Can you used playground sand

[jdmteg]

hey guys i have a big bag of sand and was wondering if i can use playground sand in my new 14gallon nano?

[Gimme]

Yes you can. Make sure you wash it well before putting it in your tank.

Find a little bit of live sand from an established tank to seed it and you're set.

[jdmteg]

yeah i have an established 29 gallon i can seed it from. How do you wash sand?? like in a strainer but that wouldnt work the sand would go through the wholes so im listening to suggestions

[Gimme]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL6HqNqs3os

^^ just so you get an idea ;)

[chef.lewis]

I thought playground sand is silicate based while what we are looking for is calcium based (like aragonite) for its buffering capacites. I could be wrong but that is what I thought.

[Siberman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11781201#post11781201 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdmteg
yeah i have an established 29 gallon i can seed it from. How do you wash sand?? like in a strainer but that wouldnt work the sand would go through the wholes so im listening to suggestions

Put about 10 lbs of sand in a 5 gallon bucket.

Stick a water hose in there and turn the water on (low).

Keep stirring the sand until the water turns (and stays) clear.

[bertoni]

Calcium carbonate sand doesn't have any useful buffering capabilities. That's just advertising copy. It is very pretty, though, in my opinion.

[chef.lewis]

I stand corrected.
Thank you