Is this sand ok?
- Thread starter slock
- Start date
wanabesalt
Member
well i have been looking for a month now with no luck all the sand i have tryed did not bubble up .........what a bummer.........even the people at the store say why dont you just go to the fish store and get it i said im not going to fork out a hundred or more dollers for sand
.............maybe live sand but .........i want to put in dead sand and some live sand.......i guess iyll get 1/2 the amount of live sand for about 50 dollers unless somthing else comes up.............
slock
Member
Originally Posted by Bacffin
Hmmmm....At the yardright webite it states that tropical play sand is not suitable for aquarium systems. Is this the same stuff you folks are using? :notsure:
Thanks,
Bruce
That used to be printed on the bags of Southdown. I believe it was a disclaimer and to help the sales of the sand that they sold to makers of aquarium sand so you would think there was something different.
Hmmmm....At the yardright webite it states that tropical play sand is not suitable for aquarium systems. Is this the same stuff you folks are using? :notsure:
Thanks,
Bruce
That used to be printed on the bags of Southdown. I believe it was a disclaimer and to help the sales of the sand that they sold to makers of aquarium sand so you would think there was something different.
slock
Member
Originally Posted by Phil L
Just an update for you guys, as I have been following this thread and looking for the sand myself. I called Southdown(Old Castle) today and asked about the sand. The woman told me the sand they market as southdown and yardright tropical playsand is discontinued this year as they lost their supplier and havent been able to find a replacement supplier. I also asked about the Walmart sand they produce and she said it is not the silica free aragonite sand due to the same reason. I am thinking that maybe some of you that are finding the good sand at Walmart are finding perhaps last years supply.
Phil L
Yeah, probably the case, my local walmart had pallets of it though. I don't think they will sell out of it anytime soon though because here in New England no one uses the stuff. It said "garden basic sand" on the bags I bought, but it's pure white sand, no one in there right mind here would use it for a garden. maybe an outside ashtray or some ornamental rock garden but nothing would grow in this stuff.
Just an update for you guys, as I have been following this thread and looking for the sand myself. I called Southdown(Old Castle) today and asked about the sand. The woman told me the sand they market as southdown and yardright tropical playsand is discontinued this year as they lost their supplier and havent been able to find a replacement supplier. I also asked about the Walmart sand they produce and she said it is not the silica free aragonite sand due to the same reason. I am thinking that maybe some of you that are finding the good sand at Walmart are finding perhaps last years supply.
Phil L
Yeah, probably the case, my local walmart had pallets of it though. I don't think they will sell out of it anytime soon though because here in New England no one uses the stuff. It said "garden basic sand" on the bags I bought, but it's pure white sand, no one in there right mind here would use it for a garden. maybe an outside ashtray or some ornamental rock garden but nothing would grow in this stuff.
fishyhubbyandwife
Member
well if this stuff is from last years supply, then i guess my brand new walmart (middlefield, ohio) opening tomorrow, wouldnt have it.....damn!
oh well there are other walmarts.
hey i love all this info everyone has.........your all so smart! :hilarious
fishy wife
oh well there are other walmarts.
hey i love all this info everyone has.........your all so smart! :hilarious
fishy wife
evilbob22
Member
Duckiecon
I'm in Gaithersburg, MD, I've heard that there is a HD in Baltimore right off of I-95 that has it. I have also seen marble sand at Irwin stone (in Rockville and Frederick) that looks pretty good. It fizzed up on me, but I'm still looking for the "good stuff". The marble sand had quartz in it and small quantities of a few other minerals. I'll use it if I can't find any Southdown (or whatever it's called).
slade1274
It is basically pulverized coral, which is what is below reefs naturally. It also gives all the buffering qualites of crushed coral but without all the big pieces. I thought I heard that the brown sand released silicates and/or metals but I can't be positive.
