Dry Sand....Is it safe for me to use ?

[fulinn]

Good Evening !

I'm almost there ! Getting ready to set up the 75 gall tank.

Now I'm looking at options for Sand. With the warmer weather coming all kinds of sand is for sale locally, for childrens sand boxes.

Can I use it ? It says on the bag that it has been sterlized and is silica free. No other information is available.

So can I buy this and add "critters" later?


I'd like to save some money, but not at the expense of my tank.



Thanks



Bonnie

[Rougiem]

Bonnie: Is this stuff from Home depot? They sell play sand like that and it is very inexpensive. What you mentioned should be fine. Yes you can add critters later with no problems. I have used the same stuff in our school tank with no problems. Hope that helps you out!

Cheers!

[fulinn]

I'm delighted to hear that this would be ok to use. I have seen this sand at the local hardware store as well as the Toys R Us.

[Rougiem]

One more thing...I would rinse it before you put it in your tank. I did the same with mine!

[Cougra]

IF you can, get a handful of the sand and do a vinigar test on it to see if it's alkaline or not. Simply poor a bit of vinigar on top of the sand and iff it fizzes up then it's alkaline which is desirable. A second test is to run a magnet over the sand to see if the magnet picks up any metalic particles, if it does pick up metalic particles then I wouldn't use that particular brand of sand and would look for another one as it has high metal content which is harmful to marine life.

[fulinn]

excellant ! Even if I have to check a couple of different brands its money well spent.

thanks so much for the advise.

Bonnie

[Witfull]

i got mine at Home Depot. they have a sand there from "Quik-Crete" its its carribian sand. very fine grained, as small as or smaller than sugar. it needs a washing first though as it is a tad dirty. use a large rubbermaid tub form wall mart and flood it with water softly stirring it so not to loose to much sand.

[gimpy]

fulinn, are you planning on having a dsb? Most people like to use a real fine grain of sand usually referred to as "sugar size" for a dsb. They also like for it to have a calcium carbonate base, thus the reasoning for using the vinegar test posted above by Cougra. I've read that some H.D. and Toys R Us stores do have that, but there is none of that kind in my area of the country. Another reason is that this type of sand is generally white in color which seems to be more pleasing to the eye.

In my case, I could not find the calcium based sand locally (wished I could have) (except for the $30-35 for a 20# bag of the stuff sold at my lfs and I needed about 80# or so). What I did/used was I went to Ace/HomeCo here in town (my home depot did not have it) and bought a 100# bag of 60 grit (very fine) "sandblasting" sand. It is very fine, relatively cheap at about $11.00 per 100 pound bag and, although not white, is of a grayish white color. It is not calcium based, but is silica based. I have used it before and think that it looks and does a pretty good job for a dsb sand.

I don't like the regular play sand that you buy for $2-3 a bag because it is brownish, irregular in size and, if you look closely, seems to have sharp edges, etc included in it (not supposed to be good for burrowing critters).

[fulinn]

Ok, went sand shopping today at my local Home depot.

They have "play" sand, white in color. I did the vinegar test and it bubbled away just fine ! Passed a magnet across the the sand, NO sand stuck to the magnet. I was overjoyed as its only 4.95 per 40 # bag.

However, on the bag it stated "Not for use in Aquariums".

This product does contain small amounts of silica.

So, has anyone had the opportunity to use this sand ? Have any thoughts on the warning not to use in aquariums ?

Although I do live in the Northeast, when I asked my local HD for Southdown sand, he said they don't carry it. They only have the brownish "play sand" and this white, red or blue KolorScape Sand.

Thanks for your thoughts

Bonnie

[Witfull]

id say your safe with it. flush it with water and go for it~

[Woodstock]

Fulin... It sounds useable! Just rinse as mentioned above. Could you show us a pic of the bag? I am interested in trying it too....

[Cougra]

I wouldn't be too worried about the silica sand in there as it doesn't really desolve very quickly. You may find you have a slightly larger diatom bloom then normal but with patience the diatoms wont be noticeable.

However, on the bag it stated "Not for use in Aquariums".

I believe this is a way for the company to cover themselves to prevent people from sueing them should someone use the sand in the tank then have their tank crash. In other words "use at your own risk."

From what you discribed I would be willing to use it in my tank as well after a good rinsing.

[fulinn]

Thank you to everyone for your help. I have decided I will buy 4 bags of kolorScape Sand.

Do you think 160 # is enough for a DSB for a 75 gallon tank ?

Any good suggestions for how to rinse so much sand ?

I will post a picture of the bag as soon as I buy it sometime this week, this weekend at the latest.

Bonnie

[Woodstock]

Sand Bed Calculator

I would rinse it 1/2 bag at a time... in a bucket, inside your bathtub. Then add it one cup at a time to your aquarium keeping the cup close to the bottom of the tank when you pour the sand out.

Note: Even after rinsing, the sand will create a huge dust storm in your aquarium.

[fulinn]

Ok, would this work ?

This is a new tank, so nothing living in it yet.

could I place all the sand in the tank, fill the tank with my filtered water and turn on a skimmer / HOT filter and let it filter out all the "dust". I will rinse the filter media daily / as needed.

I know it'll cause huge clouds of "dust" but since nothing is living in there I don't see how it would hurt anything.

Do you ?

Bonnie