Play sand for sump??

woody189

woody189

Member
Hi.
I have a very small fuge with LR and Chaeto.
I want to add some sand, but not for biological filtration. I have enough sand in my DT. I only want to add sand to my fuge so pods have more space to breed.
What cheap sand would you recommend? Home Depot has Play sand for real cheap. Can I use it??
I read threads on how it colonize bacteria as well and stuff, but what about for my purpose?
I need only like 5 LBS or so. Could I use freshwater tank sand?
Thanks.
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Originally Posted by woody189
http:///forum/post/3071249
Hi.
I have a very small fuge with LR and Chaeto.
I want to add some sand, but not for biological filtration. I have enough sand in my DT. I only want to add sand to my fuge so pods have more space to breed.
What cheap sand would you recommend? Home Depot has Play sand for real cheap. Can I use it??
I read threads on how it colonize bacteria as well and stuff, but what about for my purpose?
I need only like 5 LBS or so. Could I use freshwater tank sand?
Thanks.
Hi there,
You could the vinegar test and see if it will be okj.
 
girlina4x4

girlina4x4

Member
I THINK the vinegar test is where you add some to the sand and if it fizzes its bad. But I thought that was only for rocks or driftwood. Umm, dont take my word for it though...
I just wanted to tell you that I bought pool filter sand from home depot and use it in ALL my tanks, FW and SW. Its 5 bucks for 20 lbs. Never had any problems with it.
 
jordan3548

jordan3548

Member
One of my good friends that runs a fish store actually told me to use that sand just seed it with live sand. He was like since im your buddy im not selling you this sand lol just go to lowes and buy the sand its alot cheaper and pretty much looks no different
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Originally Posted by jordan3548
http:///forum/post/3071921
One of my good friends that runs a fish store actually told me to use that sand just seed it with live sand. He was like since im your buddy im not selling you this sand lol just go to lowes and buy the sand its alot cheaper and pretty much looks no different
Hi there,
It depends on the composition of the play sand.
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/3071939
I am using the quikrete in my remote sandbed
I have checked that brand and it's "Play Sand". I found it to be ok (with vinegar test), but have not actually used it yet. I was getting ready to setup a 5 gallon tank and see how it does.
 
jordan3548

jordan3548

Member
I just went and bought 200 pounds of play sand for 14 dollars tax included at Home Depot. It would've cost me probably 125-175 for sand at the LFS
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Originally Posted by jordan3548
http:///forum/post/3072235
I just went and bought 200 pounds of play sand for 14 dollars tax included at Home Depot. It would've cost me probably 125-175 for sand at the LFS
Hi there,
Yeah that's the reason it's so appealing. Here is the site for the sand I have looked at;
http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines...remiumPlay.asp
Like I said before, I have not tried it yet, so not sure how it will perform on the long run. I would not recomend it for well established tanks untill I try it. If new, than it might ot be that bad (as far as cost is concerned)
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Couple of things to clear up....
The vinegar test to determine if sand is either calcium based (arganonite), or silica based. Vinegar, being a strong'ishly acidic, reacts with the alkalintic calcium based sand, and usually fizzles up. Silica, being inert, does nothing.
For a long time, calcium based has been the standard of the hobby. It is rarer/harder to get then silica sand, and therefore more expensive. Additionally there has been a long standing myth that silica sand will release silicates under aquarium conditions, and cause algae blooms. This is simply not the case, i forget the exact number, but silica sand is less likely to release silicates, then the glass the aquarium itself it made from.
As far as using 'Play Sand' (silica sand from HD/Lowes) I have over 250lbs of it in my 125. Cost was the main issue. The is one big catch, I personally did not like the look of it. You either got with the regular sand, and it looks yellow in your tank, or you go with the 'white play sand' which looks like concrete. I added two bags of calcium sand (Carib-Sea) to help with aesthetics over top.
As for adding sand to help with pods reproduction, there's no really no point. Pods don't use sand in particular. They need small cracks and crevices. Rubble rock is the best, also a mound of crushed coral works great too.
 
jordan3548

jordan3548

Member
Yeah I bought the 200 #'s but I also have 100 pounds of live sand also I am upgrading to a 150 and putting the play sand on the bottom with the live sand on top of it. Money's not the issue with me but with the wife it is
and in this case I have to agree with her
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
I would be scared trying to save money using play sand in this hobby. If the play sand has silica in it --- you'll always fight algae problems.... so does saving that bit of money in the long run justify always battling algae and similiar problems? IMO no.
 
jordan3548

jordan3548

Member
The play sand I purchased does not have silica in it. Now they do sell seperate play sand in a mesh bag that specifically says on the bag silica so I am pretty sure although not 100% that if it contained it it would say it.
 
woody189

woody189

Member
Thanks for ALL your help.
I'm obviously not willing to put my tank in risk just to save a penny. That's why I made this thread, to be safe. Everyone who has tried it, seems to have had success. The ppl I happen to see that object to it, haven't tried it. I could be wrong though.
I think I will just use CC.
But can I use freshwater gravel?? Will that cause a problem?
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
I've never tried it personally but a fellow reefer tried the "safe" play sand... and always had an algae problem until he took it out. An algae problem to him is probably nothing to most of us... he's an astromoner at a local university and loves to take everything down to the chemical level on us.... and wants to now run his tank as close to natural seawater as possible and use only live grown foods.
Yes I've never tried it.. but levels of success with it and what that means from one person to the next can vary greatly.
 
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