# Silica Sand and Laterite



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Laterite was popular back when people became aware that aquatic plants need a source of iron, and laterite is such a source. But, today we know that iron is just one of the nutrients needed by aquatic plants, and not the most important one. I think mineralized topsoil, which is free, money-wise, but takes some effort to make, is a far better choice as a bottom layer under sand.

The sand I see at my Home Depot isn't good for aquarium use, unless you screen it to get rid of the very fine particles first. Pool filter sand is a much better choice, being larger, more uniform particles. And, it is cheap too.


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

How do you make mineralized top soil?... is there another easier alternative?...


I was planning on heavily fluidizing the silica sand first, rinsing it well before use.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Read the sticky at the top of this forum. It's only 48 pages! Seriously, the instructions are in the first few pages.


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

Would heavily rinsing this silica sand still not work?

Why cant I use it?


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

Bump


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

You can if you want. My understanding is "silica sand" is the kind that, if you look closely, you can see the dust is sparkly because of mica. This is the kind of sand delivered by the truck load, at keast here, and is super fine and soft feeling to your hand, but i think (don't quote me) that each little grain is sort of sharp in actuality. Ita blindingly white bit can appear sort of grey when wet. It compacts easily.. 

I like quartz sand which is still sandlike, but has much larger grains, doesn't compact as easily, and is an off-white color. It's not soft like silica sand because the grains are are larger, but each grain is more rounded and nicer for your bottom dwelling fish.


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## chrisnif (Aug 20, 2010)

I know I used some of the home depot "play sand" in a saltwater tank once, shallowest sand bed I've ever seen go anaerobic in my life (not even 2" deep). One thing I've used with good success in non-planted tanks (so YMMV here) is from lowes, its called "paver base" its basically several kinds of sand (black, white, tan, grey) and crushed stone (mostly slate/granite scrap). If you screen out the big pieces (over pea size) you can get a fairly uniform sand with some gravel mixed look, but I've had great luck just rinsing it (like 4 hours per bag mind you) and using it. Also, there is definitely some iron in it, because when I put some in saltwater it rusted FWIW.


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

Sounds like something in there would likely change your water chemistry.... I'd stay away from that. It probably has concrete in there, also.


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## ReefkprZ (Aug 21, 2010)

justlikeapill said:


> Sounds like something in there would likely change your water chemistry.... I'd stay away from that. It probably has concrete in there, also.


 it does. I looked at it the other day you can smell the concrete in it. (scientific I know) you in theory could use it but you shouldnt unless you soak it to get all the lime out that will leach over time. A really heavy rinse may do away with most of the dust that would affect ph but. in maintaining SW tanks we actually make our own live rock using a mix of portland cement and calcerous substrate be it oyster shells or crushed coral. and the curing of the rock is the most time consuming, and thats soaking and draining the containers for up to 6 months to get all the buffereing ability from the lime out of the rock. usually its tested by testing ph before and after a short soak to see if its still buffering the water. if used uncured the paver base will most likely raise your ph up to around 8.9. the cure of setting concrete is not to be confused with the "cure" of soaking.

as for the OP's question about silica sand, here is my tank on it from my expiriences in breeding fw years ago (pardon me if I am a bit hazy) and from my expiriences with it in marine tanks. silica sand tends to bhe inhospitable to many forms of life due to its sharp edges any sand sifting fish or browser like a geophagus or cory cat is going to be damaged by plowing through the sand with its snou8t the microlacerations will most likley lead to infections, or in the case of the geophagus or like fish the cuts will be in its gill area and inside of the mouth leading to severe problems. while silica sand is generally inert (non reactive in water) cheap silica sand often has impurities like feldspar and such that contain soluble silica leading to diatomic algae blooms, I'm sure if your handy with google you can find literature on soluble silica and the algal blooms in rivers. a freefloating algae bloom is probably not what you want in your tank. while many people have used silica sand with few problems others have had nothing but problems and it usually relegates down to the unpredictability of each batchs contents and purity. 

IME (in my expirience) generally silica sand compacts extremely easily, has sharp edges, may cause algae bloom, is hostile towards various lifestyles of fishes, and is definatly hostile to sand loving microfauna. I would advise against its use in any aquaria situation. unless its labrotory grade and the setup is not to include live plants or fishes requiring sand beds or soft bottoms (loaches corys geophagus et.).


