Sand and plants?

[D-Town]

Will rooted plants be ok if i were to use Pool Filter Sand?

 

[aqua man]

if there are chemicals in the sand such as chlorine or chloramine it will kill your plants

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

yes rooted plants will do just fine with PFS

 

[jsoong]

Lots of people use PFS for the substrate. It doesn't have nutrients in it, so you might need to add root tabs or other fertilizers for heavy feeders.

 

[sldp999]

hi,
i learned two days ago that sand increase PH and GH alot.i had a row of sand (even when the BAG said THIS SAND IS FOR FRESH and MARINE AQUARIUM)in my aquarium for that "river" look and it was too high maintance to so i took it out and my PH/GH levels are very low now. 7.0PH which is perfect for plants.
i dont recommand sand for live plants.

 

[JohnPaul]

Pool filter sand will not alter pH or GH at all. Not one bit. sidp99, it sounds to me like you had an aragonite-based sand...which will raise pH and raise GH (indeed, that is exactly what it is supposed to do and what people buy it to do.)

It is always important when choosing a substrate to be sure to choose either an inert or a buffering substrate, depending upon your needs & desires. Pool Filter Sand is an inert substrate, and will leave water chemistry unchanged. (And as jsoong says, since there are no nutrients built into pool filter sand, it is usually required to put some fertilizer root tabs in it to provide plant roots with nutrients they need.)

 

[sldp999]

hi,
the bag said can be used for fresh water and wont affect PH levels.
but it did.......so i'm pretty sure its not aragonite sand. but you could you be right.
thanks