Pool filter sand

[blacksilverado]

Ok I read various forums. I bought 150lbs of pfs today. I read that it needs to be washed, most say it doesent.

It doesent seem dusty when I pick up a handful, should i shut my canistr filters off while i add it in? What say you?

Btw I am doing this tonight as well

[sas]

Yes definitely rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse again til the water runs clear.

Definitely shut off your filters, if any of that sand gets in your canister
it will destroy the impellers.

You can also run filter floss on a HOB before starting up your canister.

[fischkopp]

It will need a very good rinse! Make sure you don't breathe in any dust if it is made of silica, it's not healthy!

[thepiscivore]

I've set up a couple of tanks using this sand, didn't even rinse, just ran cheap filters with floos for a few days to clear any sediments. Then went to the canister filter. Never had any problems with my filters or fish doing this.

[Al]

I would agree that rinsing would be preferable. thepicivore comment is interesting and I don't doubt the reference made nor his experience - but all pool filter sands aren't the same - there are different brands, different batches, etc - what might be a little dust in one might be quite variable in another. It's like saying my car is great in the snow and saying then that all cars should be great in the snow? In general, PFS doesn't require a ton of rinsing like let's say some of the CaribSea stuff (now these are painful to rinse, especially stuff like the Aragamax sugar sized sand - UGLY job) so as a precaution and best practice I would agree with rinsing.

[Nerine]

Did you buy from mermaid?

I bought pool filter sand there eons ago...and I HAD to rinse it...I took a huge bucket and sat in the basement at the floor drain and just took a hose and gently rinsed. AND DO NOT BREATHE IN THE DUST!!! use a cloth or something over your face and keep well ventilated. Silica is horrid stuff to get in your lungs.

But rinse rinse rinse! and then into tank...my tank stayed cloudy for about 3 days and I had some cheap HOB running