live "playground" sand

[miah2bzy]

Can I use playground sand from home depot seeded with live sand from an older established tank to make live sand for my tank?

[reefworm]

if it's not the southdown sand they used to carry you may end up with a sand that's loaded with silicates and asking for some pretty significant algae blooms. most often playsand is quarried on land, not dredged from the ocean or a beach. that's why the southdown was so sought-after.

[tmcgaughey]

how true

you will have poor water conditions and diatoms until the cows come home

[Shewillbemine]

No need to shortcut something as basic as sand. Go buy some bags at your LFS (or other reef keepers) and sleep soundly.

[sdtopgun]

i wouldn't do it

[jasonrp104]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I always thought the silicates in playground sand were inert.

[snakeklr]

I do it. I use the sand from lowes. I have been for years no problems yet. I seed from one of my other tanks and up and running after cycle.

[billdogg]

as long as you rinse it well, there should be no real problem. Yes, it is silicate based, but it can and has been used by many without issues.

[Vin7250]

too much hassle; get some live sand or just regular sand from a pet store.

[ScottL4619]

I think the reason people ask this question is that playground sand is $5 for 50 pounds and aragonite from LFS is $60 or more for 40 pounds. That is a silly price to pay if playsand can work just fine. I am actually switching out my sand and really don't want to spend $300 when I could spend $30...

There was a thread about crushed marble, which is silica free, but I can't seem to find it anywhere local.