Quartz sand vs silica sand

[musho3210]

Could i use quartz sand in my tank? Or does it have to be silica, and i found a silica sand that has a low concentration of iron 0.015%, is it safe to use in tanks?

 

[cherrypie]

Both should be safe with one caveat for the quartz sand, depending on the source it may contain trace amounts of other minerals, particularly metals which could cause issues. Though if it's a white colour you should be quite safe, heavy mineralization will cause staining in most cases, ussually yellow, orange and/or red staining due to the presence of iron among other minerals. That's not necessarily an issue, however I imagine copper would be problematic if you plan on keeping invertebrates.

I'm using quartz sand in one of my tanks (from NW Australia) it's a nice red colour due to the iron content and my fish are fine in it, can't give you much info on inverts, longest a shrimp has survived in there without becoming a snack has been about 2 weeks.

 

[musho3210]

i might have some snails to keep the sandbed nice and oxygenated.

 

[aardvark1]

I think Quartz is a Silicate, so quartz sand will be the same as silica sand.

From the Wikipedia:

Quartz is the second most common mineral in the Earth's continental crust. It is made up of a lattice of silica (SiO2) tetrahedra. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and a density of 2.65 g/cm³.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz

Or am I confused?

 

[musho3210]

i know silicone is taken from quartz, but not sure about silicate....

 

[aardvark1]

Silicate is the oxide (rust) of silicon.

Same, same (for all intents and porpoises)

 

[loaches r cool]

Many have used Quartz. 3M ColorQuartz pops up now and then too since it comes in many colors, but if I remember its coated with ceramic to give a smooth texture and color.

 

[musho3210]

ok, thanks everyone.