Is this sand ok?

duckiecon

duckiecon

New Member
Thanks Slock. It's exactly the same stuff, I recognize the picture right away & even check the SKU#. Do you see a lot of bubbles coming up right away? I put a pinch or two into the bottle, but I saw nothing happened. I'll try it again today.
Just scratching my head: does anyone know why it only works with white vinegar, why not the red one?
 
slock

slock

Member
Originally Posted by Duckiecon
Thanks Slock. It's exactly the same stuff, I recognize the picture right away & even check the SKU#. Do you see a lot of bubbles coming up right away? I put a pinch or two into the bottle, but I saw nothing happened. I'll try it again today.
Just scratching my head: does anyone know why it only works with white vinegar, why not the red one?

yes, within a second you see fizz bubbles (probably the powerdered contents), and large (soda sized bubbles) the continue to form, the more fizzy tapers off after a minute or two.
I would assume red should do the same, do it in a glass that you hold up to the light, it will make the reaction easier to see.
 
shiby1510

shiby1510

Member
I picked up 6 bags of garden basics yesterday and it was still cheaper then one bag of $20 of argonite from the lfs...

btw... if anyone is seeing this stuff but doesn't see the made by oldcastle for walmart...
it's actually in the bottom corner very small... at first i didn't see it and i was wondering if it was the oldcastle stuff.... but it is!! I think i may go stock up on some more :cheer:
 
pensky

pensky

Member
I just called my local walmart and they have over 100 bags of it in stock so I will let you know how the test goes in the morning
 
deer99

deer99

Member
I just pick up a bag of the play sand at walmart. and did the vinegar test and got a lot of fizz. so this must be the right stuff you are all talking about. can you put it in the tank with live sand and this is a dum question do you have to clean it before puting it the tank.
Thanks :jumping:
 
slock

slock

Member
Originally Posted by deer99
I just pick up a bag of the play sand at walmart. and did the vinegar test and got a lot of fizz. so this must be the right stuff you are all talking about. can you put it in the tank with live sand and this is a dum question do you have to clean it before puting it the tank.
Thanks :jumping:
I rinsed the sand that I got, I remember the first time it took days for the milk to dissapear.
so I used a big 35 gallon laundry tub that I only use for my aquarium and would put a 1/3 bag of sand, pour a 4 gallon buck of water, sand stir like a madman for 15 seconds with a chuck of pvc pipe then rapidly pour the water out of my tub down the driveway. Did this twice for each 1/3 bag sand. Still had 2 days of milk water but it wasn't nearly as bad as the first time I did this with a new tank.
 
pensky

pensky

Member
The sand i found at walmart had the same SKU but it was not white in color and looked brown like regular sand. It this the right stuff? I did not see much fizz but there were some bubbles?
 
slock

slock

Member
Originally Posted by pensky
The sand i found at walmart had the same SKU but it was not white in color and looked brown like regular sand. It this the right stuff? I did not see much fizz but there were some bubbles?
Unfortunately I would say it is not.
If you poured salt, sugar, and the sand on a table, they look the same color tone - white.
They may package and bag another type of sand from another location, this may explain why some are having problems finding the right sand, even with the SKU#.
 
N

nluchau

Guest
Does anyone know if they have this stuff in Minnesota or North Dakota. Anyone from this area and found this product. Thanks in advance
Nick
 
duckiecon

duckiecon

New Member
Originally Posted by slock
Unfortunately I would say it is not.
If you poured salt, sugar, and the sand on a table, they look the same color tone - white.
They may package and bag another type of sand from another location, this may explain why some are having problems finding the right sand, even with the SKU#.
Slock:
I think this is the case in my local WM. It has the same SKU#, Basis Garden Sand, made by Oldcastle (on the bottom corner, small prints), etc... but it surely doesn't sizzle/fizzle/bubble at all. I took some argonite (argamax brand) from LPS to see if the problem is the type of my vinegar. It does give me some bubble and the argonite was disolved after 2-3 hours. So it is just my luck that I can't get that sand.
If anyone know where I can find it in Northern VA or the Washington D Metro region, please let me know.
 
slade1274

slade1274

Member
It appears that Old Castle must have different manufacturing facilities shipping to different Wal-Marts under the same sku. WM is probably just looking for decent looking fine grained sand, thus no issue with the inconsistency from our perspective. The old castle at my local WM doesn't fizz. What is the actual deal with the aragonite sand vs this stuff? I still haven't found an adequate reasoning to use the stuff that fizzes versus the other to quench my curiosity. Anone know the specifics or science behind it?? My assumption is that aragonite is similar to sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) due to the reaction with vinegar and other must just be silica based (glass). I wouldn't think either would be harmful, but I still want to know the details......
 
druid1547

druid1547

Member
I went to Wal-Mart and found the bag of sand and in the front it says Oldcastle Natural play sand. I bought a bag and tried the vinegar test and bubbles came out. I did see another bag of sand same vendor but did not say natural. So I purchased this one I hope I did the right thing. :happy:
 
J

jacob_poly

Guest
k...am not totally sure which sand this is....I called home depot and was given the following sands -
SKU # 482728
Model description: WHITE PLAY SAND
Sells for approx. $3.97 EA
SKU # 169803
Model description: 50LB. PLAY SAND
Sells for approx. $2.79 BG
Also I went to Lowes today and saw a couple of sands...one said oldcastle and was a white bag. Said it was for Patio pave or something to that effect. Also saw sand by Quikrete. I took a little of the OldCastle sand from a bag which was ripped open and tried the white vinegar test at home....there was no real immediate fizz....
Is any of the sands mentioned above ok for my aquarium?
Thanks,
Jake
 
druid1547

druid1547

Member
I used the one that said Oldcastle Natural play sand. It looks better in the water just like the ones in my LFS. I made a test and it did bubble. I only put a small amount to test and the tank floor looks great also I washed it out and did not have so much cloudy water so, next weekend I will put a little more. and build up an inch or so.

Mike
PS I got mine in Wal-Mart
 
phil l

phil l

New Member
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
 
dmc888

dmc888

Member
Well that makes sense.
I might be looking at my walmart just to stock up.
My next tank will be pretty big.
Just incase they can't find another supplier.
 
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