whatever they sell sa carti, its good enough for me. just wash it thoroughly. here is one of my fave arguments on "SANDS"
"Might be a silly question, but is there a reason why you wouldn't use the sand from a beach?"
Depends who you ask.
Some say: Because it's usually silica based and will cause algae.
Others say: No, it won't cause algae
(keyword here is usually. we should get an expert to study the sand composition in our beaches-jolt)
Some say: It doesn't have enough surface area for bacteria and other sand bed creatures.
Others say: It does too have enough surface area and sand bed critters live just fine in it.
(size does matter-jolt)
Some say: It's full of poisons and toxins and pollution because it comes from the ocean.
Others say: Yeah, so does most everything we put in the tank and I don't see any 3 eyed tangs.
(that's why I wash it like hell before using-jolt)
Some say: It's ugly and unnatural.
Others say: Most coral reefs don't even have much sand and it looks fine.
(...in the eye of the beholder-jolt)
Some say: Sand is a timebomb, go DSB.
Others say: Go with whatever you like the looks of.
(my timebomb hasn't exploded yet?-jolt)
Anyway, there's no huge reason to not use sand from the beach, give it a good rinse (especially in our country) and give it a try if you like the looks of it. But it's not like you're getting free live sand. Consider it dead sand.
In the end, just get the one from carti. It may be silicate (maybe not? we dont know), or coral, even aragonite
It works for me (and others here), it should work for you too.
No problem tony, dont mention it
