pool & spa place


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## nstanford99 (Feb 6, 2012)

could you post a picture of your tank, *** never heard of pool filter sand. And could i just order that sponge directly from fluval?


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

Here's a pic of one my UDJ (I glued PFS to it), I have PFS mixed with 8lbs of CaribeSea FL crushed coral









Checkout your LFS, prefilters are inexpensive.. I paid $2.99 although Fluval prob will charge more + shipping


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## nstanford99 (Feb 6, 2012)

yeah i will probably end up getting one of those next time i do sand. have any of you used the sand from petco that i posted before?

and does sand make the fluval canisters loud too?


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