# Cement Gravel at Home Depot



## riggles17 (Jan 4, 2011)

Hey everyone, so I'm looking for gravel for my tank. In the cement aisle at Home Depot where the parging, cement, play sand etc. is they have 3/4" cement gravel which is used for the weeping tile I believe. Is the cement gravel cool for a fish tank?


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## Somker (Aug 1, 2012)

id sugest googleing it. i no that you can DIY reef rock using portland cement. as long as its curied properly


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## riggles17 (Jan 4, 2011)

It's freshwater so that's why I was wondering.


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## Somker (Aug 1, 2012)

i dont see why it would be a problem. iv used rock from Marmora ontario in my freshwater. and river rock gravel. just sit it in viniger for a couple days then fresh water for a little bit and it should be good to go.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

The stones are two big for aquarium use as food and such will sink beneath it.You would want 1/8" or smaller.


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## Somker (Aug 1, 2012)

that makes alot of sense. you dont want food settling to the bottom were it will cause a nitrate spike.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

Check to see if the stone is limestone, which could change the ph of your water and may not be acceptable to the fish your keeping.


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## Somker (Aug 1, 2012)

would curing limstone not change that.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

If it's limestone, which is very, very common in Ontario, it will leach calcium constantly into the water and affect your water chemistry. Vinegar does work, but it's slow to act on some rocks.. I've had a few that did not react to vinegar, but they did react to CLR. So I prefer to use CLR because it's a stronger acid.

Drip a little CLR onto the rock or stone you want to test, or put a bit in a bowl and put the rock in the bowl. If you get foaming or bubbles, it's got a lot of calcium in it and is probably a limestone. It's not suitable for most FW tanks, with the exception of those for cichlids who need very hard water. Btw, marble is also a form of limestone. So marble chips sold for landscaping are not useful for a general substrate either. I've even tested a few different sands, the ones for mixing with concrete, using CLR and so far, all of them have foamed up like crazy, meaning they are full of calcium. The one sand I've yet to test is the stuff they sell for play sand.. don't know if it's calcium based or not. But five different sources I tried around the GTA, for coarse builders or concrete sand, all tested pretty high for calcium. Might be handy for my brackish tank when I get it set up, but no good for planted tanks or most FW fish.


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## Somker (Aug 1, 2012)

most play sand is silica based and should not fizz. however because of the desinge of the sand its not good for sand sifting critters its sharp edged could harm them. it does however promote diatomic growth.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

That's interesting.. I've seen that silica sand they sell for marine aquariums, love the way it looks but I know it's not good for FW.. but I thought the play sand was supposed to be fairly soft ? I guess it's more about the shape of the particles than the size of them. Might feel soft to us, but to a fish, might feel like 40 grit sandpaper !


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## Somker (Aug 1, 2012)

exactly, its like crushed coral larger pieces not good for burrowing critters


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Most play sand is fine beach sand.I think it is too fine for aquarium use, but many would disagree. Silica sand is fine for freshwater, and is available in coarser grain sizes.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

BillD said:


> Most play sand is fine beach sand.I think it is too fine for aquarium use, but many would disagree. Silica sand is fine for freshwater, and is available in coarser grain sizes.


I use playsand from home depot for 3 of my tanks. They sell 'King' and 'quickrete' brands. I have experience only with the 'KING' brand. It works for my guppy tanks. I had gravel before, but I overfeed my guppies, as I breed them, and the food tended to get in between the gravel stones creating ammonia issues. Playsand also gives me the ability to keep MTS in my tanks, and those are a godsent for cleanup of leftover food 

I was skeptical, and did a lot of online trolling before deciding on playsand, but it has worked for me so far (since April or so). Then again, I use it only for my guppy tanks, and these are "species only". I don't have experience with using playsand in a tank with bottom dwellers or in a true community tank. As they say, 'your mileage may vary'. I was pleasantly surprised by how natural the substrate looks, and I haven't had any issues with water chemistry so far from using sand. The one caveat I'd add, is that you'll need to wash it thoroughly so the fine dust can be drained off (definitely keep under the tap longer than gravel)

Al.


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