Yet another sand question?

[saberry]

Ok, I happened to be in HD today so I went by to check out the playsand. They did not have the Old Castle or Yard Right but they did have Natural Earth Lawn and Garden Sand. It had zero information about the contents but it was less than $3.00 for a 50 lb. bag so I bought a few anyway.

The website listed on the bags is not active but I was able to call the company direct. The lady answering the phone clearly had no idea what argonite was but told me the sand was taken directly from the river, cleaned and bagged, so there should not be any silica. So, should I give this a good cleaning and add it to the tank, or just use it to fill in some low spots around the yard?

 

[MadManMac]

I would go for the yard since it came from the river not the ocean. It could have anything in it including pesticides and other chemicals related to farming run off if it is not cleaned and sterilized.

 

[indy]

Silica isn't the problem with sand. It's the heavy metals and toxic chemicals that could be in it. The reason playsand works is because it's cleaned of both. It's safe for a toddler to eat it by the pound, so its safe for fish. If its not marked "playsand" regardless of brand, don't use it.

 

[saberry]

The yard it is!

 

[Bearfan]

Actually, one of the main reasons to use South Down sand is it's rounded grain shape, which is what sand gets from tides.

 

[sumphead]

There are several equally important IMO:

-Size (small grain)
-Shape (rounded edges for safety of livestock)
-Buffering capacity (aragonite - Calcium carbonate)
-Color (it's white)
-Natural environment (that's what's in ocean)
-It's clean and sterilized

Hang in there, I have heard on the "other" forum that it is available in Houston. Keep checkin' around.

R

 

[saberry]

Yeah, I have several more places to check just with about a 5 mile radius.