Sand Question

[airforceb2]

Ok, I finally found some play sand but it isn't made by any of the secified companies from earlier posts. It says directly on the package "for fish bowl and aquarium use" but it contains 0.1% silicates. Is this ok or will it harm the tank? Thanks.

 

[teen]

pour some vinegar on some of the sand, if it fizzes, it should be good, if not, i wouldnt use it.

 

[airforceb2]

I'm aware of that trick. It does fizz but I'm still worried about the silicates. I was wondering if there was anyone who paid attention in chemistry to see if an ounce of silicate will harm my fish in 100lbs of sand.

 

[teen]

try posting under other areas too, like under the reef category, and fish discussion, maybe somone looking over there will know. this isnt the wrong area, it just may get more attention over there cause im really not sure bout that .1%

 

[airforceb2]

Good idea...thanks Teen.

 

[scotts]

Do a search on here for silica or silicates. You should find some info. Plus there are some people that use silica san in their tanks. BTW the search button is at the top of this screen.
Scott

 

[sin]

I Bought Sand From The Lfs Tryed The Vinegar Test Did Not See It Foam. I'm New At This Any Way But I Heard That The Vinegar Test Do Not Really Work. Thats Just What I Heard

 

[shiby1510]

hm... lets think about this for a second..
for starters... your glass tank has silicate in it.
that being said silicate is not understood correctly by many people..
the only thing it does it can aid in is some diatom algae... which can easily be controlled with a proper cleanup crew..
the only important fact that your marine life will care about is the size of the grains of sand..
here is a very helpful link:
http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm
have fun :cheer: :joy:

 

[airforceb2]

Here are some pictures of the sand bag. I just don't want to trust the bag and have my sand-thriving creatures die. I can screen the sand so only <1mm particles are in my tank if the sand is ok to use. In a study I read, silica based sand (quartz sand) created 1.0ppm Si in seawater where calcium carbonate sand (aragonite) created a mere 0.1ppm of soluble silica. It also says that the acid byproduct of sand living organisms can react with the little ammounts of silica in the sand. My question is, at what levels will the silica become lethal...is 1.0ppm ok in a 100gal tank? I'm going to do some more research, just wanted to see if anyone here had any ideas. Thanks.

 

[airforceb2]

You can't really see that last picture but it says "this bag contains greater than 0.1% silica and airborn silica is a health hazard for children.