is marine sand safe for freshwater fish?

Question

i went to petco and petsmart website and i looked up sand and all i could find was marine sand is this sand safe for freshwater fish i read one of the marine sands review and one coustomer said his chilids lived in it so is it safe.

Answer 1

Honestly, the best and cheapest route that I've found is to look into pool filter sand. You can get 50 pounds for $12.73 (plus shipping) from here: http://www.hometownstores.com/detail.aspx?ID=84653&ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=Ace%20Hardware&ovcrn=%22Hth%22%20Pool%20Filter%20Sand&ovtac=CMP

Just make sure you rinse it thoroughly to clean any dust out before you put it in the tank.

Cichlids generally live in higher pH than most other freshwater sand, which is why it's ok to use marine sand with them (marine sand tends to cause pH swings due to excess amounts of calcium and whatnot).

Answer 2

This depends a lot on the type of fish you are going to keep.

Crushed coral, or argonite based sands are very high in carbonates. This will eventually affect the hardness of the water by leaching out carbonates into the tank.

This is not a problem if you have fish that like hard water, such as most brackish fish, and many of the african cichlids.

However if you are getting softwater loving fish such as Discus, tetra's, or most south/central american cichlids then saltwater sand is not a good choice for your tank.

Answer 3

No. Marine sand will cause the pH of the water to go towards 8.2, which is too high for most freshwater fish. Saltwater fish/corals and cichlids require this level pH to survive, but freshwater fish do not.

Answer 4

Actually this depends on the type of freshwater fish you are getting.
Brackish fish such as mollies, scats and monos as well as most African Rift Lake cichlids will actually benefit from crushed coral or aragonite.
Other freshwater fish such as goldfish and guppies can benefit from small amounts place in a filter bag inside the filter, as this will add necessary calcium, magnesium and other very important electrolytes (as well as stabilize the kH). This said, Wonder Shells are a better product for general freshwater mineralization.

For more about this, see this up to date article about calcium, kH ect.:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html

Answer 5

I'd rinse throughly and it will likely be great. My one concern would if it's calcium carbonate base sand and not silica based sand. Calcium carbonate sand will mess up your hardness, and pH. If your LFS doesn't stock silica based sand. Go down to your local hardware supply store. Look for blasting sand, then rinse it throughly several times.

Answer 6

It will be safe as long as it is rinsed really well.

Answer 7

problematic problem. research in a search engine. that will may help!

Answer 8

i would say noway

Answer 9

no

Answer 10

NO NO NO
it is only safe for salt water fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!