Aragonite

[African_Fever]

Try getting ahold of a frac company in Calgary, I'd guess that BJ, Sanjel, or one of the other oilfield companies would have a yard somewhere around town. If you go there with a couple pails, usually they'll just give it to you. Another bonus with it is that you don't have to clean it at all. I've usually just dumped it in and gone from there (it may cloud a little, but is usually clear within hours). It is extremely uniform in size, and very smooth, no jagged edges. I first used it b/c it was free, but have really come to love it, especially after trying the PFS sand b/c it's heavy enough to use a normal gravel vacuum and not lose half your sand every time. Plus, my plants seem to grow well in any tank that it's used in (though I know it's most likely other factors for that too, but hey, it works for me).

Good luck with it!

[dunl]

And this is sand, right, not iron slag?

[African_Fever]

It's a silica sand. The only drawback I have with it is that it's lighter than PFS.

[Mbuna Ron]

If it is lighter than PFS then how is it that it is easier to vaccuum and use with a Python????

[RD.]

I believe that Kyle meant lighter in color.

[African_Fever]

I guess I should've been more clear, Neil was right, it is lighter in colour than PFS. Darcy's thread sounded if he thought it was maybe a dark/black sand.

[Mbuna Ron]

Ok..final question Kyle...maybe...how do you think it would be as a substrate for mpimbwe frontosa? ...with a dark background. If I get the thumbs up, I'm heading out tomorrow to get the frac sand...less concerned about the price more concerned about the quality as I intend it to be used for a long time. :well:

Edited November 29, 2005 by Mbuna Ron

[African_Fever]

I'm actually going to try adding a small bag or two of black sand as soon as I get in my 120 to see how it looks/works. If you've got a dark background, hopefully the sand won't make too much of a difference. It does get darker with time as algae grows on it. But other than being concerned about the light colour with some fish, I'd highly recommend it for anyone.

[Mbuna Ron]

I went ahead and got 80 pounds of silica frac sand for my 130 gal. The quartz sand was very uniform and round as Kyle said, and a bit larger than PFS. It is a lighter in colour but looks to be great for sand sifters. Another good option to consider along with Target PFS.

[African_Fever]

You'll have to let us all know how you find it when you go to vacuum the sand, and how it compares to PFS. I know that there a number of different sizes of frac sand, and I did find some one time (got it right off the trucks while working around them) that was too light and way finer than PFS, probably more like sugar. But if the stuff you found is slightly larger than PFS it's probably close to what I've got in most of my tanks and works great!