I foun d CHEAP Aragonite Live Sand (H.D. & Kmart)

[thebigdog]

Need some extra sand to add to your Live Sand? ?

I found 2 pallets of Pavestone at Home Depot in Stratford CT.
It's the white desert play sand and they're about 40 - 45 LB's.
The cost is only $5.99 per bag

I also found a half a pallet at Kmart in Milford by Kolorscape.
Slightly finer texture than Home Depot's brand, and I personally live it better than Pavestone.
It's also white play sand and they're about 40 - 45 LB's.
The cost is only $3.48 per bag

Yes kiddies - I did the viniger test on both of them
They both fizzed like Alka-Seltzer !

Although they seem to be mostly Aragonite, the bags do say they contain a little Silica

I believe both are distributed by Old Castle, but I may be wrong.

Enjoy!!!
A "thank you" would be appreciated... :D

[Wheel of Time]

Isnt it just like that -- eveytime someone finds a good deal, Ive already gotten all I need. Good idea with the fizz test.

thanks for the info

[Gooch79]

I am still sort of skeptical about this because last february I basically went on a quest determined to find this stuff and tracked down pavestone high desert white playsand and found out after I got it that it was silica sand.

I did a vinegar test but to be honest I didnt quite know what to look for. It fizzed but it didnt disolve like something that was all calcium carbonate should.

I called up the company and spoke with their customer support and they sent me out a pdf on the breakdowns and it comes from screened marble supposedly from a quarry in mass. What makes this stuff different from the old school southdown "tropical" playsand is that the tropical stuff was actual aragonite sand harvested from the bahamas right along side the reef sand being sold to hobbyists.

This stuff as far as I know is not like that but perhaps you got some different bags?

[thebigdog]

You are right - It fizzed.
It however didn't disolve completely like something that was all calcium carbonate.

I am assuming it is calcium carbonate, and the stuff that doesn't desolve must be the silica stated on the bag.

I mixed it with my existing live sand, and everything seems "good to go"!

[Nerdy Nudi]

take a magnifying glass or take some macro pitcures of it. silica and aragonite oolitic sand look very very different.

silica looks like tiny shards of glass, while aragonite looks like tiny oblong pebbles of various sizes.

if you cant tell or dont have both to compare and want to see what it looks like let me know and Ill see if I can find the samples I kept when I was doing my own comparisons and Ill take a few pix.

[thebigdog]

Thank you Nerdy Nudi for the help.

Could I take you up on that offer for a couple of pictures?
(Please email or upload them here, if you can)
This way I can see exactly what you mean.

Thanks in advance

[Nerdy Nudi]

no prob big dog, Ill have em posted by lunchtime.

[Nerdy Nudi]

Heres a pic to start, a macro shot to show grain details:

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand1.jpg?t=1249601096"/>

This clearly shows the jaggedness of the silica. The grains of the oolitic sand are so tiny yet there is silica that is nothing more than dust. Probably not the best thing for filter feeders to have floating in the tank or been sifted through.

[evsalty]

NO WAY would I want that in my tank.

Just say no to silica!

[Nerdy Nudi]

I did these rather quickly, as I wanted them posted asap. If I feel up to it, some day Ill take some super macro/micro shots for comparison.

but for now itll do:

just to show scale (on a slim cd case), please forgive the over exposure:

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand.jpg?t=1249602120"/>

heres the oolitic aragamax:

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand3.jpg?t=1249602123"/>

heres the white castle play sand from the "depot":

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand5.jpg?t=1249602129"/>

heres to show how "dusty" the silica is in comparison to the arag:

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand2.jpg?t=1249602121"/>

and the previous comparison:

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand1.jpg?t=1249602354"/>

[evsalty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15485729#post15485729 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nerdy Nudi

<img src="http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu111/nerdynudi/sand.jpg?t=1249602120"/>




I think this picture was ment for a different forum lol :D


Those are some nice shots. Def shows why the silica is not good for sifters.

[thebigdog]

Cool looking pictures Nerdy Nudi.
I will do some comparisons, once I get a massive magnifying glass.

Thanks again

[Wheel of Time]

that is an excellent post nerdy!! great shots for comparison. I had heard about the disadvantages of silica -- but those marco/micro shots are awesome. Thanks for posting

[Nerdy Nudi]

glad I can help! if I eer get a good lighting set-up Ill redo them. Im also looking for a microscope to do true micro shots.