Is this pool filter sand aquarium safe?

[Tahl]

I went to Leslie's Pool Supply and picked up some 20 grade pool filter sand that has a warning on the back that it contains crystalline silica that can cause respiratory problems if you inhale it. I had heard people recommend that this would make a good substrate for tanks and would like to switch to it in the near future if possible (my current substrate is mostly jagged rocks and my leopard ctenopoma likes to scavenge through it with his face and gets cut up). My question mainly is if the crystalline silica is toxic to the fish and if the substrate is safe? Any other tips are welcome too.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Same stuff I have in my tanks. Just be sure to wash it real good first, its surprisingly dirty. It may cause a diatom outbreak for the first few months, but nothing bad...

 

[mr_X]

i think silica sand is inert. i know many people say it can cause algae problems, but i wonder how, since it leaches nothing.

 

[Tahl]

If it causes an algae problem, I could definitely handle that. Most of the tank inhabitants like the brown algae, so hopefully they'll stay interested and on top of that one as well. Any tips on cleaning it since it's very fine? Or changing out the substrate?

I've got a cycled 30 gallon tank at my disposal with only one female opaline gourami in it (the two male gouramis picked on her too much, so I moved her to be by herself -- but she is fine for days at a time with them).

 

[HN1]

It is perfectly safe. Diatoms feed on silica, but we really haven't seen a problem with it in the 20ish tanks we use it in.

MFD- Rinse a bag of flourite and then a bag of PFS.... lol

 

[Tahl]

Thanks everyone, I look forward to changing out the sand after Christmas.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Save yourself some money and return the sand to Leslie's and get the same stuff at Menards. I spoke with someone at Leslie's about it, and they were kind enough to be honest. He told me that the only difference between their stuff and the sand at Menards is that they didn't go through the certification process so they could say it was "pool safe". Otherwise, it's identical. I found it next to the Black Blast for sandblasting, it's in a white bag with blue letters. I can't remember what it's called.

Has the same warning too. You have to rinse the bejesus out of it. I did it in a rubbermaid tub in the bathtub, with a hose connected to a utility sink and a spray nozzle. One 50# bag took me about an hour to get fully rinsed, doing it a little at a time. It still clouded the tank pretty good, but filter took it out in a day or two.

It will not cause an algae outbreak, for the same reason that your glass aquarium does not dissolve silica into the water.

Here's the tank I put it in.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/tank-journal-225-cichlid-habitat-124880.html

 

[mfdrookie516]

Save yourself some money and return the sand to Leslie's and get the same stuff at Menards. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/tank-journal-225-cichlid-habitat-124880.html

If there is a Menards in their area... there's not one here... but we have Meijer, where I get mine for $1.99 a bag

 

[Tahl]

The fluorite is for plants right? I haven't exactly found a good LFS in Alabama, but I'm in Wisconsin for the next week or so and they've got a much larger variety of shops they don't have in the south. Any idea where I could pick some up and what/what quantities I'm looking for to use on a 55 and 30 gallon tank?

 

[mr_X]

how deep of a bed did you want?
here:
Sand Bed Calculator

 

[Tahl]

Probably around 3 inches, give or take a little. I'd really like to swap out my fake plants with real ones at some point, but I haven't researched that far into what I need out of my tank yet.