Where would YOU get the gravel/rocks for a 55 long?

First topic message reminder :




First picture the tanks being filled,
second the tank is full, I was cleaning the glass (:


Ok heres my issue, im not by any means prepared to throw $50 into ROCKS for my tank!
I have several that would be ok for like decor for on top of the tiny gravel, but I wanted to ask..


Where do YOU get your gravel/rocks ? How much do you pay?
Pictures would be cool just to keep this thread light n_n


But seriously, Id love some good suggestions!

PM sent.

Omg. What a miserable process.
Cleaning play sand that is....

Ryan.. fess up... you had some bad experience with some "sh*tty" spfs.. then we located one supplier that didn't require one bit of cleanout!..(and was quite a bit cheaper.. 13 down to 10...
did ya ever get the identity of that spfs you used the first time?.. one to avoid I'm sure!.. Bill

awesome, so pool sand it is! it'd be my luck i find the shoddy dirty pool sand...

IM SO MAD! Im like on the verge of crying.
Ive spent the last 5 hours now cleaning this freaking sand and it is STILLL not clean.
I was so close to taking a bat to the tank out of anger.



I cant mess with this anymore today or any day soon.
5 hours of my life wasted over this sand. DONT EVER BUY SAND FROM LOWES!

This is the 5th time ive filled, and emptied this dang tank.
Ive lost my mind. Its just as cloudy as the beginning, and I only started filling the tank up to see if it was clean enough. NOPE.

I'd just let it sit at this point. Give it a few hours and it will all settle out.

williemcd wrote:

Ryan.. fess up... you had some bad experience with some "sh*tty" spfs.. then we located one supplier that didn't require one bit of cleanout!..(and was quite a bit cheaper.. 13 down to 10...
did ya ever get the identity of that spfs you used the first time?.. one to avoid I'm sure!.. Bill

The new stuff is definitely more homogenous, but I did get some crud out of it when I rinsed it - nowhere near as much as with the other stuff, but some.

I'll check the bag if I've still got it. The PFS I started with is much whiter, and much more uniform in color from one grain to the next. I may use it again in the future.

Thanks. I figured it would but it was SO cloudy I felt I wouldn't want that to settle in my tank anyways. Lol.

Ive cooled down, but im still pretty frustrated. I think ill do one last water change since its so murky, im sure it will still be cloudy, but at least I wont see the nasty stuff floating around =/

Ryan H wrote:

williemcd wrote:

Ryan.. fess up... you had some bad experience with some "sh*tty" spfs.. then we located one supplier that didn't require one bit of cleanout!..(and was quite a bit cheaper.. 13 down to 10...
did ya ever get the identity of that spfs you used the first time?.. one to avoid I'm sure!.. Bill

The new stuff is definitely more homogenous, but I did get some crud out of it when I rinsed it - nowhere near as much as with the other stuff, but some.

I'll check the bag if I've still got it. The PFS I started with is much whiter, and much more uniform in color from one grain to the next. I may use it again in the future.

I wish I had gone to get the sand you suggested. I really really do at this point.
I just figured since I had already bought it and stupidly thrown the receipt away that it
was worth a shot to try and wash it. So so wrong.

Taylor wrote:

Thanks. I figured it would but it was SO cloudy I felt I wouldn't want that to settle in my tank anyways. Lol.

Ive cooled down, but im still pretty frustrated. I think ill do one last water change since its so murky, im sure it will still be cloudy, but at least I wont see the nasty stuff floating around =/

I'd scoop that cr@p out and go get a bag of PFS if I were you..

You're right, it almost certainly will settle, but whatever settles will still be in your tank.

Taylor wrote:

I wish I had gone to get the sand you suggested. I really really do at this point.

It's not too late..

I'm in the process of setting up a 48 Hex with soil and sand. The brand name of the sand is Lighthouse. web site: u-s-slilica.com
The upc . 51585 80013 3

50 lbs for $10.00

Contact that website and they should be able to give you a distributor in your area. I've not checked out every brand but lucked out with this being my first purchase and it seems to be pretty clean. Bill

Honestly the only way I have not seen sand cloud up a tank at all is if it was pre soaked to begin with. In other words left to sit in some container wet for awhile then added. Even then you will still have a bit of cloudiness.

It's not like gravel, you will have some particulate that gets kicked up. Heck look at Flourite gravel it is known for clouding tanks for over a day but once it settles in it is just fine. With any fine gravel type you will run the risk of stirring things up and clouding the tank. Some do it less then others but the risk is there.

I'd hit the pause button and take a breather. Come back in an hour or two and it should be getting much better. By tomorrow morning clear as can be.

Thank you all for your tips/support!

Here is a fill from the tap sitting atop soil/sand without any rinse of that sand, "Lighthouse" I referenced earlier. Not to gloat but to just show you that SPFS can be used with good results. The tool boxes behind the tank are about 18 inches.http://s3.amazonaws.com/ep_albums/-635801556/126057/gh6x3.jpg

Wow! It looks great!

Taylor wrote:

IM SO MAD! Im like on the verge of crying.
Ive spent the last 5 hours now cleaning this freaking sand and it is STILLL not clean.
I was so close to taking a bat to the tank out of anger.



I cant mess with this anymore today or any day soon.
5 hours of my life wasted over this sand. DONT EVER BUY SAND FROM LOWES!

I just did the same thing in my new 100g this weekend.. Hours of WC.. I bought sand from Home Depot and like a dumb-@$$ I didnt wash it out with a bucket first, just dumped it into the tank.. But after all the the time I spent on cleaning it I am happy with the results! (next time I will use a bucket though.... lol.....)

Hahah nice! At least your happy now! Im still waiting for it to settle, I added some plants though and the driftwood, so lets hope it settles soon!

I guess it wont matter till I get the heater & air pump!
I ordered both online and its suspected to take more then a month :'(

I wont be able to cycle till then!

All my sand came from Lowes. Most of it was pool filter sand. Though I purchased a whole bunch of play sand to use with my classes' hydroponics project. Ended up using some of the excess under my kid's new lizard. When I needed some for my betta breeding tank (planted) I just scooped some of the sand from the lizard tank (had put too much in there to begin with) rinsed it bowl-by-bowl with hot water until it ran clear - then dumped it into 10G tank. There was a little cloudiness, but since I put the used 20G power filter in there to start the cycle - cloudiness was gone in hours.

Now its almost ready for the bettas....... Just waiting for new sponge filter to be colonized.

If you just let it sit it'll settle on it's own. you could also employ the use of a ghetto prefilter and run your filter to clear out the dust. I used a tetra whisper filter media bag for my ghetto prefilter after my pfs changeout.

27 hr update.
I added some fish (2) about 12 hrs ago... added a filter about 14 hrs. ago (a 10 gallon version),.. took a water reading a few minutes ago:
ph dropped from 7.2 to 6.6 (perfect for my soon to be transported angels)
Nitrites are at .10
Ammonia is at 1.0...
The tank is crystal clear.. the pic makes it look a bit cloudy but it's the 15 y/o bulb that came with the light...


I felt so good about the results, I went out and bought another 2 bags (100 lbs total) for the next set-ups...
Bill

nice job

Well.. since I'm a SA freak, The tank is coming around to my ideal set-up.... Once those vals take off.. can ya imagine a trio or so of Discus weaving their way though the grasses?... Getting excited about the soon arrivals of some Blue Scorpions!...
I still have to figure out the interest in African Cichlids... there has to be something there cuz dar be a ton of ya!...