CrayolaViolence
New member
"live" sand aside, is a bag of sand from home depot okay to use in leu of a bag of much higher priced sand from the aquarium supplier?
Thanks
Thanks
Is sand sand?
- Thread starter CrayolaViolence
- Start date
No. Home Depot sand is silicate sand, which would give you wall-to-wall diatoms, not pleasant. Aragonite sand is a calcium carbonate, which dissolves over years into the marine system, much as old coral skeleton will. You do have to wash it, because it is incredibly dusty. Try to get the rinse water as clear as you can, and prepare to use a LOT of rinse water, as in bathtubs full, with Prime. In winter, when use of outside water is limited, you might be better off getting live sand, which is not so dusty, and which will not grossly affect your water bill in rinsing. Good job you asked!
They arent the same thing.
Home Depot sand is quartz based sand.
Marine aquarium sand at the LFS is coraline (calcium based) sand.
If you are doing fish only, you might be able to get away with it as far as the health of the fish is concerned, but I would not recommend it. If you want coral and inverts then its definitely a no go.
*EDIT* Sk8r posted while I was writing. I defintely agree on the silicate. It will drive you nuts cleaning the glass every 3 days from the diatoms growing all over it.
Home Depot sand is quartz based sand.
Marine aquarium sand at the LFS is coraline (calcium based) sand.
If you are doing fish only, you might be able to get away with it as far as the health of the fish is concerned, but I would not recommend it. If you want coral and inverts then its definitely a no go.
*EDIT* Sk8r posted while I was writing. I defintely agree on the silicate. It will drive you nuts cleaning the glass every 3 days from the diatoms growing all over it.
CrayolaViolence
New member
What about crushed limestone sand? Would it work like aragonite?
CStrickland
New member
They are different.
Sand is just busted down rocks. Reef sand is busted down reef rocks, the sand along the shore has land rocks mixed in and even iron from volcanoes sometimes. The sand a home depot can be from all different mines, just like there's all different rocks like quartz, feldspar etc.
The things to be aware of are mostly contamination, silica, and carbon structure. When they make sand for a reef tank, they are careful about not getting chunks of who-knows-what in it, that's not true of sand that is made to be thrown on the driveway when it snows; it doesn't mater if there's like a chunk of metal or phosphate-based agricultural runoff in there.
Silica is a normal part of sand, and it's why new tanks have diatom blooms. Reef sand is relatively low in it, but some HD sands have a lot. Though there is a new thing where its supposed to be bad for kids so they sell play sand that's silica free, idk what that means tho, like maybe it's just less dusty but would still come out in the water.
Carbon buffering is part of the ph balance in a tank, and I think it keeps the alk steady too, if you use a sand that is quartz based, I belive there is less of that. But lots of tanks don't use sand at all so it's not that big of a deal. Lastly, the sand at HD is super irregular shaped, there's big chunks of rock and fine dust all mixed together, it won't be the same as aragonite.
Sand is just busted down rocks. Reef sand is busted down reef rocks, the sand along the shore has land rocks mixed in and even iron from volcanoes sometimes. The sand a home depot can be from all different mines, just like there's all different rocks like quartz, feldspar etc.
The things to be aware of are mostly contamination, silica, and carbon structure. When they make sand for a reef tank, they are careful about not getting chunks of who-knows-what in it, that's not true of sand that is made to be thrown on the driveway when it snows; it doesn't mater if there's like a chunk of metal or phosphate-based agricultural runoff in there.
Silica is a normal part of sand, and it's why new tanks have diatom blooms. Reef sand is relatively low in it, but some HD sands have a lot. Though there is a new thing where its supposed to be bad for kids so they sell play sand that's silica free, idk what that means tho, like maybe it's just less dusty but would still come out in the water.
Carbon buffering is part of the ph balance in a tank, and I think it keeps the alk steady too, if you use a sand that is quartz based, I belive there is less of that. But lots of tanks don't use sand at all so it's not that big of a deal. Lastly, the sand at HD is super irregular shaped, there's big chunks of rock and fine dust all mixed together, it won't be the same as aragonite.
CStrickland
New member
All aragonite is basically limestone, but not all limestone is basically aragonite. You still have the issues of provenance, contamination, and grain size.
ClownFishGuy6
Member
Go to Petco or petsmart or your nearest fish or animal store and pick up a bag of live sand. "Live" sand is no different from a regular bag of dry sand. The only difference is that "live" sand already has minerals in it. That is why "live" sand comes with a little water in it.
