Phosphates in argonite sand

[marvelousone]

Does anyone know if caribsea seaflor aragonite special grade have phosphates in them. These are new and dry bags. I know I have to rinse it but I hoping I do not need to soak it to remove phosphates. I am starting up a new tank on Zeovit and it says to use sand or aragonite with no phosphates in it. Anyone knows or even tested it before.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I wouldn't think they would sell it with phosphates in the sand. Most of that stuff that is packaged and processed for saltwater use is processed to not add anything bad to your tank. Live rock is a totally different story.

 

[marvelousone]

I wouldn't think they would sell it with phosphates in the sand. Most of that stuff that is packaged and processed for saltwater use is processed to not add anything bad to your tank. Live rock is a totally different story.

I would not have think so but just not sure.

 

[davocean]

I would rinse in clean RO/DI so as to not add anything, but other than that you should be good to go.
That is my fav brand of sand.

 

[marvelousone]

I would rinse in clean RO/DI so as to not add anything, but other than that you should be good to go.
That is my fav brand of sand.

I was going to rinse it. I will be running zeovit so just making sure.

 

[CStrickland]

It does have some phosphates, and silica too. So you are likely to see a little diatom and algae bloom after you add it. This is normal. There's no such think as phosphate-free sand, afaik. Phosphates are an important part of nature, and present in most rocks and sand unless they have been treated. But since you can't really cook sand like rock, it's just something you deal with. It's part of setting up a new tank.

 

[davocean]

I was going to rinse it. I will be running zeovit so just making sure.

Just clarifying to use clean water and not just tap.

 

[marvelousone]

Just clarifying to use clean water and not just tap.

Thanks I was using ro/di water.

 

[Sk8r]

You can use tap to rinse dry sand (not live) so long as you finish with a dose of Prime, which removes chlorine.

 

[davocean]

Might depend on your area, our TDS here is about 430ppm, so I worry about more than just chlorine/chloramine.
I've read that phos can also bind to sand from tap, I'm not sure to how true or what level, may also depend on your area, but I just figure why even add anything that you will later have to remove.

 

[PhaneSoul]

Phosphates bind with calcium carbonate structures, there is phos in the sand and the rock we use. There is no way around it, phosohate is one of the required elements of life and very abundant in our world. The best way to control it is to keep the sand clean, do not rinse with tap water and do not let accumulation, waste or biological, happen in the sandbed.