Natural Stone for Pool Filtration

[bizfromqc]

... so on my hunt to find white silica sand, I probably called a 100 places and finally found a spot where they carry it. Mermaid on Ogilvie said they had some for 20$ for 50lbs.

We have a "Club Piscine" near by so I stopped to see if they had pool filter sand (I had read that some folks use that with success and it's dirt cheap). So I went in and asked the clerk about it. Said they had some but it wasn't white but "silver". I took that to mean it was "whitish" and bought a bag, sight-unseen, 50lbs for less than 10$ with tax.

Came home, took a knife, cut open the bag and this is what I found out LOL To me, that's more of a dark grey, border line black. I guess color is a subjective matter 

It doesn't look half bad actually. Very small in size, coarser than sand but way finer than gravel. I originally wanted a white sand to use in a shell dweller tank but I'm starting to think a black substrate with white shells would make the fish's light color pop. The more I think about, the more I like the idea of a dark grey/black substrate.

There's not a whole lot of information on what that substrate is but what I could find mentions that it's granite based and totally inert.

What do you guys think? One of my concerns was it this was small enough for the shellies to move around like they do with sand (I was thinking lamprologus multifasciatus)

Link to the product from Club Piscine
http://www.clubpiscine.ca/723-product-maintenance-and-equipment-natural-stone.html

Link to the actual product from the manufacturer (french only)
http://www.harscomineraux.ca/agregats3.html

Pictures attached.

[androo303]

Something sexy about that substrate... Yarg!! I was going to go white silica and now to see this, I am stumped.... I have ecocomplete but don't want to buy a lot due to costs. I was going to use the white silica stuff for the front and the Eco for the back but if I can now mix it all together this may be good!!!

 

[Laura]

That looks fantastic! So much nicer than while IMO as it will bring out the colour of the fish rather than fade them out.
Not sure what the shell dwellers will think of it, but I think it's beautiful.

[exv152]

It should work fine, but what's a shelly?

[bizfromqc]

It should work fine, but what's a shelly?

Shell dwelling cichlid from Lake Tanganyika
http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=65

[touchofsky]

The only concern I would have is the size.  Shelldwellers like to excavate and move the sand around.  They aren't very big, so this may be a bit coarse.  It is hard to tell from a photo.  Pool filter sand is more the consistency of sugar (but heavier).

[Aquafreak2]

I have used this product in my Malawi Cichlid tank and it is great.  The only problem I have is when cleaning the windows with my magnetic window cleaner,  If you come to close to the substrate it actually sticks to the magnets and can scratch you glass.  But otherwise it's super easy to clean and my Cichlids play in it and move it around without any problems.

[fischkopp]

Looks like an interesting choice of substrate if it is really inert.

Dark gravel is great in a planted tank as it creates a nice contrast to green and reddish plants.

It is not the best choice for fish though as it will darken the fish. Fish will create more notably more dark pigments as they try to blend in with its surroundings. Some folks even say they this stresses the fish since dark/black gravel isn't very common as habitat. Not sure how scientifically proven that is.

I used to have a lot of black substrate in my tanks but eventually started to mix in white/beige silica sand, creating a sort of salt 'n pepper look. I find this works best to see a natural coloration, not too bright (washed out) and not too dark.

[bizfromqc]

After thinking about this for a while (and reading some of your comments), I decided against using this substrate with the shellies. I will stick to the original plan and get some white silica sand. I'll put some darker stones in there as well to create a nice contrast.

But I will swap out the gravel (CaribSea Kon Tiki) in my apisto tank with this stuff. It will be a major PITA to take everything out, including the plants, fish, gravel, etc... but it will be worth it in the long run, I hope LOL. I'm setting aside some time tomorrow evening to do this swap, wish me luck!

As it stands now, there really wasn't enough gravel in the tank for the rooted plants so I would have needed to add more anyways. In any case, the gravel will be coming out and the dark gray/black natural stone will be going in. I have a 50 lbs bag so I'll have enough of the stuff to create a nice and deep substrate to replant the tank after.

I'll post on the progress in my build thread

Thanks everyone for your input on this substrate 

[bizfromqc]

Substrate swap completed. Build thread updated here.

[pm]

I LOVE the look of the substrate in the water... not too light and not too dark.  It also seems to be just the right size for planting.

Now I am kinda jealous that I mixed fluorite with regular gravel instead of this stuff.  The magnetic qualities were the only thing that worried me when I first saw this stuff. 

[bizfromqc]

I remember you telling me about the magnet test you did at the last plant meeting. It's one of the reasons I had looked up the manufacturer info about the product online to confirm weather or not the stuff was inert.

It's crazy cheap and it looks good, a winning combo in my humble opinion. It does take a while to rinse it and settle down in the tank but I'm hoping with filter floss (as touchofsky recommended) it will clear up faster.

I got about 15-20lbs left if you want some let me know and I can bring it Monday at the OVAS meeting