Decor or
Distinction
Recommended Accessories for Sutherland Scapable SandFall
Model SF12012060A
Recommended Pump
The below pumps are pumps we have used in testing and find they work well and reliably. Most similar sized pumps should work fine with the systems. A key point is to make sure the pump comes with 1/2" hose ID adapters to connect to the sandfall kit to minimize the need for additional adapters.
PICK Two
The Pulaco pump has slightly more power that results in slightly more sandflow, but it is barely noticeable. We do not have as much experience with this pump, so cannot attest to its reliability as much as the kedsum pump. The only issue we found with this pump is that any sand that is sucked into the inlet can become embedded and cause the pump to stop working until cleaned. We had fewer issues with the kedsum in this regard
Sand
Many different types and brands of sand may work in the Sandfall. We believe that the whiter the sand is the more realistic the sand fall will look. Finer sand will also be more likely to be blown around the reservoir and your tank, so you may have to limit the amount of sand in the sandfall, which can reduce the sandflow.
TOP PICK
Imagitarium® Aquatic Substrate from Petco®
PROS
- Uniform Size
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Whitest Sand Tested
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Least Expensive Substrate
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Available in 5lb or 20 lb bags
CONS
- Some grains float
-
Causes cloudy water that can require
significant rinsing
Alternative: Topfin® White Sand from PetSmart® is identical but usually
slightly more expensive and not currently available on Amazon
RUNNER UP
Caribsea Super Naturals Crystal River®
PROS
- Less Rinsing Required
- Does not Float as readily
CONS
-
Not as White
-
Smaller Grain, so blown out of reservoir more easily
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More Expensive
-
Only Available in 20 lb bags on Amazon
GFCI Extension Cord
A Ground Fault Circuit Interupter is a device that is designed to break a circuit if an imbalance is detected, such as a short in an underwater pump that may save your fish from accidental electrocution. We recommend a GFCI circuit be used to protect all submersible items in your fish tank, such as heaters and pumps. If you do not have a GFCI protected circuit located near your aquarium you can use an automatic reset GFCI device such as this one.
Single Extension
Three Way Extension
Clarifying Agent
After installation the water of your aquarium may turn cloudy. This is primarily from the sand, but can also be from the resin rock. Water changes are one way to clear this up, but you can also use a clarifying agent such as the one from Seachem. This is generally safe for fish, shrimp, and snails. In smaller tanks this can take several applications to resolve the issue. Please follow the directions.
Note: AquaVista does collect a small fee from Amazon when you use these links to purchase the recommended products, but this would be true of any product we recommend on Amazon, so you can be assured that there is no bias in our recommendations.
PICK One
We have used the Kedsum brand for our other sandfalls and have thousands of hours of use without problems. We have less experience with this model, but it has worked well for us so far and we expect it to perform as reliably as the other models we have used. It is on the lower end of the gph recommendations for the Sutherland Sandfall, but has worked fine with barely noticeable differences in sandflow rates.