play sand

[cgarr017]

a friend of mine who is an avid RCer has helped me get my setup put together told me that there have been articles on play sand here(that i am unable to find) and that i can get away with using play sand plus a little bit of sand from his tank. Any suggestions or feedback?

[an411]

Yeah you can go that route I would recommend spends the extra money and buying dry aggregate sand instead of the silca playsand. this is a matter of opinion people are goign to tell you to use it cause its cheaper and other people are going to tell you not to use it. From what I heard the silca sand can cause more algea bloom I have not experiences it myself but at the same time I didnt want to take the rick so I went with the better sand. Yeither way you go use some sand from your buddies tank

[rustybucket145]

Better than the silica play sand (which is absolutely fine) is Pulverized Limestone, which is the 'yard term' for Aragonite. You can find it in Home Depot or Lowes in the garden section. There are several brands and each is different. I believe Pavestone is the best but you just need to check them for grain size. You don't want rocky, and you don't want dust, poke a little hole in the bag and rub it in-between your fingers to feel the grain size. If it feels kinda like sand, get it! It is super white and is calcium based.

[rustybucket145]

Oh, almost forgot, Pulverized Limestone is less than $4 for a 50lb bag :)

[stingythingy45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11103727#post11103727 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rustybucket145
Better than the silica play sand (which is absolutely fine) is Pulverized Limestone, which is the 'yard term' for Aragonite. You can find it in Home Depot or Lowes in the garden section. There are several brands and each is different. I believe Pavestone is the best but you just need to check them for grain size. You don't want rocky, and you don't want dust, poke a little hole in the bag and rub it in-between your fingers to feel the grain size. If it feels kinda like sand, get it! It is super white and is calcium based.

Bingo,
It's the next Southdown.
It's very white and is under the label"High dessert tropical play sand".It foams like crazy under vinegar and is very clean.Grains are a little big but it don't get blown around by PHs.
I've had it in my 55 for months now.I call it Southdown 2.

[cgarr017]

sweet thanks for the advice and the fast response. any additional feedback supporting or criticizing this method would be great

[stingythingy45]

Rinse it......
Some will say no,but trust me,there's no need to have a tank of milk for a few days.I rinsed mine in a tote,25 lbs. at a time till the water ran clear.The tank took less than 4 hours to clear up.

[weaselslucks]

i have play sand in all my tanks. You want to rinse the hell out of it first