CStrickland
New member
This is inaccurate. Live sand is aragonite treated with bacteria. It's basically dry (reef) sand with a bottle of biospira poured in the bag, hence the wet. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you want to pay for it, but it has nothing to do with minerals.
CrayolaViolence
New member
I actually have real live sand in one tank, got it from the beach and brought it home (nothing in that tank yet though). I originally had a lot of crushed coral, real shells, and some rocks with substrate, I am sifting out the big pieces now so I can replace it with finer stuff some critters like to dig through.
gone fishin
New member
Another issue with the "play ground" sand is it is tough on bottom dwellers. This type of sand's grains are typically pointed and jagged. For an analogy think about sitting or rubbing your backside with sandpaper all day.
jon99
New member
"Beach sand" can still be silica sand, depending on the beach. As mentioned above, aragonite is what most people use. It's calcium carbonate based (not silica). If you're not sure what you have, pour some in a glass of vinegar. If it bubbles and dissolves, it's not silica sand.
Where is this beach? What state?
Not all beach sand is the same either. The beach sand here in New York is VERY different than the beach sand in Florida.
I have real live beach sand here in New York, but I wouldnt put it in a tank because it is quartz (silica) sand. It also has all kinds of other stuff that isnt good for the tank. I tried it once and had nothing but problems with the tank because its a finite volume of water and space and things tend to go bad quick if things arent right.
I understand where youre coming from, this stuff is expensive. Im going through the same issue with lights. The bottom line is that you can try to cheap your way though it which will work in the short term. In the end you will just wind up costing yourself more money to fix the problem down the road and/or replacing alot of dead stock not to mention create and a lot of headache and frustration for yourself.
Take your time and do it right. Youll be glad you did.
RobTheReefer
Moved Elsewhere
Au contraire. I've got some aragonite sandstone in my tank.
Overdosing kalkwasser tends to "glue" it into rock.CrayolaViolence
New member
This particular sand came from Hilton Head Island. LOTS of starfish and sand dollars in this sand. I planned on getting some from the outer banks as well when I go in February along with some rock. Doubt there will be any coral rock, but I often find really nice pieces with fossilized shell imprints in them and drift wood with various creatures attached. I have a separate tank to play with this sort of thing in so not to endanger my cultured reef tank.
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
Keep in mind that beaches are natures skimmers so collecting beach sand is gonna have a lot of gunk in it. Best to go out a ways from the beach and collect if thats what you wanna do instead of buying.
Taking shortcuts in this hobby often ends badly. Are there some? Yes, but this is not one. Very little in this hobby is inexpensive. Sand is not a shortcut that should be taken. Pay the price now or pay later in frustration.
There are to many other ways things can go wrong without making a poor choice in the beginning. Buy aragonite sand (dry or live) and save yourself multiple headaches in the near future.
There are to many other ways things can go wrong without making a poor choice in the beginning. Buy aragonite sand (dry or live) and save yourself multiple headaches in the near future.
CrayolaViolence
New member
I'm not doing this as a short cut. Trust me. It would be a lot cheaper to go to the store and just buy some. I want the sand because it has stuff in it. I plan on putting it in a quarantine tank, just like you would live rock, to see what's in it.
I also have aragonite sand in my main tank, as well as "live sand" that I paid through the nose for (and now know better) from the pet stores.
I also have aragonite sand in my main tank, as well as "live sand" that I paid through the nose for (and now know better) from the pet stores.
CStrickland
New member
I used some beach sand. Besides Qt'ing it, you will have a cycle from the organics in it.
I get the idea of "natures skimmer" but I don't think quartz sand will take on as much phos as a carbon structure (hence the no buffering) and everything else rinses off, right?
It looks pretty but none of the shrimps or anything survived in my tank, I think the water is too warm. Live rock comes from reefs so that's diff.
I think zoafarm meant shortcut using HD play sand, which it did sound like you were doing to save money, FWIW
I get the idea of "natures skimmer" but I don't think quartz sand will take on as much phos as a carbon structure (hence the no buffering) and everything else rinses off, right?
It looks pretty but none of the shrimps or anything survived in my tank, I think the water is too warm. Live rock comes from reefs so that's diff.
I think zoafarm meant shortcut using HD play sand, which it did sound like you were doing to save money, FWIW
