[Prismaco]

Besides Southdown sand, what other sand could I use. Brands wise, I live on the West Coast (Sacramento, CA) and the home depots dont carry SD sand. When looking at the sand brands what should I be looking for ? Good and bad ? I dont like spending $45.99 for 2 small @ss bags of LS... When I say small, I mean I used 2 of them to get a 3" sand bed for my moms 20g tank.


-Paul

 

[125G's]

I went to Lowe's here in Reno and bought 2-50lbs bags of 'Play Sand' for $2.49 a bag. I'm using it to supplement 240lbs of aragonite. This stuff is sanitized and safe for children according to the bag.

 

[Prismaco]

What was it called ? Theres a Lowe's by my house also.


-Paul

 

[125G's]

Play Sand, white and blue 50lbs bag.

 

[imstriker]

Sounds like the Quikrete brand. I grabbed a bag at wal-mart. They had two kinds and one was of a consistency I liked alot.

 

[LittleFishBoy]

I saw some at walmart. Pink and white bag. Did the vinegar test but no fizzle. It said "sanitized". Whats the deal with that?

 

[Prismaco]

Vinegar test ??


-Paul

 

[uryy4me]

Pure Aragonite just sent me somewhere between 550-600lb. The UPS guy is not too happy with me, but I am pleased (considering SD is not an option for me)

 

[Prismaco]

Thats what he gets paid to do...


-Paul

 

[125G's]

Vinegar is acidic and when it comes in contact with cal carb, like what's in aragonite sand, it fizzes. If it doesn't fizz it's a silica or quartz sand or some similar type sand.

 

[Beaches]

OK, more dumb questions...

I'm assuming that since a lot of you are using this SD that it's a good product?

I'm getting ready to move (next week) and am going to get rid of my cc/ls mix--could I use this instead of the LFS bagged stuff (way $$$'s) and just keep some of my mix to seed it with?

Does it have to be rinsed...

Thanks...

 

[RayPollett]

Any sand that is play sand will do. I've used some from both Lowe's and Home Depot. Do not worry about the fizz test. A waste of time for your purpose.

Ray

 

[RayPollett]

No you do not rinse the play sand. You would be washing out the smallest grains and you want them too. Yes you can keep some of your sand to seed it with if you keep it under saltwater from your tank. Will last a couple of days at the right temperature may even last longer.

Ray

 

[MammaDuck]

Try looking for Old Castle sand-- HD carries it (in most areas)-- I just got some recently and it came in a blue and white bag labeled "Play Sand" in big letters and the actual brand name (Old Castle) was in smaller print (kinda like the fine print, gotta REALLY look for the brand name )

I didn't rinse the sand and the milkshake effect lasted about 3-4 days. . . HTH

 

[Jimmer]

If memory serves I believe Old Castle is the same as Southdown. Even produced by the same folks. I may be wrong but I thought I saw that info floating around.

 

[MammaDuck]

yup, that's the word I got!

SouthDown=OldCastle. . . It's been almost 2 wks since I added the OC sand and there have been no adverse effects to the tank inhabitants. . .

 

[Mrs Smith]

Well, the "fizz test" isn't a waste of time if you want to be sure you're getting real aragonite... which was the whole point of the Southdown search.

And don't rinse it - you want the silty stuff.
Danielle

 

[LittleFishBoy]

So, since the sand i bought didnt fizz, how is it that they claim its sterylized? Is it sterylized enough to where the silica has been removed, or maybe its quartz sand that has been sterylized? I just dont see how they would sterylize silica sand.

 

[125G's]

I think sterilized means that it's chemical free so that if your child, or fish in this case, eat it they won't be contaminated with some nasty chemical.

I'm not sure I'd put all silica sand, or non-CACO3, in my tank as it's very important in buffering the ph of your tank. There are other ways to do this, but having it in your tank brings a lot of stability and peace of mind IMO.

 

[Mrs Smith]

The fizz merely indicates that the sand is calcium-based (aragonite), rather than silica-based (quartz). Being "sterilized" really isn't the main issue.

(And to sterilize in the medical sense would be out of the question - it's probably just cleaned and chemical-free. They could have irradiated it, although it wouldn't stay "sterile" for long...)

As 125G pointed out, the aragonite is helpful in buffering the tank water - (It verrrry slowly dissolves) - which is the point to finding aragonite sand that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. (Read: LFS)

HTH, and we haven't confused you more...
Danielle