Pool filter sand, the good, bad, and ugly.

[Fishguy2727]

Anyone with experience with pool filter sand: please share it here.
-What type did you use?
-Where did you get it?
-How did you clean it?
-How long did it take?
-What type of setup was it in (planted, cichlid, reef, etc.)?
-Have you had any problems with it? This would be anything like cloudiness in the water, brown algae, compaction, pockets of black that smell like rotten eggs, etc.
Any pictures are appreciated.
If you have a silicate test kit, what is the reading? Before and after adding the sand?

Thanks to anyone who contributes in advance.

 

[ccCapt]

This is a great article about silica sand.

Feature Article: Silica In Reef Aquariums — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine
"Is it OK to use silica sand? Probably. Many people do so. I also believe that not all “silica “ sands will be the same for the reasons described above relating to processing of the sand and the nature of the mineral inclusions present. So the fact that many people successfully use some (or many) types of silica sand does not necessarily imply that all people can use any type of “silica” sand without a problem."

 

[mfdrookie516]

Anyone with experience with pool filter sand: please share it here.
-What type did you use? Leslies ($9/50lb), Meijer's brand ($1.99/50lb)
-Where did you get it? above
-How did you clean it? Most of it I either didn't clean, or rinsed in the tank as I was setting it up. Some I rinsed in buckets by putting the hose in the bottom and waiting until it was perfectly clear
-How long did it take? No time - 15 mins?
-What type of setup was it in (planted, cichlid, reef, etc.)?Mbuna and planted
-Have you had any problems with it? This would be anything like cloudiness in the water, brown algae, compaction, pockets of black that smell like rotten eggs, etc.? No. Never once had any issues with diatoms... compaction clearly isn't an issue with any of the PFS I've used... too coarse. No 'stank tank syndrome', even with 4" deep bed. No cloudiness, even when not rinsed.
Any pictures are appreciated.
If you have a silicate test kit, what is the reading? Before and after adding the sand? Don't have one... don't really care to know since there aren't any issues.

Thanks to anyone who contributes in advance.

Pics (These are all tanks I currently have going, or tanks that I have had in the past):

150g planted (PFS layered over miracle gro potting soil):

29g planted (PFS layered over miracle gro potting soil):

40 breeder planted:

125g planted:

150g mbuna (sand looks much whiter in the pic than reality... guess the lighting along with my horrid camera skills make it look white):

For the record, I don't use PFS because I can't afford any other substrates. Heck, I have spent over $2500 on my 40b and 125g planted tanks since february. I have switched from PFS to flourite and floramax in my 40b, but that wasn't because I didn't like the sand...it was because I wanted something darker.