Sand question

[Joshifer]

I'm getting mixed answers.

 

Playsand as a base and covering it less then 20 lbs of live sand.

 

I don't mind cleaning it. Actually lowes playsand is pretty clean I've done it before with FW.

 

Is this a bad idea ? Harmful. Would I have to remove it down the road. Thanks

[holedup82]

Everything I've been reading has been mixed oppinions. I know some WAMAS members were talking about playsand a few months back when someone put an old bag up in the For Sale/WTB/Free sections. The one thing that would worry me is that apparently some playsand has a little bit of concrete mixed in to make it better for scultping and molding. Another thing that seems to come up alot is the silicate based playsand can cause diatom blooms and complications down the road. IMHO I would buy about 20lbs of Argonite based Aquarium sand, and 10lbs of "live" sand and mixed them together prior to adding them to the tank. the Caribsea Aragonite Sand is actually almost comparably priced to Home Depots Natural Beach Sand. Take your time. you can always wait and save money during the build process, but you cannot recoupe money lost in livestock die off down the road

[Joshifer]

Everything I've been reading has been mixed oppinions. I know some WAMAS members were talking about playsand a few months back when someone put an old bag up in the For Sale/WTB/Free sections. The one thing that would worry me is that apparently some playsand has a little bit of concrete mixed in to make it better for scultping and molding. Another thing that seems to come up alot is the silicate based playsand can cause diatom blooms and complications down the road. IMHO I would buy about 20lbs of Argonite based Aquarium sand, and 10lbs of "live" sand and mixed them together prior to adding them to the tank. the Caribsea Aragonite Sand is actually almost comparably priced to Home Depots Natural Beach Sand. Take your time. you can always wait and save money during the build process, but you cannot recoupe money lost in livestock die off down the road

Great info thanks. Ill just mix the aquarium sand with my existing live sand. I want a thick bed. Thanks again

[surf&turf]

Everything I've been reading has been mixed oppinions. I know some WAMAS members were talking about playsand a few months back when someone put an old bag up in the For Sale/WTB/Free sections. The one thing that would worry me is that apparently some playsand has a little bit of concrete mixed in to make it better for scultping and molding. Another thing that seems to come up alot is the silicate based playsand can cause diatom blooms and complications down the road. IMHO I would buy about 20lbs of Argonite based Aquarium sand, and 10lbs of "live" sand and mixed them together prior to adding them to the tank. the Caribsea Aragonite Sand is actually almost comparably priced to Home Depots Natural Beach Sand. Take your time. you can always wait and save money during the build process, but you cannot recoupe money lost in livestock die off down the road

 

+1  Silicates 

[holedup82]

Great info thanks. Ill just mix the aquarium sand with my existing live sand. I want a thick bed. Thanks again

 Anytime, I rushed the set up of my first two tanks, big mistake. The stress, time, and aggrivation(sp) I went through because I was impatient was not worth the extra month or two I should have waited. Not to mention the loss of livestock. Moral of the story enjoy the build process, take your time, budget your spending so every week you get a new item(equipment first). Decide the type of tank you want (Fish only, Fish only with Live rock, Reef). It sounds like you have the beginnings of a very nice 30 gallon FOWLR (Fish only with Live Rock). You can always build up to a reef tank later. Think about what you want to sit down and enjoy a view of once its done. Build it in your head, then put it on paper, then rebuild it in your head again. After that research research research. You are on the right track by asking for information. Keep it up! And Start a build thread so we can all see and appreciate your hard work!

[Origami]

You may find a part of this article from Advanced Aquarist helpful. Bottom line is that the amount of silica released from silicates probably varies widely. Is it OK to use? Probably.

 

 

BTW, the playsand that we talked about in that older thread that was mentioned was Southdown - a calcium carbonate sand, not a silica sand. It was a fine-grained, white Aragonite (reef) sand that was available years ago in a few hardware stores (Home Depot). It's no longer available, but it was a great bargain while it lasted. Imagine getting reef sand for a few bucks rather than $20 for a bag.

 

An aragonite sand base has a better buffering capacity than silica sands.

 

There are successful reef tanks that have run both types of sands. I have always used and preferred aragaonite sand, personally.

[Joshifer]

You may find a part of this article from Advanced Aquarist helpful. Bottom line is that the amount of silica released from silicates probably varies widely. Is it OK to use? Probably.

 

 

BTW, the playsand that we talked about in that older thread that was mentioned was Southdown - a calcium carbonate sand, not a silica sand. It was a fine-grained, white Aragonite (reef) sand that was available years ago in a few hardware stores (Home Depot). It's no longer available, but it was a great bargain while it lasted. Imagine getting reef sand for a few bucks rather than $20 for a bag.

 

An aragonite sand base has a better buffering capacity than silica sands.

 

There are successful reef tanks that have run both types of sands. I have always used and preferred aragaonite sand, personally.

Ill probably just buy another bag of either wet live sand or dry arag sand. Thanks