# New sand - Nat. Geo.



## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

Has anyone tried the National Geographic sand that Petsmart has now?

If you're not familiar with it. Here is the link.
http://www.petsmart.com/fish/gravel-sand/national-geographic-trade-aquarium-sand-zid36-21320/cat-36-catid-300072;pgid=TQ5YanuAZLpSRpQBgRuk2JaB0000JWLqB3_Q;sid=Sf31iRFyH-TyiULFdhxnjYl4yCa1KJCpCVzbKGR3?var_id=36-21320

I'm thinking about using it as a MTS cap but I'm not even sure if sand is a suitable cap for a dirted tank. I've previously used Floramax successfully but I always like to try new combos.


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## susankat (Oct 14, 2007)

I got some in a 15 gal. Way cheaper for black sand than other stuff.


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## Kareen (Apr 6, 2013)

I have a 125 Dirt tank w/sand cap but it's pool filter sand it should be ok to use.


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## xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx (Jul 12, 2011)

Nat. Geo. sand is fine fore any style of aquarium, it's nothing more than another product being brought to the market is all.


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## bpizzuto (Apr 22, 2013)

I am using Nat. sand in my 75 and 40B tanks. I switched to pool filter sand on my 90. I like the finer pool filter sand better and its way cheaper. $5 for 100 pounds.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

It seems the whole National Geographic product line is just repackaged versions of other brands. Ironically, it looks like it may be Petco sand (which I love for a basic sand) but I think it's only sold through Petsmart.


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## RoyalFizbin (Mar 7, 2006)

Saw it in the black sand version today at a petsmart. Says on the back that it might or might not contain minerals that will affect the ph. Tells you to monitor and adjust accordingly. Anybody done any testing on it yet to see how inert it is? Many years ago I purchased a bag of black sand from petsmart called geosystem natural sand. It made my water so hard that it wasn't worth wasting all the drops in my test kit to finish the test. It also had the same kind of warning on the bag about minerals and possible ph changes.

I might go back for the small bag to test it in some water to see if it leeches anything.


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## RoyalFizbin (Mar 7, 2006)

Bought a small bag of the black sand and doing some water testing. Washed about half cup with tap water, drained it and then soaked it in RO water. My RO water started at TDS 10. Initial test right after adding the water, the TDS of the washed sand and RO is 26. ph 6.2, kh 1, gh 1
Now 24 hours later the TDS is 38. Not testing the other parameters yet. So far I think the increase in tds is very small. I've been stirring it up every few hours. It might just be that I didn't do a through enough cleaning. I'm hoping that it's inert. I'll test the TDS everyday for the next few days.


Update after 48 hours, It's showing TDS of 36. Slight drop in TDS could be due to the accuracy of my cheap TDS meter. Looking good so far.


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## MSG (Jul 16, 2012)

Heads up..... National Geographic™ Aquarium Sand - 25lbs is on sale if you order online & SELECT pick up at a local B&M store. 

Should be $14.44 before taxes. 

Picking up 25lbs to layer it on top of Eco-Complete.


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