Now does any of the play sand that is sold at Home Depot or Lowes alright to use in our tanks? I read on one forum about using it. And I know from the sand powerbuy thread that they can't advertise it for aquarium use. I need it for a refuguim so it doesn't have to be live sand since I already have live sand in the main. I was wanting some buffering sand on the cheap.
Sand
- Thread starter frewl
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They dont sell southdown at Home Depot....Ive looked and never found it....actually, i dont think they sell it anywhere.
I would not use any play sand from home depot as I believe the only one they carry is by Quick Crete.
In my freshwater tanks I used pool filter sand (available at Leslies) mixed with aragonite for some buffering. I've heard you can use that for SW as well.....might want to get some other opinions though.....gluck.
I would not use any play sand from home depot as I believe the only one they carry is by Quick Crete.
In my freshwater tanks I used pool filter sand (available at Leslies) mixed with aragonite for some buffering. I've heard you can use that for SW as well.....might want to get some other opinions though.....gluck.
do you know what HD he purchased it at....was it local?
from what I understand the company went out of business and was bought out by a company called Yardright which was then bought out by a company called Oldcastle.......
I play hockey with a guy thats pretty high up in Old Castle and he told me that the supplier they used to get the Southdown sand from went dry and then went out of business as well......they never picked up another supplier for carribean sand and he says he doesnt know of any brands that compare to the fine grain of Southdown.
Apparently, the playsand business isnt too profitable. Maybe if they had marketed towards fish geeks like us, they would have satyed afloat....
Only sand I have ever seen that compares to Southdown as I understand is one called Aquaterra but its like $5 for 5lbs.......thats ridiculous.
from what I understand the company went out of business and was bought out by a company called Yardright which was then bought out by a company called Oldcastle.......
I play hockey with a guy thats pretty high up in Old Castle and he told me that the supplier they used to get the Southdown sand from went dry and then went out of business as well......they never picked up another supplier for carribean sand and he says he doesnt know of any brands that compare to the fine grain of Southdown.
Apparently, the playsand business isnt too profitable. Maybe if they had marketed towards fish geeks like us, they would have satyed afloat....
Only sand I have ever seen that compares to Southdown as I understand is one called Aquaterra but its like $5 for 5lbs.......thats ridiculous.
I hate it when they want to jack up the price of something because its "specialty" like silicone. 10 bucks for All-glass and I have read in a forum that a guy emailed several companies. All-glass being one of them and in the email they actually say that GE makes their silicone. And I just got a tube of GE silicone 1 for 3.50
In my experience, the availability of Southdown sand is regional so you have to look for it. A few years ago I bought 8-9 bags of Southdown from a Home Depot in Greenville, SC during a business trip. I think there is a "quick test" for any sand you may want to use in your tank to determine if it is a buffering type of sand. Simply pour some vinegar to a sample of your sand and if the vinegar bubbles or fizzes, then you have a buffering type of sand.
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Your sand at the normal ph we have in our tanks will provide basically no buffering capability. So, just get whatever you want its no big deal. Don't confuse silica with silicates, silica sand is just fine to use and attractive and generally will contain no more silicates than argonite based sand. The only test you really need to do is the magnet test, run a strong magnet over the sand and if it picks anything up... don't use it. Oh and if you need sand, I have a bucketfull of argonite you can have.
I would error on the side of caution and just pony up the extra bucks. I know it will cost you $20 or so more bucks but the peace of mind at least for me is worth it. You can order from DrsFosterSmith since they have cheap shipping. Someone also said you can take a printout of the price to PetSmart and get the same deal.
I've used play sand from Wal-Mart and never had any problems. It is a silica sand though and will not provide any buffering. It's not as white nor as fine as a lot of the specialty aragonite or reef sand that is sold for saltwater aquaria, but it has always worked ok for me.
