Why the disclaimer by YardRight about their sand?

[intensity888]

This is taken directly from YardRight Website about their sugar fine sand. Anyone know why they say not suitable for aquariums?

Tropical Play Sand - The smart choice... for safe play. From the Caribbean our Tropical Play Sand from YardRight™ Select is all-natural product from the Caribbean. It has a bright white color and a pure, soft feel. It's screened, sterilized and safe for kids.

Helpful Tip. Since YardRight™ Tropical Play Sand has been purified at high temperatures before packaging, be sure to add some moisture to return it to its natural state. Moist sand makes for better sandcastles. Not suitable for aquarium systems and traction purposes.

 

[Mihai]

The story goes that they also own (or have contract with) the company that packages the same product and sells it 10 times more expensive to us, and doesn't want to get into their profits.

Alternatively they don't want the lawsuits if everything goes bad. However, I assure you that hundreds of aquarists (including me) ignored the words of wisdom and have thriving tanks.

M.

 

[intensity888]

thanks. I emailed them to see where their dealers are in my area. I was thinking that it might have to do with the particulate size and they didn't want complaints from people using mechanical filtration or having cloudy water at first...etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, CaribSea must be used for sand! Plus it's put in to hopefully sidestep any potential lawsuits if nemo dies and you blame the sand.

 

[melas]

so wait. . . the tropical play sand is aragnoite sand? so there are people on this board who are currently using this sand in their reefs with no algae/silicate problems etc???

 

[Anonymous]

I can't say if its aragnotie, depends... although in your neck of the woods, it might be. Get some vinegar and test it.

 

[intensity888]

Can you tell me how to do a simple test for it? Or at least point me to a link that does? Meaning what am I looking for with the vinegar added to it?

I have sent emails to the company inquiring what its composition was. Hopefully they will respond.

 

[melas]

put some of the sand in white vinegar. . . if it bubbles and goes crazy then it is a carbonate composition. basically the whole vinegar and baking soda experiment.

 

[Anonymous]

Believe it or not, most aquariums in the US are freshwater. Adding this sand to a freshwater tank will cause very hard water that is not healthy for many types of tropical freshwater fish. Aragonite dissolves in fresh water

I have about 2500 pounds of Southdown (same as Yardright) in my Lagoon (saltwater). It has worked great for me. It is nearly 100% oolitic Aragonite.

 

[Mihai]

I see, you're right, I forgot about the freshwater folks (I'm one of them ). Unfortunately, I understand that it has been discontinued, so if you find it anywhere stock up on it.

M.

 

[melas]

well they want to be able to rob us poor reef keepers! Guy, is the south down you are talking about the stuff that's available from Home Depot? Do you pass it through a sieve or anything prior to using it? how does one get 2500 lbs of this sand? did you order a truck or just a bunch of 100lb bags or something??

 

[Anonymous]

Guy, is the south down you are talking about the stuff that's available from Home Depot? Do you pass it through a sieve or anything prior to using it? how does one get 2500 lbs of this sand? did you order a truck or just a bunch of 100lb bags or something??

It used to be available at Home Depot. It was perfect but I haven't seen it in a couple of years.

I just added it to saltwater directly from the bag and scooped off the resulting foam. No rinsing, no filtering. 50 bags of sand purchased 10 bags at a time.

 

[intensity888]

robert. since i live in md i will let you know if i find some. of course that will be after i purchase some... :twisted: please do the same for me. i'm still waiting to hear from the company where their dealers are.

 

[intensity888]

Oldcastle told me that their sand is no longer silica free. However, in Advanced Aquarist they showed that silica is present in the batch of Oldcastle they had, albeit in relatively low ppm equivalent to Caribsea.

 

[Anonymous]

What's the problem with Silica? It's fairly inert.

 

[intensity888]

My understanding is that its not whether its inert or not, but more related to the fact it doesn't have any buffering capacity. also related to its efficacy in the nitrogen cycle. ok, also to its potential abrasiveness to sand sifting species in the aquarium.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll buy that.

I'll just add that the buffering capacity of Aragonite is wildly exaggerated in my experience. It does add some Carbonate to my water but not a significant amount.