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Sand..


nor_wester

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It doesn't matter if the sand is from freshwater or saltwater. The tiny traces of salt in the sand probably wouldn't even make a measurable difference in the salinity of the tank and would be gone after you give the sand a rinse anyway.

And unless there's heaps of shells in the sand it won't effect the PH either. And to have enough shells in the sand to make a big difference in the PH it would be more like extra chunky sand.

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Just add a bit of sand to a glass of fresh tap water. Sip it. If it reminds you of eating pipi's then it is salty sand. :roll: :D

Arrrgh... brings back bad memories of unsoaked pipis, makes my spine crawl... yetch

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  • 4 weeks later...
Does it matter what kind of sand you use in a freshwater aquarium?

- I was looking at quartz sand for its lovely whiteness, but was told to stay away from it due to dissolved salts. But quartz is just SiO2 (glass), so why would that be important?

- What about the equally funky black iron sand?

yep quartz sand is fine but looks nasty as it impossible to keep clean.

iron sand sounds cool but never tried it before

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Does it matter what kind of sand you use in a freshwater aquarium?

- I was looking at quartz sand for its lovely whiteness, but was told to stay away from it due to dissolved salts. But quartz is just SiO2 (glass), so why would that be important?

- What about the equally funky black iron sand?

Ever tried keeping a white shirt clean? the whiter the sand the more the poop, plant matter etc will make it look messy. That is unless you arent putting plants in and can hoover the sand regularly to remove mess.

Salt is an issue if the fish are not keen on brackish(salty) water. Mollies etc would love it. Just rinse and do the pattented "taste test" to see how salty it is after a few rinses.

Also found that Silicon Sand used in Bead Blasting isnt too crash hot as it is soooooo fine.

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I have a feeling I read somewhere a way of testing sand to confirm that it's freahwater, and not salt.

Can anyone throw some light on this for me. :bow:

You can add acid to a small amount of the sand. If it fizzs then it is better to be used on a tank that needs a Ph of 8.0+ (coral sand )if it doesn't then it will be fine for a tank whos ph you want to keep more acidic.

You won't get any salt coming off the sand if you rinse it first.

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