Sand???

D

dicearx

New member
I am upgrading my tank, but on a small budget, I've almost reached the cap on that budget...
Sand is just about the only thing I haven't yet bought. I am thinking about buying a 50 pound bag of play sand and rinsing it, would this be possible? The sand is brown, aside from looking unnatural, would this be a problem?

Thanks in advance for all your help!!!
 
The problem with some play sands are that they are partially comprised of silicates which can cause algae outbreaks. If you can examin the sand there are a few test you can do.

1. drop some acid (vinager) on the sand. If it fizzes then it is calcium based and likely to be safe.

2. Exam in the sand closely (magnifying glass) and try to identify silicates (they may be somewhat translucent like glass)

Other than that there are people who just go for it and take their chances. I would suggest searching for southdown sand which has been used by many successfully.

p.s. If you are in this hobby for the long run you will realize there is no cap on the spending... At some point passion/obsession replaces your ability to see prices.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6540141#post6540141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ferventforager
The problem with some play sands are that they are partially comprised of silicates which can cause algae outbreaks. If you can examin the sand there are a few test you can do.

1. drop some acid (vinager) on the sand. If it fizzes then it is calcium based and likely to be safe.

2. Exam in the sand closely (magnifying glass) and try to identify silicates (they may be somewhat translucent like glass)

Other than that there are people who just go for it and take their chances. I would suggest searching for southdown sand which has been used by many successfully.

p.s. If you are in this hobby for the long run you will realize there is no cap on the spending... At some point passion/obsession replaces your ability to see prices.
Click to expand...

NOT TRUE..some play sand is made of silica(not the same as silicates)....There is no ill effets from using silica sand as has been discussed to great depths on this sight. If the search was working I would get you some links to read. Maybe later. Anyway, I have used both silica and aragonite. Saw no difference in either as far as algae.

PS. Silica sand is no more harmful to your tank than the silicone used to hold it together.. Save your money buy PLAYSAND
 
It doesn't seem like I would have a problem, but is the brown coloring going to look too unnatural???
Would there be a safe way to possibly strip the color?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6542846#post6542846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by santi
or you could do a bb tank until you have more money for aragonite sand.
Click to expand...

LOL... Thats like waiting for the US dollar to plummit before spending your life savings...
 
So is the reason that everybody just doesn't get normal play sand when doing a DSB or any sand bed is because of the color? Are the sand particles a good size? What stops everyone from doing this?
 
the color doesn't matter, if you like the look of brown sand then go for it. If you don't like the brown sand, then see if they have a lighter color.

as for the grain of the sand; the smaller, the better.

Brianna:rollface:
 
You can get playsand in many colors...The reason more people aren't doing it is because there are more people telling them its not OK than there are telling them it is. LFS don't want you going to home depot and buying 50 lbs for 5 bucks when they are trying to sell you 40lbs for 50 bucks... If you have the money to blow I personally like the look of the oolite you get at the pet stores for 20-30 bucks for 25lbs. But if your reefing on a budget save the money and go get some playsand.
 
you shouldn't use the playsand because you said it yourself that the brown sand looks "unnatural",-remember that you're the one that has to look at it.
or if you don't have problem with using playsand, just shop around and look for the whiter sand.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6542899#post6542899 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by demeyer2
So is the reason that everybody just doesn't get normal play sand when doing a DSB or any sand bed is because of the color? Are the sand particles a good size? What stops everyone from doing this?
Click to expand...

what stops everyone from doing what?? If its from using playsand, its because they won't beleive that playsand is OK to use in their tanks. Like I said in above post, the smaller the grain the better though.

hell, if they made playsand that was a deep blue, and the coloring was safe, then I'd use it for sure.

Brianna:rollface:
 
Well try the paly sand. If you dont like it or if you have problems all you have to do is tear down the tank, scrape all the sand out and start over. But think of the bright side. You just saved a few bucks.

I might work just fine but i really havent tried it and dont want to. when i put my tank together i wasnt going to risk haveing problems or doing the whole thing over again to save a few bucks. If anything add the sand later. Its not that much money.
 
I was just asking about changing the color because the brown is easy to get/find and cheaper than the lighter color...But I know that with some searching I can find the lighter sand.
 
dicearx, if you LIKE the brown sand, then by all means, get it :)
YOU are the one that has to look at it after all. Personally, I like the lighter sand, but everything to do with YOUR tank should be YOUR personal preference. :)

Happy Reefing,
Brianna:rollface:
 
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