playbox sand to mix with live sand? is that ok

Finding_nemo1 · 08/22/2006, 11:12 PM

I read somewhere that it's ok to put playbox sand from home depot with live sand. I'm setting up a salt water tank.
Please advice.

outy · 08/22/2006, 11:58 PM

wheres canyon country lol

i would put the silica based sand on the bottom and argonite on top.

the silica based sand has sharp edges the other doesnt this could irritate some of your sand sifters snails ect

pitt_prodigy · 08/23/2006, 12:05 AM

If your talking about "Tropical Playsand from the Carribean" by southdown, then yes it is ok. In fact i would recommend it, as that is what i have in my tank (and i know that it is widely coveted by many others here.) It is very difficult to find though and i believe is a seasonal product. Its an aragonite based sand (snow white in color) and helps (slightly) in buffering the pH of your tank and keeping things stable (if you use enough of it). My one complaint is that it is very fine and you really have to watch where you aim your flow or you'll get a hellish sand storm. DEFINITELY rinse this sand in a bucket multiple times before you put it in the tank to get rid of the dust. It is very time consuming, but believe me, its well worth the headache. I rinsed in a 5g bucket x3 for every batch and still got a cloudy tank for the first 24hrs.

However, i remember that when i was looking at home depot and lowes for this "holy grail" sand, they had a lot of other sands which contained silica. There is sort of an ongoing debate on this site whether silica contributes to algae growth, though you will find people on this site who have used sand containing traceable silica. If you can, run a search on it... and you'll find yourself plenty of reading.

After i weighed all the options i went with the Southdown and steered clear of the silica sand. You will have enough algae problems when starting a new tank, without helping it along at all (if silica does). Thats just part of the game! Hope this helps, welcome to RC.

outy · 08/23/2006, 12:31 AM

you cant find southdown in ca

i hope somebody proves me wrong

Finding_nemo1 · 08/23/2006, 12:49 AM

Thank you everyone. I think I got the regular playbox sand not the one you mentioned so I probably should return it if I can't find the one you use (pitt_prodigy).

pitt_prodigy · 08/23/2006, 01:32 AM

Oops! Good catch outy.... Finding_nemo1, i didnt see that you were in cali.... this, as outy pointed out, could pose a problem for finding the southdown as it is typically ONLY found in the NE states.

The plant that makes it is in York PA i believe, which is only about 30min from where i live and i still had some difficulty tracking it down. If i were you i would either:

A. Talk with Home Depot and see if they could special order you some (dont know if that will be possible though, as they typically require a HUGE amount to special order it..... but the worst they can say is "no")

B. Do some searching here on RC. I have seen a lot of posts in the past of people who have got together on here and went in on a large order (usually 1/2 to a full pallet), so you might be able to get in on one of those deals.

C. See if you can find someone in the classified section here who has a surplus and is willing to ship it out. Most likely wont be cheap...... but neither is paying $25-30 for one bag of crushed coral!

D. Check into other "typical" (AKA readily available) sands that Home Depot carries. I vague remember reading quite a few post here about people who used the "quickcrete" brand sand. It would be worth looking into.

Basically you got a lot of options....which is always a good thing!
Good luck.

Finding_nemo1 · 08/23/2006, 02:05 AM

Yeah i bought the quickcrete brand.

08/22/2006, 11:12 PM	#1
Finding_nemo1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canyon Country, CA Posts: 97	playbox sand to mix with live sand? is that ok I read somewhere that it's ok to put playbox sand from home depot with live sand. I'm setting up a salt water tank. Please advice.

08/23/2006, 12:05 AM	#3
pitt_prodigy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Palm Harbor, FL Posts: 751	If your talking about "Tropical Playsand from the Carribean" by southdown, then yes it is ok. In fact i would recommend it, as that is what i have in my tank (and i know that it is widely coveted by many others here.) It is very difficult to find though and i believe is a seasonal product. Its an aragonite based sand (snow white in color) and helps (slightly) in buffering the pH of your tank and keeping things stable (if you use enough of it). My one complaint is that it is very fine and you really have to watch where you aim your flow or you'll get a hellish sand storm. DEFINITELY rinse this sand in a bucket multiple times before you put it in the tank to get rid of the dust. It is very time consuming, but believe me, its well worth the headache. I rinsed in a 5g bucket x3 for every batch and still got a cloudy tank for the first 24hrs. However, i remember that when i was looking at home depot and lowes for this "holy grail" sand, they had a lot of other sands which contained silica. There is sort of an ongoing debate on this site whether silica contributes to algae growth, though you will find people on this site who have used sand containing traceable silica. If you can, run a search on it... and you'll find yourself plenty of reading. After i weighed all the options i went with the Southdown and steered clear of the silica sand. You will have enough algae problems when starting a new tank, without helping it along at all (if silica does). Thats just part of the game! Hope this helps, welcome to RC. __________________ -Josh Current Tank Info: 72 gallon RR Oceanic, heavily modded ASM G2 skimmer, 30g sump/refugium, AI vega lighting x 2, apex controller, Phos Reactor, etc.

08/23/2006, 01:32 AM	#6
pitt_prodigy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Palm Harbor, FL Posts: 751	Oops! Good catch outy.... Finding_nemo1, i didnt see that you were in cali.... this, as outy pointed out, could pose a problem for finding the southdown as it is typically ONLY found in the NE states. The plant that makes it is in York PA i believe, which is only about 30min from where i live and i still had some difficulty tracking it down. If i were you i would either: A. Talk with Home Depot and see if they could special order you some (dont know if that will be possible though, as they typically require a HUGE amount to special order it..... but the worst they can say is "no") B. Do some searching here on RC. I have seen a lot of posts in the past of people who have got together on here and went in on a large order (usually 1/2 to a full pallet), so you might be able to get in on one of those deals. C. See if you can find someone in the classified section here who has a surplus and is willing to ship it out. Most likely wont be cheap...... but neither is paying $25-30 for one bag of crushed coral! D. Check into other "typical" (AKA readily available) sands that Home Depot carries. I vague remember reading quite a few post here about people who used the "quickcrete" brand sand. It would be worth looking into. Basically you got a lot of options....which is always a good thing! Good luck. __________________ -Josh Current Tank Info: 72 gallon RR Oceanic, heavily modded ASM G2 skimmer, 30g sump/refugium, AI vega lighting x 2, apex controller, Phos Reactor, etc.

08/22/2006, 11:58 PM	#2
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	wheres canyon country lol i would put the silica based sand on the bottom and argonite on top. the silica based sand has sharp edges the other doesnt this could irritate some of your sand sifters snails ect

08/23/2006, 12:31 AM	#4
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	you cant find southdown in ca i hope somebody proves me wrong

08/23/2006, 12:49 AM	#5
Finding_nemo1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canyon Country, CA Posts: 97	Thank you everyone. I think I got the regular playbox sand not the one you mentioned so I probably should return it if I can't find the one you use (pitt_prodigy).

08/23/2006, 02:05 AM	#7
Finding_nemo1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canyon Country, CA Posts: 97	Yeah i bought the quickcrete brand.