Need lots of sand!

[SHOmuchFUN]

I'm in need of some sand... I need it for a 180gal tank I'm setting up and also want to set up a remote DSB for the refugium.

I've looked around and the best price I can find on sand is at PetSmart. They have the oolite caribsea 30lb bags for $17.99 right now, but only carry a couple bags at a time. I went in over a week ago and haven't restocked. I'm going to need 8-10 bags of it! I could order from DFS, but they charge $25/bag plus shipping. Even with DFS ridiculously cheap shipping, it's still way more than $17.99+ tax

Does anyone know of a place that carries it reasonably? I'm willing to take a trip if it's going to save me a few bucks and the instant gratification. Plus, the store is going to need to have a fair bit of it.

Man, where are the days of Southdown

 

[jbishop]

You can use high desert play sand from HD.

 

[stingythingy45]

^^^

Yup,$6 a bag and works just fine.

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

Hmmm, I'll have to look into it.
No silica? Is it white?

 

[stingythingy45]

Yes,it's white.
I'm not too sure if it has"No" silica.It does fizz under vinegar like calcium based sands do.Some say it's actually crushed limestone...not sure though.
I've had it in my tanks for almost 2 years now with no problems.
I could probably dig up a picture for you.

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

Yes,it's white.
I'm not too sure if it has"No" silica.It does fizz under vinegar like calcium based sands do.Some say it's actually crushed limestone...not sure though.
I've had it in my tanks for almost 2 years now with no problems.
I could probably dig up a picture for you.

I can check it out this afternoon when I head down there, but if it isn't too much trouble, I'd still like to see your tank

Thanks for the suggestion guys, you may have saved me a ton of dough! Hopefully my HD carries it, especially this time of year.

 

[Nocturnal]

I just set up a RDSB and used a bag of the play sand from HD. Not sure if it has silica in it or not, but it's been running with no problems....yet

I think the 50lb bag was only like 4 bucks too

 

[rusty18]

You can go with the "desert high" or "high desert" I think its called from HD come in a clear bag with blue print IIRC. The same stuff the others mentioned, I have it in a few of my tanks mixed with a few other sands.

If you do go with it make sure you rinse it really well, it has a ton of dust in it.

 

[cmtbears34]

I also used the same sand from HD multiple times and have never had any problems with it at all.

Totally agree with Rusty though, make sure you rinse it/drain it multiple times as there is a lot of dust stuff in it

-Matt :.

 

[stingythingy45]

Like the others mentioned.Make sure you rinse it really good.
I needed a bag of High Dessert around this time last year.I ended up trudging outside to the landscaping area at H.D.(covered in ice like now).Had to carry it out of there,no way to get a cart out there.
Here's a close picture of a snail laying eggs.You can see it's white and has good sized grain.

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

This is what I found at my HD yesterday. They had about a pallet and a half of it:

It said it was sand for pavers, but it also said it was play sand, etc. It was very white, I was actually surprised how white it was. It made me a little skeptical when I saw that there WAS a warning on the bag about silicate though...

Can someone confirm this is the same stuff you guys are talking about? It's $5 for a 50lb bag.

 

[custom reef]

i used sand from hd and it was called caribbean play sand and it's very white used it for 4 years with no problem but very very dusty lots of rinsing tho

 

[delta]

i used sand from hd and it was called caribbean play sand and it's very white used it for 4 years with no problem but very very dusty lots of rinsing tho

That is southdown it is not available anymore unless you happen to have a stash or you are willing to recycle some old sand.

 

[Julie]

Whats the best/easiest way to rinse all that sand?

 

[stingythingy45]

Whats the best/easiest way to rinse all that sand?

I used an outdoor faucet and hose during the spring.But I don't think that's going to work for you with 20 deg. temperatures.Maybe you can hook up a hose to the washing machine tap.
Anyways I put like 1/3 the bag in a good size plastic tote and kept rinsing and draining till the milky residue went away.

This is what I found at my HD yesterday. They had about a pallet and a half of it:

It said it was sand for pavers, but it also said it was play sand, etc. It was very white, I was actually surprised how white it was. It made me a little skeptical when I saw that there WAS a warning on the bag about silicate though...

Can someone confirm this is the same stuff you guys are talking about? It's $5 for a 50lb bag.

That's is exactly the stuff I used.