Can I use this marine sand in my freshwater planted tank?

[gurami]

Recently bought a bag of marine sand to use as substrate for my freshwater planted tank. I'm worried that it might not be suitable for the plants and fish inhabiting the tank. Can someone clear my doubts?

 

[Boundava]

Is it silica sand or aragonite or crushed coral?
Silica is ok, aragonite will give you hard water by release Ca+ and is good for African cichlids and coral is for saltwater or brackish tanks as it does the same. This results in hard water and higher pH which isn't suitable for all freshwater fish and even many plants.

Also looking at the bag it says it was collected naturally which means it may have salt in it which is definitely not good for a freshwater tank.


Can I ask why you chose a marine sand over the others as the non marine has a lot more variety to marine at least where I live.

 

[gurami]

Is it silica sand or aragonite or crushed coral?
Silica is ok, aragonite will give you hard water by release Ca+ and is good for African cichlids and coral is for saltwater or brackish tanks as it does the same. This results in hard water and higher pH which isn't suitable for all freshwater fish and even many plants.

Also looking at the bag it says it was collected naturally which means it may have salt in it which is definitely not good for a freshwater tank.


Can I ask why you chose a marine sand over the others as the non marine has a lot more variety to marine at least where I live.

I can't tell what type it is as it does not state on the packaging...
As for why I chose this, frankly it was the cheapest option I could find in the LFS and I like the color of the sand as well.

 

[Colin_T]

It's a marine sand and will probably raise the pH of the water. If you are keeping common livebearers like mollies, guppies, platies and swordtails, or rainbowfish or African Rift Lake cichlids, it will be fine. However, if you want to keep tetras, angelfish, Corydoras, barbs and rasboras, then it is not suitable for them.

 

[Boundava]

You can use hardware store play sand in an aquarium it just needs extra rinsing as it can be dusty. It's a less expensive option.
Like I said the bag says collected locally and may have salt in it which isn't good for freshwater, and the addition of calcium will increase pH, the bag does give indication of that.

I can't find any information on the brand online...