Curious about sand for tanks...

[sdunn90fowlr]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried bulk sand from Lowes? I know from a friend that bulk sand at Lowes in FL is calcium carbonate, AKA aragonite; but don't know what is available here. I am tempted to do the vinegar test on it and see. Just curious! Any thoughts or experiences from anyone?

[jroescher]

Different sand is available in different parts of the country. What is available here are silica sands. Years ago people would make group buys and someone would go out of state and get pallets of sand. On rare occasions you could get one of the box stores to order it, but no guarantee what they actually ordered would be what you want.

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[sdunn90fowlr]

Thanks for the response. I was mainly just curious and now I know to not even entertain the thought of bulk sand locally!

[ramsey]

I researched this and it is silica. Also, the grain size varies so it's next to impossible to clean. That's just what I've read though so take it with a grain of, err, sand! I bought a bunch of sand from Marco rocks and it was pretty cheap. I haven't used it yet so I'm not sure how good and how easy to clean it is.

[Zack]

I wouldn't use sand from lowes or pool filter sand. There was a thread on RC a while ago and they found that the sand was completely different from one store to the next. Some lowes may have it but not all lowes do. I bought some and it was terrible stuff.

[sdunn90fowlr]

I went with 160 lbs of live sand. Not worth the risk of big problems if it is contaminated with anything. The live sand was not much more than the sand from Marco Rocks. Better safe than sorry!! Right??

[Scream311]

ive always used washed sand from KELLER MATERIALS off rigsby and 410 a 50lb bag is like $12.

washed really well, let cycle, never had an issue. fowlr or reef.

[ramsey]

I went with 160 lbs of live sand. Not worth the risk of big problems if it is contaminated with anything. The live sand was not much more than the sand from Marco Rocks. Better safe than sorry!! Right??

For sure! Marcorocks was quite a bit cheaper when I priced it a few months ago but it's untested, so to speak.

[Zack]

ive always used washed sand from KELLER MATERIALS off rigsby and 410 a 50lb bag is like $12.

washed really well, let cycle, never had an issue. fowlr or reef.

Keller materials is a great place for stuff. I've used rocks from their place on many fresh water builds. Not sure about their sand but if it's as good as the rocks, I'd try it.

When you got the cobble stones for the african cichlids I gave you a while back, those were all from keller.

[sdunn90fowlr]

Thanks for posting the info about Keller Materials. I will look into that for future builds. I may even add some of their sand to the live sand I bought if I don't get the depth I am looking for.

[sdunn90fowlr]

For sure! Marcorocks was quite a bit cheaper when I priced it a few months ago but it's untested, so to speak.

There was a $30 price difference between 160 lbs from MarcoRocks and 160 lbs of live sand from Drs. Foster and Smith. Not really enough for me to worry about, considering the bagged live sand is tried and tested.