Things to avoid in choosing a sand

[Lemeshianos]

Reef aquariums are not that popular where I live so since only a few shops offer reef and marine equipment the price is so high.(Only 3 shops in the whole country)

I decided to go with play sand that I can find much cheaper but I'm aware that silicates is something we want to avoid.
I'm thinking about purchasing some bags of the early learning center bags that they offer for some children sandboxes.

Can someone post some information on:
What silicates are?
How they affect a reef aquarium?
And methods to check if the sand has high concentration in silicates?

 

[Mr..Tang]

dude, I went down this road and trust me,,,, spend the extra money on the real stuff. Playsand will scratch your glass and it will really take away the look of the tank. If you are going to have a lot of flow in your tank and playsand is the only option, than go bare bottom... And if you have a lot of flow and you do decide to buy the good stuff, don't buy the reef sand. Buy the bigger size particles... You will have sand storms in your tank....

 

[L98-Z]

I'm quite happy with the playsand personally.

 

[Lemeshianos]

Well my tank has about 4-5 inch brackets that hide the glass so I don't mind as long as it only scratches that part of the glass
And yes I plan on a lot of flow... My initial plans were to use oolite caribean sand (from marine depot) but the cost is too much.

I'm already going to spend twice the amound because of shipping and taxes for the rest of the equipment. And it's still cheaper than buying the equipment from the LFS here.

I can also get sand they use at the constructions but that might not give a natural look. And I don't know if that sand is any good.

Any other suggestions other than going bare bottom?

 

[Sk8r]

If you can get medium-grade aragonite (Caribsea is a good brand) that would be best. Avoid sand with shell in it: that collects algae and turns color.

Barebottom is not a bad choice. Ask about protecting your bottom glass if you do that.

 

[Lemeshianos]

if I buy different types of sand, have them in some buckets of water for a week or two and then run silicates tests will I be able to tell if the sand leaches silicates in the water or does it take too long to leach enough to show on the test?

 

[IslandCrow]

I've also heard of people using sandblasting sand, so that may be something to look for. Mr. Tang gave some good reasons you may not want to use play sand, but as you may have notice, none of them are directly related to the fact that it contains silica. That's because the silica in sand is insoluble. No significant amount is going to leach or otherwise get into your water.

In addition to what Mr. Tang already pointed out, one other potential issue is contaminants. Obviously, the sand wasn't intended to be used in aquariums. That said, it is meant to be used by small children, so there probably isn't that much potential for anything particularly harmful. Given your particular situation, I'd say go with the play sand (or construction sand if you like the look better) and just be sure to rinse it out thoroughly. . .or go barebottom (the tank, not you. . .at least not in public).

 

[Lemeshianos]

I m thinking about the same thing every time I hear or read the word bare-bottom

Should I also test with vinegar? Just to make sure that it will do some work as a ph buffer if it fizzes?

 

[longdangler]

the reason you don't use silica sand is your tanks will have a diatom outbreak and kill everthing off of your rock, it won't cycle off it will just keep coming back. The days of buying Southdown play sand from HD are gone but occasionally they carry some sort of aragonite play sand, seasonally, usually by the coast but have found it in the midwest before. If you find some that is aragonite base buy it. It was readily availible a few years ago because silica sand is bad for you to breath so parents got involved about changing what they put in the playgrounds. Caribsea had a contract with the company dredging the stuff out of the ocean and bringing it to the USA. After many lawsuits they quit selling it to anyone but Caribsea. From what I have read, you can still buy it by the dump truck load down in Florida. Shipping would be terrible so unless you live in the exact right place, no luck for the rest of us.

Search your local stores, but like I have said, it shows up seasonally if at all. Good luck.

Also I run oolite in my tanks, it does blow around at first but once bacteria get in the sand, making it live it seems to clump together and doesn't blow around any more.

 

[cjtice]

Have you gave any thought to Faux bottom?

 

[Whys]

I can't imagine using playground sand in a reef. It's just not appropriate and I agree with who ever said go bare-bottom instead. It'll look wrong, it almost certainly has less surface area for bacteria, its greater hardness will not only scratch the glass, but could irritate anything that crawls along the sandbed. It will likely give you problems the rest of us aren't having, and that alone will make good advice hard to find.

 

[NirvanaFan]

Many people have had success using different types of playsand. I used some that came in a clear bag with blue writing. If I can remember when I get home, I'll check it out.

 

[Whys]

A pile of bio-balls might work too.

 

[IslandCrow]

the reason you don't use silica sand is your tanks will have a diatom outbreak and kill everthing off of your rock

Care to qualify that claim. Either part: that silica sand will cause a diatom outbreak or that the diatoms will kill everything on your rock. There are some who believe the crystalin structure of silica sand makes a better growing surface for algae, which may increase the chance of an outbreak, but I've never seen anything anywhere close to proof or even a viable theory that suggests silica sand would actually cause a diatom (or any other algae) outbreak.

As for testing with vinegar, Lemeshianos, if you already know it's silica based, that wouldn't serve a purpose. Also, just like silica sand won't leach silica into your tank, aragonite sand doesn't really buffer anything. In order to dissolve the carbonate (i.e. buffer) from aragonite sand, you'd have to get the tank's PH below 7.0. If you're doing that, you have other problems. So, what I'm trying to say is the actual composition of the sand (when comparing silica and aragonite) really isn't by itself beneficial or detrimental to your tank.

 

[NirvanaFan]

Coupled with a RDSB in a bucket, bio-balls are great. They're nitrite reducing gods

I might argue that the jaggedness of playsand has more surface area than some other sands, but I can't confirm it. The right playsand won't irritate things that crawl across it. If you only have an inch or so in your display, why does it matter if it is scratched? The trim around the most tanks will cover this up anyways.

 

[Whys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14215522#post14215522 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NirvanaFan
Coupled with a RDSB in a bucket, bio-balls are great. They're nitrite reducing gods

Tho I might be in the mood to argue, I'm just not gonna go down this road.

If you only have an inch or so in your display, why does it matter if it is scratched? The trim around the most tanks will cover this up anyways.

Right. Until you get a small grain or two caught between the glass and your magnetic algae scrapper. Easily done while cleaning the algae near the sandbed. How many scratches does it take before you realize what has happened?

 

[Lemeshianos]

Thank you guys all for your input!
The shipping of a bag of sand to my country from US is about $450.

So its out of the question. As for sand from LFS they mostly import products from china and I'm pretty sure if I get ELC playsand it would be safer than the sand they bring.
On the other hand I will try to fins sandblowing sand.
If not I would go with playsand. I plan on turning from a FO to FOWLR to a reef step by step both for the cost and experience knowledge.

Once again thank you for your input!

 

[IslandCrow]

Just for clarification, I'm not saying sandblasting sand is any better. I really just don't know, but I've heard of people using it and liking it, so it may be something to think about. And just for the record, I have used playsand for a remote deep sand bed in my display refugium. Granted, I like the look of aragonite sand better, but other than that I didn't have any issues that I could attribute to the sand. My nassarius snails didn't seem to have any issues either. At $450 a bag for coral sand, you'd better believe I'd be using playsand in my tank. Best of luck, Lemeshianos!

 

[Biologist]

What's on your beaches in Cyprus?

 

[PhilTheEel]

Probably sand...