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Lowes playsand


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#1 Guest_bearskookums_*

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Posted 14 January 2007 - 11:39 PM

Hi has anyone used playsand as substrate...particularly playsand from Lowes? I just bought a 50lb bag for $3...and while reading around I found this article:
http://www.aquariuma...w...&fldAuto=49

quoting from the article:
" You also want to make sure that the sand you select hasn’t been treated with any chemicals that could be dangerous to your fish or plants. This is the main reason you should be careful about using Play Sand."

Are any playsand treated with certain chemicals?

#2 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 12:27 AM

It seems to me that adding chemicals to sand is probably not cost effective for the source company, so it probably is pretty much as nature provides. But, there are no guarantees on impurities as mined (e.g., limestone, clay, etc.). You can try to contact the company on the bag. Or try it on some inexpensive fish.

It also seems to me that there was a very similar thread on this forum fairly recently.

#3 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 09:17 AM

Many people experience a sharp PH increase when using play sand in the home aquaria but not all. The thread below actually talks about sand specifically from Lowes.

http://aquaticpredat...showtopic=28846

#4 Guest_bearskookums_*

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 10:56 AM

Many people experience a sharp PH increase when using play sand in the home aquaria but not all. The thread below actually talks about sand specifically from Lowes.

http://aquaticpredat...showtopic=28846


Thanks guys that link was really helpful...I actually just put that 50lb sand in my car...we got bad weather here...ice and now its snowing...so I will probably not use it...I think I am gonna check into pool filter sand and also sand blasting sand...Lowe's didnt have pool filter sand...so I am gonna check with home depot...

#5 Guest_chad55_*

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 11:01 AM

I use playsand in a couple of my tanks and have no problem what-so-ever. It looks really good and the only thing that I do not like about it is that it is very fine. Looks nice but is a pain with big fish and or when you clean.

Chad

#6 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 03:06 PM

I have used it in two planted tanks so far with no problems to fish or plant life. In fact I had several species of Val that went nuts in about 5 inches of playsand with a top coating of Flourite with just a double flourescent shop light over a 55 gallon.

#7 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 03:45 PM

Just to add another voice to the response... I too have used play sand with no ill effects and only positive reaction from the plants in the tanks involved. I had a friend that used pool sand and it seemed to cause a pretty severe diatom bloom when he set up the tank. Even though we planted the tank rather heavily. I didn't like the look of the pool sand nearly as much as the play sand... maybe jsut a personal preference.

MWolfe
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#8 Guest_chad55_*

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Posted 15 January 2007 - 09:35 PM

Just to add another voice to the response... I too have used play sand with no ill effects and only positive reaction from the plants in the tanks involved. I had a friend that used pool sand and it seemed to cause a pretty severe diatom bloom when he set up the tank. Even though we planted the tank rather heavily. I didn't like the look of the pool sand nearly as much as the play sand... maybe jsut a personal preference.

MWolfe

I agree! I liked the playsand so much better. I don't like the courseness(if thats a word) of it.

Chad

#9 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 16 January 2007 - 01:58 AM

I agree! I liked the playsand so much better. I don't like the courseness(if thats a word) of it.

Well, "coarseness" is a word, anyway. I only use sand for my African Rift Lake fish. The species I have like sand, and the aragonite sand buffers the pH to levels good for African Rift Lake fish so I never have to worry about it. Some people here don't like alkaline sand, but for African Rift Lake fish, it is a good thing. Anyway, I like the coarse sand. Fine sand is prone to getting suspended and sucked into the OTB filter. It can really mess up your filter. Coarse sand stays on the bottom, and it works just as well for the fish and the pH buffering as does fine sand.

#10 Guest_troutperch beeman_*

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Posted 16 January 2007 - 11:56 AM

I use playsand in some of my tanks it works good. I like the white sand that you can get at Walmart it's has a bigger gain size and doesn't get as compacted as regular playsand. It also doesn't stay suspended in the water colunm as long, less of a chance to get sucked up by the filter. I have ruined several otb filters using regular sand. Just my two cents.
Herschel

#11 Guest_bearskookums_*

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Posted 16 January 2007 - 03:20 PM

Hey didnt think of walmart when I was looking for playsand...was it in the outside garden section?

#12 Guest_troutperch beeman_*

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Posted 16 January 2007 - 08:34 PM

Hey didnt think of walmart when I was looking for playsand...was it in the outside garden section?

Yes, I don't know about this time of year but in the warmer months that's where it is.




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