Is this sand okay? PLEASE HELP!!

Finally getting back into the hobby after being out of it for 10 years. At my local hardware store I found 50 lb bags of "Natural Calcium Carbonate". They go for about 3 bucks a bag. The label states it contains silica. It is produced by Hubercarb. It is a great looking sand! I would love to use it as my substrate but I am not sure if it would be ok. I am just starting my 125 gallon FOWLR. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

From what ive been told the only sand from hardware stores you can use is high desert play sand(which is what i use). I also know that if you place the sand in vinager and if fizzles its safe (double check, but i think thats right)

 

How fine is it? Is it sharp? That could hurt fish trying to bury or lay in the sand if it is. I used play sand too and the fish love it. Took a while to rinse it though, which you should do before using it (put some sand in a bucket and rinse with hose and pour out until it is clear).

 

It is not a real fine sand. If I had to guess its a #20 maybe. Looks great and feels great in your hands. I went back to the store and realized they have it labeled as barn use lime. Not sure what that is supposed to be. Just looks like natural sand to me and says "Natural Calcium Carbonate". I think I will try to the vinegar test to see what happens. It would be much cheaper than trying to buy live sand. I dont have any pet shops near me to buy stuff so I often have to substitute. Where did you guys get your play sand and whats the name? Thanks again.

 

"Barn-Use Lime"?? I think you should steer clear of that one. Natural Calcium Carbonate is also quarried from strip mines and may contain traces of heavy metals and other impurities you do not want in any aquarium. The same hardware store should carry play sand. That would be a safer choice, IMHO.

Cheers

 

I am starting to think maybe I should stay away from it. They do not have any playsand. I think I will check into Homedepot, Lowes, and Menards. Any suggestions on what I should look for? I plan on taking a bottle of vinegar too.

 

Home Depot and Lowe's definitely carry Play Sand, or at least the ones in my area have it. Don't know exactly what the vinegar is supposed to prove. Play sand is silica-based (not the soluble type), and is sterilized (not with chemicals), so it's perfectly safe for aquarium use, even in a reef tank.

 

The vinegar test will let you know only if it's calcium carbonate, which the bag already states. As someone has mentioned, it's the impurities that concern you. There aren't really any ways for you to test for this, as you won't know what you're testing for.

I think you struck it on the head when you said you might want to steer clear of this stuff. People wind up spending so many thousands of dollars on reef tanks in the interest of providing corals and fish with pristine environments. It seems pretty silly to chance a key component like water quality or sand when the end result is potentially shooting yourself in the foot.

People will tell you to use any sand you want, they'll also tell you RO/DI units aren't necessary, tap water is just dandy, etc. I won't get into the debate but here's something to think about--why risk something that can put your entire tank in great jeopardy? There's a good reason why the majority of folks have the opinion that RO/DI is a must have, water changes are a must, tap water is a no-no. Again, I'm not lobbying for any one side, but you have two choices: either save money and take a risk--or leave nothing to chance and control every aspect of your tank.

 

I got mine at lowes and it was about $3-4 for a 50 pound bag. I think the name was koncrete or something similar to concrete but it didn't have concrete in it.

 

Anybody ever use Bahama Aragonite sand from marcorocks.com? I was looking at them and they seem really reasonable (if your going to use the real stuff). How much should I use for a 125 gallon aqaurium? I am going to be running a 20 gallon sump with refugium deep sand bed and algae scrubber. Not sure if I want the deep sand bed in the display. Is it ok to use only about 2 inches? Thanks again everybody.