royal gang
Active Member
about this kolorscape sand, i heard it was ok to put in tank
does the bag HAVE to be this one or does it come in different looking bags? i wanted to put some in my aquarium
Kolor Scape White Playsand :o
- Thread starter royal gang
- Start date
about this kolorscape sand, i heard it was ok to put in tank
does the bag HAVE to be this one or does it come in different looking bags? i wanted to put some in my aquarium
ryanhayes9
Active Member
i used the EXACT same sand in my aquarium. it tells you not to use it becuase it has silicates and i wouldint use it. its pretty ugly
bang guy
Moderator
In my humble opinion the "not for aquarium use" designation it there because most aquariums in the U.S. are freshwater.
Calcium carbonate dissolves in freshwater making very very hard water. There are some freshwater fish that thrive in hard water but most do better in soft water.
Just my $0.02
Calcium carbonate dissolves in freshwater making very very hard water. There are some freshwater fish that thrive in hard water but most do better in soft water.
Just my $0.02
ryanhayes9
Active Member
Originally Posted by hot883
Could that be a factor why you are having so many problems with the algea?
no that was in my 55. I bought ALL NEW LIVE SAND for my 75 and threw te other away
Could that be a factor why you are having so many problems with the algea?
no that was in my 55. I bought ALL NEW LIVE SAND for my 75 and threw te other away
jayeden
Member
the warning isnt there cause someone had nothing better to do....in my first 100 gallon freshwater...i used sand from home depot....was nice at first....until i found that it got very dirty, was very light, clouded my water, and scratched my tank to the point where i quit and threw the tank away, and purchased a new one...
truth is...i purchased my new one...and now im attempting salt water..i spent the 150$ on crushed coral and i dont regret it at all...looks unbeliveble..
jaye d.
truth is...i purchased my new one...and now im attempting salt water..i spent the 150$ on crushed coral and i dont regret it at all...looks unbeliveble..
jaye d.
royal gang
Active Member
crushed coral?? live sand is better thx for the replies i gues i wont get it then
outatime97
Member
FWIW Southdown, Old Castle and Yardright all say not for aquariums and many of us have used it without any problems.
coachklm
Active Member
I agree with the quote about old castle... silicate and aragonite sand are personal preference unless your getting nitty gritty about chemical inconsitincies in the reeftank. honestly I wouldnt put anything but aragonite in but I do have a tank with some ***** sand super white and super small grains comes in 10lbs bags, the top layer looks incredible but I moved my rocks and its black underneath so... just letting you know(i think it is the grain size that matters with filtration purposes.
kayak385
Member
Originally Posted by jayeden
the warning isnt there cause someone had nothing better to do....in my first 100 gallon freshwater...i used sand from home depot....was nice at first....until i found that it got very dirty, was very light, clouded my water, and scratched my tank to the point where i quit and threw the tank away, and purchased a new one...
truth is...i purchased my new one...and now im attempting salt water..i spent the 150$ on crushed coral and i dont regret it at all...looks unbeliveble..
jaye d.
how do you keep your crushed coral looking good?
the warning isnt there cause someone had nothing better to do....in my first 100 gallon freshwater...i used sand from home depot....was nice at first....until i found that it got very dirty, was very light, clouded my water, and scratched my tank to the point where i quit and threw the tank away, and purchased a new one...
truth is...i purchased my new one...and now im attempting salt water..i spent the 150$ on crushed coral and i dont regret it at all...looks unbeliveble..
jaye d.
how do you keep your crushed coral looking good?
stanlalee
Active Member
Originally Posted by hot883
So how long would it take for something to go wrong and then the thread would be "Everything died, why"?????
Probably because the bag says on the front NOT for use in aquariums. Be a big signal to me not to use it.
some people prefer to research real life experiences and not just reading a disclaimer on the bag? Who do you blame the diatoms on to the thousands of people who have aquarium sand and diatom/algae problems?
thats my pic BTW, just posted it to show all old castle/kolorscape sand doesn't seem to be sourced from the same place. and here it is in my tank
and its been in the sump of my other tank for a year. Bottom line if you are afraid or worried about using it dont. However if you have no actual experience using it dont preach to me how terrible you THINK it is (unless you care to show me the exact make up of the sand and what component of the sand is there in significant content to cause a specific problem. repeatable and dublicable). IF you used it and had problems and care to share then you've become helpful.
hot883
Active Member
Stanlalee, great looking tank and you obviously know what you are doing. I will be the first to admit when I am wrong. If you indeed used this sand as in the posters picture then I am wrong; however to this kid that is on a budget and can't afford anything else to go wrong, I thought it would not be wise.
It's like a tang in a 55 rule. Can it be done yes; should a new person do it? Obsolutely not because they do not understand the needs necessary for it to work.
