Silicon Dioxide good or bad

casper · Oct 23, 2008

I have heard you can use pool filter sand in your aquarium. I have a bag my daughter gave me and i want to change the CC in my aquarium to sand.

The sand is Lighthouse brand and the specs say it is 99.5% silicon dioxide. Can I use this???????:bigsmile: Thanks

ecotoxlady · Oct 23, 2008

The silicon dioxide is just another way of saying sand. As to this products safeness, I guess it all depends on what that other 0.5% contains. I know I have heard of people using sand intended for a child's playground but I've never heard of people using pool filter sand (which doesn't mean it can't happen, just that I've never heard it before).

AlexStinson · Oct 23, 2008

thats the same stuff as glass. Don't use it. Go instead with an aragonite sand which will actually provide benefit to your tank. Siliciclastic substrate won't buffer your tank, and could possibly lead to a siliceous diatom outbreak.

jimmybling31 · Oct 23, 2008

in a fresh water tank that is the perfect sand. that is what a lot of the people I know use in their sa or ca cichlid tanks. so there is nothing wrong with it for a fresh water tank. for a salt water I wouldn't use it though.

Dihydrogen Monoxide · Oct 23, 2008

It is fine to use, no worries about the silica in the sand, If you are concerned about the silica dissolving then I guess we should all switch to acrylic tanks soon, before the glass dissolves.

As for the buffering ability of the sand I would not count on your substrate suplying your aquarium with the necessary calcium and carbonate/bicarbonate to fuel the needs of the system.

Go ahead and use it! heck I have in the past.

Good luck!

Saltysteele · Oct 23, 2008

just do what the rest of us who have gone down that road have done, and buy ls from a reefer selling it

(well, i should say all of us, but the most of us who have done the research) better to rest well at night, than to wonder what you've done.

it's safe, not going to hurt anything. but there are diatoms that feed off it. there is also the elusive tropical play sand, which some one knows a dude, who's sister's husband's dad's brother's son found at home depot :haha:

Dihydrogen Monoxide · Oct 23, 2008

Pick up a copy of Bob Fenner's copy of sand bed secrets and read what he states about silica sand, it's fine.
Just remember you may have thousands of dollars in livestock in the tank, for the extra $20 in sand the extra cost is minimal in the grand scheme.

Saltysteele · Oct 24, 2008

yep, that's what it came down to for me H20

casper · Oct 24, 2008

AlexStinson said:
thats the same stuff as glass. Don't use it. Go instead with an aragonite sand which will actually provide benefit to your tank. Siliciclastic substrate won't buffer your tank, and could possibly lead to a siliceous diatom outbreak.

Thanks, I do like the fact that aragonite will help buffer my tank.:bigsmile: I definitely do not need a diatom out break:cry:. It is a small tank i am doing so i guess i better just get the arogonite . Thank you

casper · Oct 24, 2008

Dihydrogen Monoxide said:
It is fine to use, no worries about the silica in the sand, If you are concerned about the silica dissolving then I guess we should all switch to acrylic tanks soon, before the glass dissolves.

Well, i never thought any kind of sand dissolved.

As for the buffering ability of the sand I would not count on your substrate suplying your aquarium with the necessary calcium and carbonate/bicarbonate to fuel the needs of the system.

Since it is only a 20 gal Tank i don't think I'll have to add much either?:wink:
Thanks.

Go ahead and use it! heck I have in the past. Good luck!

Thanks

casper · Oct 24, 2008

Saltysteele said:
just do what the rest of us who have gone down that road have done, and buy ls from a reefer selling it (well, i should say all of us, but the most of us who have done the research) better to rest well at night, than to wonder what you've done.
Simple for you to say, You don't live in Alabama where there might be 50 people in the whole state that have marine aquariums and 2 lfs's within 50 miles, and, If i hadn't been doing research i wouldn't have ask the question in the first place :amazed:

it's safe, not going to hurt anything. but there are diatoms that feed off it. there is also the elusive tropical play sand, which some one knows a dude, who's sister's husband's dad's brother's son found at home depot :haha:[/quote
Maybe i can just go to home depot and look for sand then:smile:.

Thanks

Saltysteele · Oct 24, 2008

relax. use it if you want, i don't care what you do in your tank. i don't think you'll have any problems if you do. i was just sayin that a lot of us (myself included) did exhaustive research on using it, and just decided to bite the bullet and purchase araganite. we don't have lfs on every corner like starbucks up here, either. i drove 60 miles to buy my sand from another reefer on a local board and paid 50 cents a pound.

just take a small vile of vinegar with you to the home improvement store and do the vinegar test if you think you've found a good one. that way you don't have to actually buy it, until you find a good one.