H.D. Play Sand Reef Safe

[RenoR1]

Has anyone used the "play sand" at Home Depot in their tanks?

I'm looking for a cheap alternative to use as Fuge Sand.

Thoughts?

 

[shackscs]

Short cuts in this hobby can have bad results.

Long term dont know if the sand will compact down like cement. Do what I and others have done, space at purchasing the sand you need or save up until you can get exactly what you need.

Also, I am not sure what the size that the sand is and what impact it will have.

Others with more info might chime in.

 

[aleonn]

Personally I would not take the risk. One may never know all the ingredients and where it's been. I think it's risky even to scoop up sand from the beach.

 

[Frogmanx82]

I would go with pool filter sand over play sand, less fines.

 

[spoiled739]

I got my sand from Home Depot. It is white crystal sand and it is just fine. I do not have compaction (not sure if that is a for real word) at all. I think it was a great way for me to get sand for my tank and not have to pay as much, plus I seeded it with live sand from another tank. Just make sure that you DO NOT get sand that has cement in it. I do not believe play sand has cement in it. I actually think that might be the sand I have. Here is a link when my boyfriend asked about it. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1757919

 

[RenoR1]

I got my sand from Home Depot. It is white crystal sand and it is just fine. I do not have compaction (not sure if that is a for real word) at all. I think it was a great way for me to get sand for my tank and not have to pay as much, plus I seeded it with live sand from another tank. Just make sure that you DO NOT get sand that has cement in it. I do not believe play sand has cement in it. I actually think that might be the sand I have. Here is a link when my boyfriend asked about it. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1757919

That's what I was looking for! Thanks!

 

[spoiled739]

You are most welcome.

 

[mscarpena]

Not a good idea. This sand is not meant to hold or house any living things. Really to save $30-40 it is not worth it. Could have a lot of organics in it or a lot of silicates and cause algae blooms. Also may not buffer PH and cause issue that way as well.

 

[Brwestern]

I don't know personally, but my friend has 120 lbs of it and he hasn't said he's had any problems with it at all.

 

[chimmike]

the silica based play sand WILL leech silicates and it can cause diatom blooms. I did some heavy research on this myself. I liken this to being drafted in the major leagues, being able to bat .500 every year and crank 90 home runs, guaranteed, but before your first game, taking a baseball bat to your leg and fracturing it. Then trying to play all season with a major fracture.

You're handicapping yourself and possibly creating issues by taking the shortcut.

 

[spoiled739]

I have had this sand up and running in my tank and have not had any problems. There are a lot of people that use this sand.

 

[chimmike]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2003/feature.htm

 

[cubsare1]

I have play sand in my tank, been in there for over 3years. Doesn't compact at all, actually looking at larger grain to stop the blowing around. I have several snails that are always in the sand including 2 fighting conchs without any problems

 

[mc-cro]

I tried HD play sand, never could find the "white" sand. all I could ever find was a very light tan. Its sugar fine, but it sucks. I have found that it is sharp if you look at it in a magnifying glass, and it does compact.

 

[Frogmanx82]

Be real careful cleaning your glass. Silica sand is much harder than aragonite and you will get more scratches in the glass over time. To me its not worth it. All the money you spend on a reef tank and you're going to cheap out on sand? It can be done, its just not the best choice and you are more likely to kick yourself over it later.

 

[syrinx]

Agree with frog. It generally is safe- but not worth the price. The problem is- by the time you have a grown in tank- it will be scratched to the point you will want to tear it down.

 

[D-Nak]

Something to keep in mind. Not all Home Depots carry the same play sand. On the east coast, some HDs get (or I should say used to get, since I don't know what's going on today) aragonite based play sand, often referred to as Southdown or YardRight. This stuff never made it to stores on the west coast, which makes sense as shipping sand is expensive. Several years ago, people were pooling together funds to purchase pallets of the stuff and bring it west.

My guess is that since you're on the west coast, you won't see aragonite based play sand. Then you will need to determine if silica based sand is worth the risk. Personally -- chemistry aside -- I chose to remove that whole equation by getting commercially available reef-safe sand. I just didn't want to deal with it, in case I had a problem with the tank and didn't know what to attribute it to. I didn't want to possibly blame the sand I was using and then think I'd need to remove it from my tank.

Long story short, do what you think you can handle -- you may end up saving money but worry that the sand you're using may be causing problems in your tank. Or, you may not blame the sand at all, then everything will be good.

 

[chimmike]

most stores don't get the calcium carbonate based stuff anymore. It's simply cheaper and more abundant to use the silica (quartz) based sand.