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

Hmm.. this is better info...

The Silica Sand at lowes is in the back.. its actually used for sand blasting.. I bought it to use for my soil mixture for my carnivorous plants (North American Pitcher Plants)... combined it with peat..


Its not white at all, its orange, yellow, clear, black.. all kinds of colors but more tan looking than any other color...

I do remember it being VERY fine...


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

Still not good?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Get a handful of that sand, and a scale with millimeter markings. Use the scale to judge the sizes of particles in the sand. If very few particles are 1 mm or less and most are 2-3 mm, then the sand is ok for a planted tank. Just be aware that blasting grit works because it has sharp edges, which let it cut through to remove scale, rust, etc. on steel. It is likely to be a big problem if you have Cory catfish.


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

Ahhh.. I see what you mean now... 
Even pygmy corys?....


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Pool filter sand would be a better bet and isn't much more expensive (if at all).


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## Shawnts106 (Sep 25, 2005)

My only problem with pool filter sand is simply its white color.. I would like something more tan or earthy and I cant seem to find that in pool filter sand at all....


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## ReefkprZ (Aug 21, 2010)

Shawnts106 said:


> Ahhh.. I see what you mean now...
> Even pygmy corys?....


 yes even pygmy corys


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## i4x4nMore (Mar 31, 2008)

Shawnts106 said:


> How do you make mineralized top soil?... is there another easier alternative?...


Yes, just dig up some yard soil. I've had a lot of success with this. The mineralization techniques seem like an approach to use if you know that your soil is deficient or you want to assure that it contains everything the plants need; or perhaps the technique is good for replenishing a spent soil substrate. The concept that repeated wetting and drying of the mineralization process helps the soil burn off some of the compounds that it would otherwise release into your aquarium is a bit overrated in my opinion. Just soaking your soil in a bucket before using it will achieve that aspect of the mineralization process.

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against mineralized soil. Soil, in general, is a far more dynamic environment that I think is the most appropriate substrate component to use. However, I've never seen the need to START with the laborious process of mineralization if you have access to a yard or field of loamy soil that has not been fertilized and is good at growing grass and weeds. (Even in the heart of toxic Los Angeles, I found such yard soil.)

Other considerations for choosing yard soil are the following:


Don't collect soil next to a building or structure (toxins from paint, lead, and other building chemicals can contaminate the ground)
Don't collect soil near a vegetable garden, farm (fertilizer run-off)
Collect 6-8 inches below the top soil layer
Remove bark chips, roots, and leaves
Optionally, soak in a bucket for six to eight weeks to let the soil convert to a submerged soil where it releases a large amount of compounds
I add a small amount of sphagnum peat moss to boost the organic content of the soil, which when broken down by bacteria produces dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and directly or indirectly, CO2.
So, dig, fill a bucket, soak (if you like), and you're done.

Cheers!


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

i4x4nMore said:


> Other considerations for choosing yard soil are the following:
> 
> 
> Don't collect soil next to a building or structure (toxins from paint, lead, and other building chemicals can contaminate the ground)
> ...


Elaborating on the picking out twigs and what not. Put it in a bucket, add water and mush it up good and pour off the top ****. Repeat until no floating debris. You want the clay so don't continue until you only have silt and sand. If there are any small children around they would be very helpful in this process. I did this for pond plant substrate and it was fun.


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## aman74 (Feb 19, 2007)

justlikeapill said:


> You can if you want. My understanding is "silica sand" is the kind that, if you look closely, you can see the dust is sparkly because of mica. This is the kind of sand delivered by the truck load, at keast here, and is super fine and soft feeling to your hand, but i think (don't quote me) that each little grain is sort of sharp in actuality. Ita blindingly white bit can appear sort of grey when wet. It compacts easily..
> 
> I like quartz sand which is still sandlike, but has much larger grains, doesn't compact as easily, and is an off-white color. It's not soft like silica sand because the grains are are larger, but each grain is more rounded and nicer for your bottom dwelling fish.


Is silica sand the same as quartz sand? This makes me think so:

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/r_toonen9.html

Another thread on the 3M, but I haven't read it yet:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=43290&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0


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