# Pool filter sand



## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

Is this the easiest sand to use? I mean less cloudy and dirty than play sand. Is it expensive? Can you buy it at places like Canadian tire or only specialty stores? Any other recomendations for a nice cheaper substrate?


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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

Pool filter sand should not be expensive. I bought a big bag of it for $20 a few years ago from a hot tub and pool store. It was waayyyy cleaner than play sand. My only cautions would be not to use it with any delicate or sensitive bottom dwellers like stingrays and not to put a filter intake too close to the level of the substrate.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Just check out a pool supply store. They will always have it. It's a fairly natural beige/ran colour and its pretty clean. Just a couple of rinses in a bucket should be sufficient. Hardware stores will probably not have it in Canada. I've seen it at Home Depot in California no surprise given the number of pools in the warm zones.


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## stlove1 (Dec 19, 2010)

Check with lordco and get some silica from them about 13$ for 50lbs bag. That's what I use and works fine


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## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

Thank you that's perfect! I will head to Lordco!


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Silica is fine as long as you aren't using for sand sifters or other fish that are sensitive to sharp sand. The stuff at Lordco is meant for sandblasting and was designed to have sharper edges.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Langley Bywater $16 for 45-50 lb bag.


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## roshan (Jul 19, 2010)

also you can try vantage pool and spa in langley, if you want the beige colour


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## Sidius (Mar 25, 2012)

gklaw said:


> Langley Bywater $16 for 45-50 lb bag.


I use this from Langley By-Water in both my tanks. It's cheap and looks awesome. If you're curious, my signature has links to both my tanks and there's pics of it.


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## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

I did buy the silica sand from Lordco, it cost me $11.66 including tax for a 50 lb. bag. I only used a bit more than half the bag. It was fairly easy to clean and looks great in my tank. Thanks for the help everyone!


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## pf983 (Dec 6, 2011)

I will be setting up a new tropical fish tank with real plants over x'mas. Just wondering how much sand I should put in? one inch?


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

pf983 said:


> I will be setting up a new tropical fish tank with real plants over x'mas. Just wondering how much sand I should put in? one inch?


Would be nice to know the size of your tank (gallonage) and what type of plants you're thinking of, in order to give you a better answer.
Otherwise, I'd suggest about 1" at the front, up to 2.5" to 3" at the rear, to accomodate rooted plants.
The amount of sand you'll need for that depends on the size of your tank -..... if you want to know that.


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## pf983 (Dec 6, 2011)

Just went to Imperial Paddock near Boundary. They said they have more and more people come in for pool filter sand to be used in aquarium. They now carry different colour sand. I picked up a bag of fine white sand. They also have darker colour, but larger grain.


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