My discoveries on HD playsands...

[noteworthy]

Just wanted to update you guys so you don't have to go out there and test all of them.

I tested three sands from Home Depot and here is my bubble report

Pool Filter Sand - No Fizz - Pure Silica
Quikcrete All Purpose Play Sand - Fizzes - Mixture of Silica and Argonite
General Play Sand - Fizzes - Mixture of Silica and Argonite


The quikcrete did have a finer grit than the general play sand... I forget the name of it but it is more colorful on the bag and has some flags on it.

I think I'm going to buy 100 lbs of quikcrete all purpose sand and wash it up.. use it in my 120 gallon reef.

 

[rollin_22]

what exactly is the vinegar test......

 

[fishfreek]

Argonite (limestone) based sand is more desirable for saltwater as the idea is taht it will help buffer the ph and alkinity.

In addition the argonite based sand is usually alot easier on the sand bed critters than the sharp edged silica sand.

Limestone disolves in high ph liquid like vinegar. Just put a little sand in a bowl and pour a little bit of vinegar in. If it fizzles or bubbles up its got argonite in it. If the sand does nothing but get wet than its mostly silica.

Here you can see two types of sand. The one on the right is argonite based and had a reaction to the vinegar where as the sand on the left did not. The sands dont always look so differnt as the two samples in the image.

 

[rollin_22]

awesome... thanks for the quick responce... could i use the pool filter sand in my bw tank with no problems?

 

[dscount]

If you have the choice go with the argonite based sand. It has additional filteration features that silica based sand does not. Plus a 10lb bag of this at LFS is like $8 instead of the HD 50lb for say $10.

Plus your invert buddies will like you for not tossing in a ton of sharp jagged junk into the tank.