"White Beach Sand" from Wal-Mart?

[jbrunken]

Hey everyone,

Our local Wal-Mart is now selling something called "White Beach Sand". I don't really know anything about it other than the name.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

What are the chances that it's argonite and/or would make a decent substrate?

Thanks in Advance.

-JB

[serpentman]

You can try the ole vinegar test. Mix a small sample with some vinegar and if it fizzes, its aragonite.

[jbrunken]

I picked up a bag of the stuff and did the vinegar test.

Sadly, it failed.

-JB

[kau_cinta_ku]

sand don't need to be argonite sand. silica sand will work just as good just with out the buffering. grain size is what you want to look for.

[thor32766]

yeah some people have had great success with silica sand. the only reason people love argonite is because it is a natural buffer.

[Ti]

Dang, you guys had my hoeps up on this walmart sand

[smcdonn]

I got fed up with trying to find the aragonite sand. Finally just bought a couple of bags of silica sand. I do have crushed coral in my fuge though. That might provide a little buffering

[jbrunken]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7441806#post7441806 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kau_cinta_ku
sand don't need to be argonite sand. silica sand will work just as good just with out the buffering. grain size is what you want to look for.

Finer is better I assume? The grains of the Wal-Mart sand are about the same as sugar.

The argonite sand that I currently have (and am actively working to detoxify) has a much larger grain.

I'm wondering if I would be better with the larger grain argonite of the finer grain silica.

-JB

[jbrunken]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7441806#post7441806 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kau_cinta_ku
sand don't need to be argonite sand. silica sand will work just as good just with out the buffering. grain size is what you want to look for.

Finer is better I assume? The grains of the Wal-Mart sand are about the same as sugar.

The argonite sand that I currently have (and am actively working to detoxify) has a much larger grain.

I'm wondering if I would be better with the larger grain argonite of the finer grain silica.

-JB

[Tate]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7442923#post7442923 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ti
Dang, you guys had my hoeps up on this walmart sand

Don't worry, it's fine. I've been using this sand for a couple years now. You can't beat three bucks a bag. Go get some!

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7441914#post7441914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thor32766
yeah some people have had great success with silica sand. the only reason people love argonite is because it is a natural buffer.

It's only a natural buffer when your pH starts to drop to at least 7.8 ph. Significant buffeting is seen more around the 7.0-7.4 range. By the time the pH is that low, you will have already (hopefully) done something about it. It almost makes the concept of the buffer useless if you think about it. Definitely grain size is the biggest importance.

[jbrunken]

Ok, this all leads me to my next newbie question...

Could I use the cheap Wal-Mart sand in addition to my current Argonite sand?

Right now I only have enough sand to go about 1-1/2 deep in my 125G tank and I'd like to at least double that.

-JB

[Travis L. Stevens]

JB, yes. It's fine.

The biggest drawback of silica sand is it can scratch glass very easily. And, of course, wreaks havoc on acrylic surfaces.