non-aragonite sand as substrate

vlondi

vlondi

Member
I went to Home Depot and got some Play Sand for cheap. Lucky it was cheap because it fails the "vinegar test". I assume that it is not aragonite.
My main question is if it is still safe to use in a reef aquarium? It looks like the beach sand that is in my area (Charleston, SC) and is labeled as sterilized, cleaned, and sanitized. A few other saltwater message boards say that this stuff is OK to use but fails to buffer the water.
I can get 20lb bags of pure aragonite for around $16.99; the problem is that I thought my big funding was over and have little money left. For a deep sand bed I think I need around 80-100lbs of sand. That is a lot of money that I no longer have. I wouldn't worry about this but my live rock has already been ordered and is due to arrive Thursday or Friday so I need a substrate to start my tank with.
Can I possibly mix the pure aragonite and other stuff I have (looks like it may be made of quartz or other materials)? Should I just try without making it deep and get a few bags of the pure stuff?
Side questions:
pH should be 8.2? Salinity should be 1.024? Other than these few questions I think I have enough "knowledge" to start my cycle.
Thanks!
quick edit question: Another site recommended soaking live rock in high salinity water to get any invertibrates out of the rock before curing it. Does anyone have experience with this? They claim that it removes unwanted hitch-hikers in a fairly easy way. Just wondering if I should try it.
 
pohtr

pohtr

Member
me too!!!
I have just picked up H.D.'s play sand for my 90gal. Their toll free number tech person told me it was crystaline silica dioxide which is quartz. I have read everything I could find about the play sand issue and the best I can come up with is that as long as it is not just
made FROM silica it is o.k. If it is only made from silica then it could have other impurities in it, like silicate & feldspar. So I'm planning on adding some argonite to it and some live sand and I hope it works cause I have ZERO experience with all this. If anyone knows better please help us!.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Silica sand is fine as long as the sand grains are very fine and rounded.
The problem with most play sand is that it's either not silica or not fine, or the grains are sharp. Silica is pure white when placed in water, any impurities are disasterous and will show up as brown or discolored sand under water.
 
pohtr

pohtr

Member
thanks....now I better go open the bag and have a better look - thought it was white but I'm going to check. Of course only a fish crazy person would run right out, now, in the cold and dark and wind, to check their sand's grain shape. ha ha.
 
vlondi

vlondi

Member
When I looked at it it looks to be sugar sized. It really is quite fine sand with a slightly off-white color. I want to use mostly aragonite but thought I could use some of this to add volume where my pocket book cannot.
I am gonna call me mum tomorrow and see if she can spot me some cash next week. If so I'll probably have 90% aragonite at the least.
 
pohtr

pohtr

Member
just tested my playsand from H.D. It is off white, small and mostly roundish, BUT when I ran a magnet around in it it picked up the little specks of dark stuff. I'm assuming this would be a big NO NO.
 
ryuson99

ryuson99

Member

Originally posted by Skrimpz
you ran the maget on top of the sand just plaun, what does that test for?
Running the magnet was just to see if the sand had any metals, which it does.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Nice to see some posters that have been taking the time to research. Good job on the magnet trick!
You might also want to check out the fine grain sand blasting sands, some folks have had good luck with that. Just look for the white sand.
Reminder that spring is comming and the HD stores will soon be stocking up on sand. Go to your local HD and request that they get the southdown, yardright or Old Castle playsand in, the carribian stuff.
If you go with the silica sand perhaps you have also read the warnings about not breathing the dust, but I'll repost:
A warning about silica crystals:
Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by overexposure to respirable crystalline silica. More than one million U.S. workers are exposed to crystalline silica, and each year more than 250 die from silicosis. There is no cure for the disease, but it is 100 percent preventable if employers, workers, and health professionals work together to reduce exposures.
So in other words do not breath this dust. FYI there is also a warning label required by the state of California that is required on silica play sand.
Thomas
 
skrimpz

skrimpz

Member
Ok, I see all good to know. Guess i;ll have to wait until the srpring to get some sand.
Oh well. I was going to Change out my cc to sand, should i keep it in there? Or should i just go bare bottom...:happyfish :happyfish :happyfish
 
T

thomas712

Guest

Originally posted by Skrimpz
Guess i;ll have to wait until the srpring to get some sand
You will have to check around, but unfortunatly the Old Castle and Southdown sands have been typically only avaiable in the east coast states, but they have also popped up around the U.S. in other places in the last year.
Not likely to show up in places like Monett MO. But you never know.
Sorry
 
vlondi

vlondi

Member
Ok, I now have a little over $20 to last me until next week. All this because I broke down an bought that damned aragonite dirt. I only got 60 lbs (not enough funding) but that should be enough, correct? One only needs a lb per gallon I have read and I have a little over that.
Now onto a question: when I am able to afford it in the future, it is ok to add some bagged live sand to an already established tank, correct? I understand that it may put the tank through a mini-cycle but I think that in the long run a deep sand bed would make this little problem worth it.
Also, any responses to the high-salinity dipping method for LR? My rock comes in tomorrow (some pretty Haitian rock) so this would be helpful.
Thanks!
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
You can add bagged live sand anytime you want but it's just expensive wet aragonite sand, it is not live sand.
This site sells really good live sand and I'd recommend it.
 
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