Bought some silica sand, how do I prep it? (updated with pic

[Enkidu]

I bought a 100lb bag of white silica sand (70 grit) from a construction supply store today ($6.92), and I'm planning on using it for the reef tank I'm building. The recent southdown thread made me realize that silica sand isn't as bad as its been made out to be, especially up here in the northwest where aragonite sand runs $1 per lb. So anyway, I want to know what I should do as far as processing the sand: sifting, washing, treating with chemicals?

Thanks all!

[ August 08, 2001: Message edited by: Enkidu ]

 

[tetra]

I just wash my out with lots of water and that is it...being running about a month now. Make sure there is no mechanical oil in it. I bought one type that has it..so I threw it out..just make sure it looks and smells clean.

 

[gargoyle]

I buy the playsand(not southdown) because it is cleaned prior to being bagged. I would be wary of something you just pick up in the hardware store. I just put the playsand directly into the tank, did not wash it or anything(did not want to lose the very fine sand).

 

[Enkidu]

yeah, I'm definitly going to be careful. The thing I really like about this stuff is how incredibly white it is. I'm going to rinse it off really well and I'll probably do a couple rinses with hot water too, just to try to disolve any oils that might be present. From the looks of it its pretty clean though, it looks just like sugar. My biggest concern at this point is that it doesn't scratch my acrylic tank; the grains are small enough that if one were to stick to the side of the tank I might pass right over it with the scrub pad/scraper and draw a nice line across the front of the tank before I even knew what was happening. Suck.

Keep the replies coming though!

[ August 07, 2001: Message edited by: Enkidu ]

 

[Grandczar]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

yeah, I'm definitly going to be careful

Good to hear... Glad you are willing to travel the road less traveled. With the right attitude...

As far as cleaning I would act like I was panning for gold... let the lighter stuff go to waste. There are many ways to do this.

If you are really concerned. I would set up a rubbermaid and let it cure like you would DIY liverock. Test & replace water till desirable/trustable readings are met.

This is new frontier and we are all just pioneers. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Enkidu]

After playing with the sand for about an hour tonight, I've come to the conclusion that the 70 grit is just too fine. I'm going back tomorrow to pick up a bag of the 30 grit.

 

[Mouse]

Im not sure what size 70 grit is but there are advantages to having a finer substrate. The first being that a DSB is not needed because the inoxic zone can be achived at much shallower depths, ie 2-3 inches of sand. This also means that there is less chance of nutrients clogging the bed because it is more likely to sit on top of the sand rather than sink into it. Just read the advantages of oolitic sand over regular sand.

 

[olgakurt]

Enkidu,

I could be wrong about the grit size (you might want to try Dr. Shimek on Reefcentral.com), but I believe that 70 grit sand is about 200 um whereas 270 grit would be 50 uM and 50 grit would be 300 um.

I believe Dr. Shimek's suggested range is 50 to 200 um for sand (mud) fauna which would indicate you probably have the correct grain size at present.

Normally it takes some time (week or so) to form a biofilm on the particles which helps prevent their resuspension and clouding the water.

Again, you might want to verify the grain size as I am not too familiar with the grit convention.
_________________
Russian Legion (paintball team)

 

[waterloomarc]

I have also purchased silica sand for my tank that I hope to add next week or so when I change out my cc. I'm wondering if anybody hasa suggestions for how to rinse this stuff. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

By the way the stuff I bought is almost pure white.

 

[Enkidu]

ok, well when I get home tonight I'll take a picture of the sand and post it so you guys can get a better idea of what its like. Maybe a mixture of the 30 and the 70 grit would be better? The 70 grit just seems SO incredibly fine; though it did settle down pretty quickly in the rinsing tank (2 min or so).

 

[liquid]

FWIW, here's a thread from ReefKeepers that you might be interested in:

http://www.escribe.com/pets/reefkeepers/m43263.html

hth

liquid

 

[Enkidu]

Ok, heres some pics of the 70 grit sand:

This one shows the sand as it comes in the bag, dry.
Pic 1

This one shows a view of the "washing tank" I've set up. Hopefully you can see the water line and the ground behind the water. The picture was taken about 3 minutes after I stirred up the sand.
Pic 2

Heres a pic of a handful of the wet sand. Its been out of the water for about 4 seconds at this point.
Pic 3

So is this the consistency of the kind of sand I want in my reef tank?

 

[gerowe]

I'm also from the Northwest and just added about 200 lbs. of new silica sand (along with about 300 lbs. of Southdown). It was called "Oregon Coast Sand" and I purchased it at a local garden supply. It's very fine, tho' a bit darker than the Southdown. For what it's worth, I didn't wash it, etc., before putting it in the tank and have had absolutely no problems of any sort (including diatom blooms. In fact, if I were to do this again, I'd probably use more of the Oregon Coast Sand, not less.

George

 

[wuelfman]

looks good to me
i have about 350 pounds of southdown
about the same size

 

[Enkidu]

I think I'm just going to use it. My major concern is that I'll get a tiny grain of sand between my scraper and the acrylic, but that could happen with anything I use. Small grains make small scratches anyway.

 

[Grandczar]

Ron says the DSB should be .050mm - .200mm.
70 grit is .203mm. 30 grit would be considered to big a grain for the "mud" fauna. If you would like to see a chart for yourself...
ClICK HERE
If you do get the 30 grit you may want to use it on top to keep the finer stuff from blowing away. But @ 70grit, sounds like your just starting to see what they mean bout sugar fine. Im curious if there is a 100 grit available at another retailer. This would be .122mm and would be more acceptable for a greater range of fauna. If you havent read Ron's artilcle then
CLICK HERE

oops almost forgot to add my .1 cent (would do 2 but im broke). As far as the scratches go... While looking for a good chart i found and interesting tid bit. The grain will only make a scratch half the size of its diameter.

so big grain = big scratch
small grain - little scratch...
which would u rather have?
neither is not an opiton!

[ August 09, 2001: Message edited by: Grandczar ]

 

[SPC]

Enkidu, IMO your sand size is perfect for a DSB.
Steve

[ August 09, 2001: Message edited by: SPC ]

 

[Psyduck]

I wouldn't worry too much about the exact size of the sand, I mean come on. I really don't think .2mm one way or another is gonna make much difference. My comments are (1) Looks pretty white to me so should look good in the tank, (2) I saw you washed it which I would do too, just in case it was transported in something you wouldnt want in your tank, and (3) let us know how it goes!

 

[Enkidu]

come on guys, I went to all the trouble of taking those pics!

 

[Toadally1]

I'm getting ready to move my 72 gal and I'm facing the same delema. I'm thinking about using pool filter sand as well. You can't find Southdown in this area. I would have to drive 255 miles one way to get it. I don't think so.