Your proof of this sand as a good substrate is great. Surprised it does not have a load of metal shavings like they usually do.
It's like a tang in a 55 rule. Can it be done yes; should a new person do it? Obsolutely not because they do not understand the needs necessary for it to work.
Your proof of this sand as a good substrate is great. Surprised it does not have a load of metal shavings like they usually do.
hot883
Active Member
Originally Posted by Bloke
It's not that expensive for a 20lb bag, but I would buy CaribSea AragAlive. They don't culture it, it comes directly from the ocean and it even has things like shells, etc in it making for a more realistic substrate.
But what do I know? I've been doing this since xmas! :notsure:
Oh I agree, some people just like to pay less when they can. Sand is NOT the same, just depends on what you want.
It's not that expensive for a 20lb bag, but I would buy CaribSea AragAlive. They don't culture it, it comes directly from the ocean and it even has things like shells, etc in it making for a more realistic substrate.
But what do I know? I've been doing this since xmas! :notsure:
Oh I agree, some people just like to pay less when they can. Sand is NOT the same, just depends on what you want.
purple lobster
Member
I bought a few bags of kolorscape and some grains seem to be quite sharp. Per Bang Guy's instructions, I'm trying to soak it in RO water to wear it down. I'm a bit unsure about this stuff. Should all the grains be white? there seems to be some black and brown grains in there too.
stanlalee
Active Member
there were several black grains (rocks is more like it) but they were few enough where I was able to hand pick them out once I had the sand layed down in the tank.. My sand otherwise is not sharp at all. very fine grain. looks like sugar.
Now the issue I had and the reason I took those pics is obviously the sands I got from the same company labelled the same were two different sands. It could be just a color difference or something significant, who knows. Having used quickcrete before which looks even worse without problems I made the dicision to go forward anyway.
Heres what people dont understand when they say I should have just spent the $100 on aquarium grade sand: this tank was set up from the beginning with the concept of cheap and experimental. I KNEW I was going to use play sand before I even made up a budget. I have a 50/50 base rock/liverock mix. I have a used tank built in 1988. I have so far one questionable non reef safe fish in the reef with probably another to follow in the future. if something doesn't work it doesn't work and will be changed. I COULD have easily bought aquarium grade sand but I wanted to know if Koloscape would cause any issues. I've only seen a few others who've used it since Old castle started supplying the Kolorscape brand. Old castle has been used enough in aquaria where it shouldn't even be questionable anymore wether its safe or not. If more people dont try Kolorscape who will ever know if its just as safe to use as well, which is why the color variation bares mentioning. If I just wanted to fluff up the pro's of play sand I would have never brought up the color issue to begin with (who would have known?): my kolorscape thread .
Now if a year or three years down the road I run into issues I'll be the 1rst to admitt its not wise to use but until then you can rest assured I've heard enough people say not to use it that one more person saying it is mute to my ears. And you can see even in the old thread by no means am I trying to convert people into believing play sand is great or should be used.
Now the issue I had and the reason I took those pics is obviously the sands I got from the same company labelled the same were two different sands. It could be just a color difference or something significant, who knows. Having used quickcrete before which looks even worse without problems I made the dicision to go forward anyway.
Heres what people dont understand when they say I should have just spent the $100 on aquarium grade sand: this tank was set up from the beginning with the concept of cheap and experimental. I KNEW I was going to use play sand before I even made up a budget. I have a 50/50 base rock/liverock mix. I have a used tank built in 1988. I have so far one questionable non reef safe fish in the reef with probably another to follow in the future. if something doesn't work it doesn't work and will be changed. I COULD have easily bought aquarium grade sand but I wanted to know if Koloscape would cause any issues. I've only seen a few others who've used it since Old castle started supplying the Kolorscape brand. Old castle has been used enough in aquaria where it shouldn't even be questionable anymore wether its safe or not. If more people dont try Kolorscape who will ever know if its just as safe to use as well, which is why the color variation bares mentioning. If I just wanted to fluff up the pro's of play sand I would have never brought up the color issue to begin with (who would have known?): my kolorscape thread .
Now if a year or three years down the road I run into issues I'll be the 1rst to admitt its not wise to use but until then you can rest assured I've heard enough people say not to use it that one more person saying it is mute to my ears. And you can see even in the old thread by no means am I trying to convert people into believing play sand is great or should be used.
purple lobster
Member
Thanks Stanlalee. How long have you had it now? I am setting up a new tank with it. Like you said most of it are quite fine with a few black/bown grains. I will also give it a try. Did you seed it with any live sand? what % each? I know some people say to put the live sand on top but i'm not so sure if thats the right thing to do. Please post updates also.