limestone questions

[greatgman]

i posted this in the regular reef forums but no one responded

i read that some member (rc) is trying an alternative to southdown sand
and havent seen anything about it for a while now
well i thought i would experiment a bit


soo i bought a 40 pound bag of pulverized calcitic limestone by yard right who you all know is also made by old castle (just a name change)
and was wondering if ne1 has tried this option
at first i put it in a mason jar and filled it up with reg water
way way way to fine i thought so after 2 days sitting in the jar it cleared up but the slightest move will create a dust cloud that will stay for a few minutes
i dont know if this is the same stuff he used but its got a boatload of calcium in it
i was thinking what if i added some to the sand?

the ingredients are

total (elemental) calcium (Ca) 34.83%
total (elemental) magnesium (Mg) 1.15%
calcium oxide (Cao) 48.75%
magnesium oxide (Mao) 50.66%
total oxides 87.0 %
calcium carbonate (CaCO3) 4.0 %
magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) 91.0%
total carbonates 91.76%
calcium carbonate equivalince (COE) 78.91%
effective neutralizing value (ENV) 80.75%
total neutralizing power 91.84%
relative neutralizing value 87.72%
moisture (maximum) 1.0%

its from yard right the kind of limestone you would use for
your lawns
i dont have any vinegar to try the fizz test but i bet it will go nuts
(tomorrow is payday i'll pick some up)
tell me what u think of this please
thanks
gman

 

[Adam]

Greatgman,

I would not use the calcitic stuff. It has lots of sharp edges. One of our members has the "real thing".... Southdown aragonite sand. Please e-mail through the link at www.pmas.org and I will send you his phone number.

Adam

 

[greatgman]

this stuff is very powdery not sharp like playsand almost like talc

 

[BeanAnimal]

Adma is refering to the almost microscopic edges. The shard edges cause several problems. They can harm the tiny creatures in your sand bed. They also promote clumping of the sand. Oolitic sand or similar has round adges and therefore does not clump as easily and poses no danger to the tiny critters who burrow through it. The sharp edges also allow detritis and other unwanted matter to become easily trapped.

Diatomacious Earth is another example of a substance that has the same type of sharp edges. It is ues in "diatom" filters because material becomes easily trapped by the tiny sharp edges.

Bean

 

[greatgman]

iwas thinking
maybee i could put this stuff in a fine mesh bag and put it in my hob filters media basket?
i think the water passing throug it would be buffered with calcium and magnesium - so i would not have to put it in the sand?
what do u think bout this idea?

 

[Adam]

greatgman,

Aragonite and Calcite are practically insoluble at normal reef tank pH. You would not dissolve enough that way to meet the demands of your tank.

Adam

 

[greatgman]

what about in a calcium reactor?

 

[Ghumbee]

gman,

The calcium reactor is going to cost you big $$ and I don't think it may be the best option for a very lightly stocked tank.


Look into Randy's recipe for calcium/alk/magnesium additives in the Chemistry forum or look into dripping kalk.




Chuck