using home depot or lowes sand for my tank

[passion4reef]

ok first im gonna start by saying hi to all the fellow reefers on here and give props to the rev for this site. ok now for my current tank. i got a 100 gallon 48x18x30 tank with a 50b fuge and a 40b sump so i am just pushing the 180 gallon mark. i run on of the new reef octopus hy 10000 return pumps and a kent nautalius skimmer. current fish are a powder blue tang, klieni butterfly, bicolor angel, 2 gold maroon clowns, and 2 chromis. i just aquired 2 clarkii clowns, a coral beauty angel and 2 yellow tail damsels. i am housing them in the fuge until the swap and plan on using the damsels to cycle the stock tank before i hook up the new dt and move everything else to the basement.
my new tank plans are a 48x24x30 150 gallon dt with a 100 gallon stock tank in the basement that flows into my current size sump and fuge. i also might plan on setting up my current tank in the basement as well as a fowlr. in the area that im in reef sand is very hard to come by unless ordered from the internet. i want to use the stock tank to have my deep sand bed of atleast 6 inches and house some crabs and maybe a few select fish that dont make the dt buy i still want for other reasons. has anyone tried to use regular sand purchased from home depot for a reef tank and if so what are the results you have seen. with the cost of setting up my new tank i want to cut a little out for buying new sand. i do plan on keeping all of my current sand that has 4+ years of experience but i will be cutting down the sand bed in the dt to 1 inch. i will use that sand to seed the sand in the stock tank and add to my fuge sand when i finally do the swap.

 

[revhtree]

It is not a good idea because the sand they sell contains silicate and will leach into your water. Another reason is that over time it will not look near as good as natural real sand. There is fine glass sharp pieces that make up the sand that is not good for some burrowing type inhabitants from my understanding. I know it's a lot cheaper but in the long run not a good idea.

At one time these hardware stores sold a sand that was actual sand from the ocean but that was years ago.

 

[nater]

I would not suggest it. Why would u want to use cheap sand when u could probably fill that tank with two bags of reef sand. Also the grain size is small and will blow everywhere. And I don't even think its white. That stuff is yellow in tint. I wouldn't use it. Just clean out the sand u have in your old tank? Put your rock in first so your not wasting sand putting it under the rocks.

 

[luke33]

Don't do this. I made this mistake years ago and ended up having to remove the sand. It was a nightmare, and that sand scratches glass horribly regardless of how careful you are.

 

[CTMarinelife]

Best deal is finding live sand on Xbay from FL, I used 250 pnds and its great stuff.

 

[Russellaqua]

+1 on what's been said above, and often the yellowish tint in the sand comes from iron. In areas where desertification is occurring and wind blows material into the sea, this iron has been implicated in oceanic algal blooms. The sand grains themselves are generally quartz, which when it fractures creates vet sharp edges. If you've ever noticed the curved, razor-like edges on broken glass, quartz breaks in the same manner. Pure quartz is colorless to nearly black (smokey quartz.) The darker color of smokey quartz is due to destruction of the crystal lattice by radiation from the rock it was originally a part of.

 

[Saltgator]

Made this mistake years ago too. Bad mistake on my part. Switched to bulk previous dry sand but had sand storms. Love my tropic Eden I switched to. GL

Country boy using tapatalk from Evo 4g

 

[soccerbag]

Agree with everything above. If you are looking to cut costs on sand before the tank is even set up, I would think long and hard as to whether an upgrade is the best idea. Bigger tank means more chemicals, salt, test kits, additives, water changes, more RODI, rock, etc. I am all for upgrading. There's nothing more fun than that. But you can't cut corners and expect great results. I know you are aware of all of this, but this may help someone else who is looking to do something similar.

All of that being said, just order some sand on the internet and it will eliminate a LOT of headaches down the road. : ).

Best of luck with the upgrade - please keep us posted on your progress.

And...WELCOME to R2R!!!!:bigsmile:

 

[cdness]

Remember, do it right the first time or do it again later... Just get the reef sand and be done. If you can find Southdown sand, that's the stuff that is safe. The normal sand will hurt sand sifters from being too sharp.