Bacffin/slock
One of the sharks (Ophiura?) posted in another thread that the sand is not sutable for freshwater aquariums, hence the warning. (It would cause the water to be too hard for most freshwater fish)
I'm in Gaithersburg, MD, I've heard that there is a HD in Baltimore right off of I-95 that has it. I have also seen marble sand at Irwin stone (in Rockville and Frederick) that looks pretty good. It fizzed up on me, but I'm still looking for the "good stuff". The marble sand had quartz in it and small quantities of a few other minerals. I'll use it if I can't find any Southdown (or whatever it's called).
slade1274
It is basically pulverized coral, which is what is below reefs naturally. It also gives all the buffering qualites of crushed coral but without all the big pieces. I thought I heard that the brown sand released silicates and/or metals but I can't be positive.
Bacffin/slock
One of the sharks (Ophiura?) posted in another thread that the sand is not sutable for freshwater aquariums, hence the warning. (It would cause the water to be too hard for most freshwater fish)
evilbob22
Member
It isn't that it's from the Carribean, it is that it has the right qualities for salt water aquariums. It helps as a buffer and doesn't have anything you don't want in it. Sand like that is usually $8 or $10 for a 20 pound bag, and like you said, this stuff is $3 for 50 pounds. It makes a big difference when you are using 300 to 400 pounds for a deep sand bed in a 150 gallon with a 55 gallon refugium. Even a 55 with a deep sand bed is 100 pounds... $50 vs. $6.
slade1274
Member
Originally Posted by EvilBob22
slade1274
It is basically pulverized coral, which is what is below reefs naturally. It also gives all the buffering qualites of crushed coral but without all the big pieces. I thought I heard that the brown sand released silicates and/or metals but I can't be positive.
Thanks for trying to answer my question because I think it's the most critical in this thread. If you can understand the difference and impact, you know if you need to search for the "fizzy" sand. I'm still not satisfied with the answer yet.... if you put some of your salt mix in vinegar, you get fizz, so I imagine that could impact it too if it's procured from a salt water area. I understand the difference between pulverized coral and what benefit it may serve, but I just find it hard to believe that other sand is dangerous. After all, glass is made from sand and my aquarium isn't harmful to itself (I know a simplistic argument, but I'm sure you get the drift). I've got to believe there is a way for the non fizzy sand to be washed and cured properly to use in an aquarium, thus accomplishing a main goal of most folks here- making the investment in sand for the bottom and refugiums a bit easier. I would also think that non-coral based sands would actually stand up better. By that I mean break down over time requiring more to be added to the aquarium. Just my .02, feel free to give change if it wasn't worth that much. :thinking:
slade1274
It is basically pulverized coral, which is what is below reefs naturally. It also gives all the buffering qualites of crushed coral but without all the big pieces. I thought I heard that the brown sand released silicates and/or metals but I can't be positive.
Thanks for trying to answer my question because I think it's the most critical in this thread. If you can understand the difference and impact, you know if you need to search for the "fizzy" sand. I'm still not satisfied with the answer yet.... if you put some of your salt mix in vinegar, you get fizz, so I imagine that could impact it too if it's procured from a salt water area. I understand the difference between pulverized coral and what benefit it may serve, but I just find it hard to believe that other sand is dangerous. After all, glass is made from sand and my aquarium isn't harmful to itself (I know a simplistic argument, but I'm sure you get the drift). I've got to believe there is a way for the non fizzy sand to be washed and cured properly to use in an aquarium, thus accomplishing a main goal of most folks here- making the investment in sand for the bottom and refugiums a bit easier. I would also think that non-coral based sands would actually stand up better. By that I mean break down over time requiring more to be added to the aquarium. Just my .02, feel free to give change if it wasn't worth that much. :thinking:
evilbob22
Member
Good point slade, you won't get change back from me. 
I wish I knew the answer, I only know for sure that I have heard from here and from "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" that coral/marble sand should be used. (Hey, there's an idea... maybe I'll check the book when I get home...)
I didn't see the sand myself, another person had posted it. I'll try to find the post again, all I remember is that it was off of I-95 inside the beltway (and I think it was after the toll when heading northbound).
I wish I knew the answer, I only know for sure that I have heard from here and from "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" that coral/marble sand should be used. (Hey, there's an idea... maybe I'll check the book when I get home...)I didn't see the sand myself, another person had posted it. I'll try to find the post again, all I remember is that it was off of I-95 inside the beltway (and I think it was after the toll when heading northbound).