please help me find white sand.

[newbie2004]

hello all..

i looking for white sand for the bottom of my 135 gal reef.

i have look at argonite and live sand. both are not as white as i wanted it to be.

I have heard of southdown sand.<< can you get these stuff in canada??

also heard homeDepot have white sand and it reef safe. any 1 knows what it called??


thanx.

"I am a E.S.L (english as a Second Language) Student . my english SUCKSSSSSSSS'


:)

[chemisfun11]

I doubt anything at homeDepot is reef safe. Too much silicate in play sand unless you like algae.

Best bet is argonite live sand.

[pbanda]

Depending on where you live, your HD might have it. It is called Soutdown. The bag says "Not Intended of Aquarium" but that is just to protect themselves. Do a search and you will find tons of info about it.
pbanda

[Charlie Davidson]

Ditto, and Yes do yourself a favor Read, read then read some more. There is a vinger test to make sure its OK to use...

[Mr Bojangles]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6926096#post6926096 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chemisfun11
I doubt anything at homeDepot is reef safe. Too much silicate in play sand unless you like algae.

Best bet is argonite live sand.

that is untrue! I have seen it in many places the silica sand is fine as long as it is sterile. I have homedepot silica playsand in my tank and all is well. Silica is what glass is made of, and there is nothing wrong with it

[thereefgeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6926198#post6926198 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr Bojangles
that is untrue! I have seen it in many places the silica sand is fine as long as it is sterile. I have homedepot silica playsand in my tank and all is well. Silica is what glass is made of, and there is nothing wrong with it

Is that silica sand in your gallery pics??

[thereefgeek]

Do yourself a favor newbie2004 and get some fine grade CaribSea or some other aragonite. My sand looks pretty white and aragonite is all I'd ever use.

[philagothos]

IMO, the main problem with silica sand is that it does not offer the buffering effects that aragonite sand does. In addition, silica sand is not the best shapes to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. The bacteria will grow on it, but not as well as it will on aragonite.

I'm of the party that thinks it doesn't cause algae, but I don't think it is a very good option either. If it is all you can get, then it is all you can get, but if anything else is available I would recommend it.

Oh, the vinegar test mentioned earlier just involves putting a little of the sand in a container with vinegar in it. If it bubbles it is aragonite sand. If it doesn't bubble then it is silica sand. To simulate it you can take a piece of limestone and put it in vinegar, then you will see how much it will bubble when you have the aragonite. Hope this helps.

-Kevin

[beanoil]

It was recommended to me to use "sugar" sand. Exactly what is that, and is it worth using?

Grant

[thereefgeek]

Sugar fine aragonite refers to the particle size. If it's too fine and dusty though it'll blow all around the tank if you have a good amount (the right amount) of flow inside the tank.

Silica sand won't promote algae growth, but some where I read that it will promote diatom blooms (the brown dusting on surfaces that usually occurs with new tank setups, or when you use tap water that's high in silicates).

[dhnguyen]

silica sand is fine to use in a tank. The buffering ability of aragonite is not utilized until your tank's pH is already so out of whack that your fish would have died already so that too is not true.

Do what I did and put the silica on the bottom then the top layer with aragonite (for that while look)


D.

[Rip Current]

calcite is white crystalized aragonite and it will stay white.

[REEFKEEPA]

Calcite? Where can you find that?

[jman77]

I would buy white playsand at your local hardware store... Silica sand is find for your tank. I always trip out when you have people post that "Silica Sand is Bad " what the heck is glass made from ?

Or another one.... the BB guys that post acrylic for BB is bad cause it get's brittle.... lol ...

I would use Silica sand and Randys DIY 2 part for the buffering and calcium additions.

sorry had to vent.

[jimbo045]

Coral Fish Hawaii has some sand that I saw, looks kinda white like beach sand.

[kgolem]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6925791#post6925791 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by newbie2004


I have heard of southdown sand.<< can you get these stuff in canada??



:)

Go to your local Rona store and ask for Bomix Playsand. Its the same as Southdown or Caribsea.

There are two types of Bomix, the brown sand is not what you want, the white sand is aragonite and will pass the vinegar test.

Good Luck.

[newbie2004]

thanx Kgolem.

I will check once i am off work.

As for everybody else thanx for the reply. all your information is very informative

[adam_not4u]

Does the vinegar test have anything to do with the time it takes for the sand to dissolve... just asking

[steve the plumb]

my friend bought the bomix brand make sure you rinse it because the water will become milky if you just add it like that.He washed all his bags of sand in a sifter and its fine now, no more milk.

[kgolem]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6980130#post6980130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by adam_not4u
Does the vinegar test have anything to do with the time it takes for the sand to dissolve... just asking

The vinegar test is a test for aragonite. Take about a tablespoon of sand and dribble some vinegar on it. If it is aragonite, it will froth up as the calcium in the sand reacts with the acetic acid.

[kgolem]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6985630#post6985630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by steve the plumb
my friend bought the bomix brand make sure you rinse it because the water will become milky if you just add it like that.He washed all his bags of sand in a sifter and its fine now, no more milk.

Some say that the PH buffering ability of the sand is in the finer particles.

I did not rinse my sand, it took about 4 days till I could see through my tank and about week till it was clear.

Two years later, the surface is coarse particles, no snow storms unless it really gets disturbed.

[Rip Current]

Calcite is used in water filtration for well water with a low ph.
Any water softener dealer will have it.
It does vary in color from bright white to white with grey specs in it.
hauge water in Columbus Ohio has bright white.
It usually goes for $50.00 a cu. foot IIRC.
Its not porous like cc or aragonite so it wont turn green or dark.