Sand

[Ocicat]

Is there a specific sand I can look for at Lowes, to use as base sand? I know I need to avoid silica sand, and that there is a vinegar test for that... but I'd rather not buy a bag, test it, and repeat, if it can be helped. Any tips on choosing sand?

My plan is to use mostly the cheap stuff and then add a bag or two of live sand.

TIA

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

There really isn't much that you can do. I recommend reading through these threads linked below. In the first one, I did a little studying on Silica Sand and Silicates. It looks like there isn't much of a problem using it. In place of algae blooms, you get diatom blooms. No biggie. The second link is an alternative to aragonite sand that seems rather promising. It's said to be very dusty, but I haven't opened up my bags yet to tell.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=875880
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=889622

 

[Ocicat]

Thanks, Travis. I think I'd still like to avoid the silica... And both sands that Lowes carries say on the bag that they're silica. :-\ I will keep my eyes out for that limestone sand.

 

[DrBDC]

As far as I know, unless someone has some southdown/old castle/yardrite sand from the east coast area, you're out of luck around here. I'd go with a bag of the correct composition from the LFS. Don't waste the money on "live" versions of it and just seed it from one of us with a cup of live sand. It will all be live eventually anyway.