Making the switch today!

[FroFro]

I'm off to home depot to pick up some pool filter sand. After much more video/guide/article reading and watching I've decided it will be the easiest to switch to. I'll update with before/after pictures once I get all the supplies I need. I'm thinking of mixing the sand in with some black moonsand I saw on sale at the pet store to kind of dilute the glare that can come off it. Wish me luck!

 

[craigieboi]

good luck

 

[Byron]

I'm off to home depot to pick up some pool filter sand. After much more video/guide/article reading and watching I've decided it will be the easiest to switch to. I'll update with before/after pictures once I get all the supplies I need. I'm thinking of mixing the sand in with some black moonsand I saw on sale at the pet store to kind of dilute the glare that can come off it. Wish me luck!

Sorry, but this is not a good idea. The "glare" you mention is very distressing to fish. No fish lives over a white substrate that reflects light. This is the problem with using "pool filter" sand. I have heard of a black pool filter sand, though never come across it.

You will have better fish with darker sand. Play sand works well if you want to save money. Home Depot will exchange it if you haven't opened it. Otherwise, use it in your garden.

Byron.

 

[FroFro]

Sorry, but this is not a good idea. The "glare" you mention is very distressing to fish. No fish lives over a white substrate that reflects light. This is the problem with using "pool filter" sand. I have heard of a black pool filter sand, though never come across it.

You will have better fish with darker sand. Play sand works well if you want to save money. Home Depot will exchange it if you haven't opened it. Otherwise, use it in your garden.

Byron.

If you read my post you'd see that I intend to mix it with a darker aquarium sand because the glare can be hard on the eyes. Sand like the one here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R55QUU/?tag=ff0d01-20

The good news is that during the day I usually rely on the sunlight that is let in through the blinds to naturally light the tank, the only time the light is on is after 6 when the sun sets and until 9PM when its bed time. And no, my fish tank is not in front of the window and the sun does not shine ON the tank, the tank is simply naturally lit by the light allowed into the room. My fish are actually LOVING the new substrate, my corydora immediately started shuffling through the sand and getting comfy. I work two jobs, one of them happens to be at home depot. I am aware of all the sands we sell and after asking my co workers and watching several video guides on youtube I chose pool filter sand because of how much cleaner it is. I live in an apartment so I don't have a driveway and access to a hose to filter 5 five gallon buckets with play sand for 15-20 minutes on hand. I actually stayed up three hours past turn in time so I could clean the sand I do have, play sand would've been double that time. I dedicated hours of my time to sifting through sand and water by hand in the tub and heaving buckets of cloudy water out of the house to dump outside for the benefit of my fish. I always appreciate your concern and your guidance Byron, but my aquarium is doing quite well, even with the slight "glare" at least until I dilute it with the black sand.

-Fro Fro

 

[Byron]

I did see the mix, but in my experience this usually does not work. It will draw attention to itself, sort of like a polka-dot substrate.

I have never found rinsing play sand to be such a problem. It's only dirt anyway. We must consider the fish, this is their permanent environment and if it doesn't provide something like their habitat they will have problems.