I am with the above that an upgrade is fun but it is more. You know more fish, more corals, more water volume, more additives, more electricity, more RODI, more maintenance, it's all just more. Keep that in mind and understand that you really need to do it right the first time. I am all for DIY and budget solutions, but something as basic as sand is hard to cut on the costs... If you want to cut costs on sand, go bare bottom and save all the money. I am not a fan of most BB tanks, but it will save you cash.

 

[passion4reef]

I don't know if this was clear enough but the home depot sand would be going in the stock tank. The fuge sand that I have now will remain in there when moved to the basement and the sand that is in the dt now will be spread out to cover the new tank and will stay around an inch deep. I guess since everyone said no then that's the answer. Thanks guys.

 

[lawnman]

Lowes and Home Depot usually sell the brand Old Castle sand. I own a landscaping company and I have been to Old Castles main plant. Trust me you would not want to put anything in your tank from there. LoL

 

[Wy Renegade]

If you're looking to get the benefits of the DSB, then you need to be able to stock that stock tank with creatures that are going to keep the DSB, stirred, aereated and clean - that means snails, hermits, mini brittlestars, bristle worms, etc. A deep sandbed isn't just about deep sand, that means you need the right type of sand. In addition to the issues mentioned above, one of the other issues that can occur is hardpacking of the sand itself - it will get like concrete and water won't even be able to get through it. You need the beneficial critters mentioned above to keep that top layer stirred up and compaction free - using the proper sand, including proper grain size is important in a DSB.

If you're looking to save a little money at this point, one of the things you might consider is the dry aragonite sand. Purchasing it dry is usually a lot cheaper than purchasing the live sand. You don't really need the live sand (which usually only contains bacteria anyway). Just use the dry and seed it with some sand from you established tank. HTH

 

[MattinIdaho]

I have that nightmare sand I'm scooping out a cup at a time right now. 250lbs worth. Anyone wants it, come and get it. It's mostly oolictic, super clean and white as snow under the lights but it is FINE FINE FINE!! Get TE delivered on Tuesday.

 

[passion4reef]

yeah i was thinking about doing a layer of crushed coral and maybe mixing some in with the sand. dont worry i have tons of critters to keep it stirred up. i was gonna set it all up in the stock tank and have a few pumps circulating the water to make sure the stock tank was well seeded before i even think of taking down my current display. since ive posted this thread i have gotten nothing but negative feedback and i thank all my fellow reefers out there that take the time to read and respond to these forums. without forums this hobby would not be what it is today as long as we have the right people running them and the right people posting on them. and dont worry i am no newbie to the hobby. i have atleast 4 years in the salt water hobby and since i was 5 years old in freshwater. since getting all these negative answers i have started looking on fleebay (my favorite and first place to go for anything) and found alot of people who ship reef sand for free or cheep. found 90 lbs for 39.60 and 33.30 shipping. thats 73$. alot more then 4$ for a 40 lb bag from the hardware store but alot less then some of the other outfits in the area. before i go this route how about menards sand or is this pretty typical of all construction sand. another option is next time im at the lake snag about 4 buckets and rinse and sift it really good. dont worry i think i have enough knowledge to know i can make my own live sand with a ton of dead sand and a cup of sand from my tank or a rock. i do have a 55 gallon turtle tank that has sand from home depot and its an algae nightmare. after having this post im thinking that might be the cause and i might get better results if i uproot all the live plants and suck all the sand out and replace it with gravel or buy enough reef sand to use for that as well. i do like the look of sand over gravel. and dont worry this will be a slow project. not looking to get anything setup until the later part of this year. i still have stands to build and tanks to drill and lots of money to spend in other areas. looking into trying leds on this new dt. that wont be cheep and if i do keep the idea of setting up a fowlr in the basement i will need another one of the pumps i have now atleast. if i want to go super high flow i will get the hy 16000 pump. 4300 gph submersable water BEAST. i hate the look of powerheads with a passion and other things hanging all over my glass

 

[redemer123]

cutting corners in this hobby ultimately leads to problems

 

[Reloadeddevil]

cutting corners in this hobby ultimately leads to problems

+1. No cutting corners at all, as much as fun this hobby is, its the same way its unforgiving as well, and i am still low balling on the unforgiving part.