Bigsea's Freshwater

[sinibotia]

Ann and I are big fans of play sand! All of our tanks, bar the barebottom tanks and the multi tank, use playsand. Here's 4 of our tanks- 2 planted, 2 not.

 

[sinibotia]

Whoops, forgot the pictures BTW we use quickrete brand from home depot.

 

[bigsea]

Looks great sini

Do you know if theres a specific brand that makes a slightly darker shade??


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[coralbandit]

I just put in 'Lighthouse' brand PFS.
I used it in my 20T pisto tank.
The fish spawned the next day!

Looks yellow because I have added humic acid .

 

[sinibotia]

No idea about that, sorry I use it because it's cheap and loaches like it, I don't care much what shade it is

 

[bigsea]

I just put in 'Lighthouse' brand PFS.
I used it in my 20T pisto tank.
The fish spawned the next day!

Looks yellow because I have added humic acid .

Nice apistos
How is the pfs in comparison to the play sand? Grain size? Color?

No idea about that, sorry I use it because it's cheap and loaches like it, I don't care much what shade it is

Im after sand for the same reasons sini. But the main fish that are going in there (or maybe theyre already in there ) are super bright colored. I wanted a dark sand to set off their colors more. Not a fan of the black sand though.


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[coralbandit]

I have not used other sands.
I have black blasting sand also that many use ,but have not installed it in any tanks.
I mostly breed so no subs in most tanks.
My old forum had a sand thread,I will try to find it and link it...
I was thinking you could mix colors.
The PFS is preferred by many as it does not compact like play sand may.
It is intended to be in water and for water to flow through it.
Both are very cheap($8 50lb bag)..

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/cheap-black-sand-comparison-spectraquartz-ceramaquartz-41856.html

 

[bigsea]

So its a toss up now. I actually really like that black blasting sand. That or pfs. Thank you good sir


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[Fresh2o]

My two cents on the black blasting sand: I purchased a 50# bag of either fine or medium grade, washed it well in a bucket + hose, and placed a thin layer (1/4") in a new setup. Within a few days I noticed an oily residue on the surface of the water. Repeated water changes (skimming the surface while doing so) did not help. I eventually siphoned out the sand and went with the black sand from Petco. Unlike the blasting sand, the Petco sand has a dull finish; not shiny or metallic.


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[bigsea]

My two cents on the black blasting sand: I purchased a 50# bag of either fine or medium grade, washed it well in a bucket + hose, and placed a thin layer (1/4") in a new setup. Within a few days I noticed an oily residue on the surface of the water. Repeated water changes (skimming the surface while doing so) did not help. I eventually siphoned out the sand and went with the black sand from Petco. Unlike the blasting sand, the Petco sand has a dull finish; not shiny or metallic.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

Thank you very much for your input sir


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[Laeris]

I can attest to the oily residue removing power of plain old blue Dawn. Killed a fuel slick and left a bowl full of moss alive. Super well rinsed and alive.

 

[jwh0818]

The black sand blasting sand has an oily residue because it's slag ground up. I much prefer pfs versus play sand. Play sand is a much finer grain so it stays in motion longer when disturbed over pfs. Pfs is a thicker heavier grain that falls almost immediately when disturbed. Play sand gets in your filters alot. I've use both and while play sand looks whiter and neater on the bottom so to speak, pfs is my choice. It has a tannish finish over the play sand whitish.

 

[jwh0818]

1 item

 

[bigsea]

The black sand blasting sand has an oily residue because it's slag ground up. I much prefer pfs versus play sand. Play sand is a much finer grain so it stays in motion longer when disturbed over pfs. Pfs is a thicker heavier grain that falls almost immediately when disturbed. Play sand gets in your filters alot. I've use both and while play sand looks whiter and neater on the bottom so to speak, pfs is my choice. It has a tannish finish over the play sand whitish.

Perfect. Pool filter sand it is. I need a darker sand too so this will be right up my alley.

Thanks a bunch for all these responses guys. Youve all been a big help


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[bigsea]

1 item

I like the rockwork you got goin on here


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[bigsea]

The last turquoise rainbow i bought looks different than the others. Im hoping hes just an ugly turquoise/bad genetics. He has a lot more yellow on his upper half and in his dorsal fins. Anyone know whats going on here? Im hoping i didnt get some dirty hybrid

Here he is


The others look more or less like this



I also wanna add that all the fish are around 1.5-2" in length. There are slender rainbows (assuming females) that outcolor the ugly one (assumed to be male)

- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[coralbandit]

Males are usually larger and more colorful.
They will have a deeper body then females when they mature.
I would not worry about the color as some rainbows really seem to have an 'on & off'switch when it comes to coloring up and changing.
Nice Madagascar lace in the pic man!

 

[bigsea]

Males are usually larger and more colorful.
They will have a deeper body then females when they mature.
I would not worry about the color as some rainbows really seem to have an 'on & off'switch when it comes to coloring up and changing.
Nice Madagascar lace in the pic man!

Okay thank you. Yea im aware of that it was just concerning cause there are slender ones of the same length that outcolor this one.

Thanks a buddy of mine gave it to me for free when he left the hobby


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[bigsea]

Has anyone ever used this sand?



- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[coralbandit]

I believe Gillie uses it in his south American build.
I 'll look for his thread for you.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f100/40-breeder-colombia-build-340944.html
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