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tomason 
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 Topic: Home Depot Play Sand
Posted: May 03 2003 at 11:15am |
Hey, everyone
I made some Aragocrete using CaribSea Aragonite sand, and I used a finer grade sand (CaribSea Pink Carribean, or something like that) to cast the rock in as GARF suggests on their website. After letting the rock dry for a day, I took out the rock and put it in freshwater to start curing. I noticed that all the finer sand just came right off.
So, I figured that it probably didn't matter what kind of sand I used for casting the Aragocrete, so I got some Home Depot sand which is WAY cheaper than that Pink Caribbean sand.
As I was rinsing the Home Depot sand off though, I noticed many little flakes of shiny material which looked like metal.
Now I didn't see any of the casting sand stuck to the rock, but if something does stick to it, and it's one of these little flakes of shiny stuff, might that cause a problem???
Thanks!
-Tom
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 03 2003 at 12:38pm |
Many have made aragocrete and not just a few have been disappointed with it. Be careful because the cement can be a big problem. It can take a looong while to cure!
About your question on shiny flakes, it may be metal from the equipment used to process the sand or it may be a quartz mineral called Mica. Hopefully it is not metal. Place some pieces on a sheet of white paper, wet them and let them dry to observe any rust.
The originator of Aragocrete, LeRoy Headlee, has told our club that there are only a few hard & fast rules to keeping a succesful reef aquarium: Keep it wet and never put metal objects into the tank. Everything else is up to you and that's why everyone has their own unique tank.
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tomason
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Posted: May 03 2003 at 3:39pm |
Thanks, Mark!
I did as you suggested and didn't get any rust. Those flakes looked more like mica after closer inspection also.
However, after the rust test I ran a magnet through the sand and got a whole bunch of little black particles stuck to it. Those looked a lot more like little metal shavings. Looks like my 2 year-old gets to play in it after all! =)
-Tom
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dianatabor
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Posted: May 09 2003 at 10:04pm |
I was just been reading about Home Depot play sand on the Reef Central forum http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26193&highlight=live+sand), and I came across something that might be of interest. Home Depot gets play sand from several different vendors, so to guarantee that it's the quality you want for your aquarium, next time you may want to look for this specific info on the bag:
SouthDown Tropical Play Sand
SKU # 578-819
UPC # 0-210026-16865-5
Model # 420-100
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mdawson8931
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Posted: May 09 2003 at 11:07pm |
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southdown sand is one of those unfounded fairy tales I think. Actually, from what I can gather from my research, southdown is carried by HD's in the northeast. I dont think HD's here are even willing to special order it.
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Mike
Layton, Ut.
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SSpargur
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Posted: May 10 2003 at 8:42am |
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It is only in the NE of the US. Their playsand carries the SAME SKU, so even if you get them to get it here, it won't be Southdown, it will be another playsand with the same SKU.
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: May 10 2003 at 9:24am |
Yes but have the FREE sand out at stansbury. So the NE can kiss my 
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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mdawson8931
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Posted: May 10 2003 at 10:08am |
And I must say, I like the stansbury sand. I have alot (I dont think Mark liked it so deep)  I mixed up a small amount of aragonite crushed coral with it to kind of break it up some and placed about a 1/2 inch on top of it.
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Mike
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jbruse
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Posted: March 10 2004 at 8:32pm |
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While on the subject any one have some stansbury sand to spare? Also any one interested in swapping a cup or two of sand
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 11 2004 at 6:06am |
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I have about three gallons of it.
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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Jared Wood
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Posted: March 11 2004 at 1:34pm |
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What about the Little Sahara sand? Has anyone looked at that or tested it for aquarium fitness?
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In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth ... then He let it cycle. Have you read my dinosaur theory yet?
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jfinch
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Posted: March 11 2004 at 1:38pm |
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It's quartz sand, not calcium carbonate like the GSL sand or Southdown. You'll find that most people will steer you away from it (the quartz sand).
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pploco
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Posted: March 12 2004 at 1:06pm |
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What about natural silica sand?
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Ryan Willden
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Posted: March 12 2004 at 3:16pm |
 pploco wrote:
What about natural silica sand?
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I'd stay away from that too...
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