The Right Sand - Finally

[spinman]

All,

HD finally did come through. Turns out they keep the "tropical sand" in the Seasonal section of the store.

Easiest way to see if your store has it is to give them the SKU (578-819). My store had like 400 bags of the stuff.

Interesting thing is how the bag is marked.
Here is what's on the bag:

TROPICAL PLAY SAND
soft texture-santitized-silica free
From the Caribbean
.5 cu. ft
(14 L)
Oldcastle Stone Products
Thomasville, PA 17364
not recommended for traction or aquarium use (yeah, right)

$ 4.99 a bag

I did the vinegar test and it foamed right up.

Mike

 

[pearsont74]

be sure to clean the heck out of it.....I havent been able to find it down here but would be warey about it...more so then gettin it directly from a beach
cursious as to what chemicals they use to clean it or treat it

 

[spinman]

Do you own a LFS? This is the 1st time I've heard a cautionary note about this sand.

Mike

 

[pearsont74]

no I dont....wish I did...would be great to own a LFS....
but think about it....the sand is bagged and probably is treated to prevent mold and other bactria from starting...the sand is supposed to be used for a play box for kids....read the bag....does it say anything about the contains...why would it have a disclaimer not for aquarium use??
all im saying is to wash it good.... but anytime you get something for your tank that is not meant for aquarium use then you are taking a risk
I took a rish with mine and got sand out in the gulf...at a sand bar....alot on here advised against it but Im doin good and got live sand for free....my sand is crawling with all kinds of things....

 

[krap101]

i think i bought the same sand and im using it in my brichardi tank to keep the ph up. i got mine from home depot. its a nice white sand with some bigger chunks in there. my fish are doing fine with it. but it is pretty dirty

 

[pearsont74]

hahah....get it, dirty...sand...dirty...ok...just had to say it

its been a long day....woah....need to step away from the pc

 

[spinman]

So how to wash? Throw a bag in a 5 gallon bucket and run tap water over it and let it drain out the bottom of the drilled bucket? Do I need to worry about the untreated chlorine infused tap water or should i Amguel it?

Mike

 

[Shannono]

So how to wash? Throw a bag in a 5 gallon bucket and run tap water over it...

When I got my 80 pounds of aragonite sand, I washed 40 pounds of it at a time by dumping one 40 pound bag in a large bucket, then rinsing it with tap water. I did this in my bathtub. The sand was extremely dirty, and I would swirl the sand with my hand while running the water over it. I probably spent an hour and a half per 40 pound bag cleaning this sand. Ugh!! What a pain. But the cleaner you get the sand, the less cloudy the water will be in your display tank when you add it. I didn't use any Amquel or Prime while I was cleaning the sand. I don't think that is necessary. If you do decide to add tap water to your tank to fill up your tank (as opposed to RO/DI water), you should probably use dechlorinator on the tap water, but I wouldn't bother to dechlorinate the water used to clean the sand.

 

[krap101]

i washed about 100 lbs and i only came out with like 80 lbs

 

[pearsont74]

pour some in a 5gal bucket and over flow it with water....stick ur hand to mix it up and the water will push out all the nasty stuff
if your just starting out then dont worry about the tap water

 

[mykpoz]

SKU (578-819) is "desert high sand" here in pensacola, fl