play sand

[dstalfire]

I started a 20 gallon refugium for my 75 gallon reef tank, and for the sand bed I used 50lbs of play sand. I heard that since it was play sand that it was ok. I am having a bad hair algae problem now which may be unrelated. Have you heard of any problems with using play sand? Leaking Phosphates, or silcates? Does anyone have any personal experience with it?

Any advice would be appreciated?

Thanks

Dan

 

[Paintbug]

i use play sand from home depot. i dont have any algae problems from the sand. silica sand wont leach silica until its under high pressure. its not the problem. have you tested for Phosphates? what are your other water parameters?

 

[dstalfire]

Last time I tested for phospahtes it was undetecable. I have heard that since I have so much hair algae it is consuming the phosphates, so they will be low. Have you heard about using a sea hair?

I have had sea horse in the 20 gallon and they are real messy so I think they added to a phosphate problem. I am going to now load the 20 gallon with chato, will that help with phosphates?

 

[Paintbug]

what little bit of hair algae i had my astrea snails took care of, so i dont have alot of experiences with it. however its true that the algae is comsuming the nutrients as fast as they are being produced. they also feed on nitrates. you really need to find where the nutrients are coming from instead of ways to remove them. stuffing the sump with chato should help though. how much do you feed the tank? what type of filtration do you have?

 

[dstalfire]

I feed them one cube day of the food you buy at the lfs. I am not sure what the name is, but it is real common.

For filtration I have a fluvial 304, a trickly filter/sump with Bi Balls, and I have 50lbs of live rock. Should I remove the bio balls?

Dan

 

[drillsar]

Yes bio balls can be the problem, how much live rock you have/>?

 

[dstalfire]

Between 50 -100 lbs.

 

[drlowz]

So to add to this question....I am starting a new tank.....Is the homedepot play sand ok to use or not.......

What are the PROS and CONS.....??

 

[Paintbug]

i use the playsand from HD myself. its been going almost a year now. to be honest the color sucks. the sand is a darker brown than what i started with. however HD has other sands that will be fine to use as well. some stores have a very white paver brick sand. it has been reported to bubble with a viniger test. that would be a good choice if you can find it. i havent been that lucky . but the play stand will work fine if you dont mine the color. i have a couple of sand shifters and they have not had any problems with it either.

 

[LowKey]

Im thinking of adding some playsand to a mature tank. What steps should I take inorder to do so safely???

 

[klondar]

Home depot also sells a White play sand, It looks much better than the brown/yellow of the regular sand. Both are fine I have a 125 FO tank that has 200lbs in it that look great!

-Glen

 

[drlowz]

You have been very helpful guys and gals....I think I will venture further and get the play sand and take my chances...

 

[HBtank]

I used QUICKRETE medium silica sand, it is VERY white and good stuff. Does not blow around. And home depot has it.

Plus it was funny when my roomate was like "you stupid, you bought concrete for your fish tank?"

 

[tomnmaddie]

One problem with a silica based sand beds is are inert. Where as a aragonite beds allow delivery of calcium, carbonate, and trace elements. So with a silica based bed the addition of additives is approx doubled which in the long run probably out cost the initial setup costs. IMHO

 

[Paintbug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6978006#post6978006 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tomnmaddie
One problem with a silica based sand beds is are inert. Where as a aragonite beds allow delivery of calcium, carbonate, and trace elements. So with a silica based bed the addition of additives is approx doubled which in the long run probably out cost the initial setup costs. IMHO

its been proven that aragonite sand will not break down until your tanks PH is super low. with a DSB there maybe a little break down in the low oxygen areas in the sand, but thats not alot. by the time your sand was to break down and release calcium carbonate, everything in your tank will probably be dead at that point.

 

[tomnmaddie]

ts been proven that aragonite sand will not break down until your tanks PH is super low. with a DSB there maybe a little break down in the low oxygen areas in the sand, but that's not alot. by the time your sand was to break down and release calcium carbonate, everything in your tank will probably be dead at that point.

I would like to see your source for such a quote as here is just one of many that support the aragonite.

1) Aragonite is metastable at a pH of 8.2 i.e. it begins to dissolve into its constituent ions of Ca++ and CO3-- while calcite (typical "crushed coral") begins to dissolve somewhere in the mid 7's.

2) Aragonite contains substantial amounts of the larger ionic radius +2 cations such as strontium (up to 10,000 ppm) which are released into the system as the substrate dissolves. Under laboratory conditions the presence of strontium in solution appears to facilitate the inorganic precipitation of aragonite when
those solutions also contain sodium and magnesium (like sea water). This would seem to confirm the observations of hobbyists who note an acceleration of coral
growth with the addition of strontium to a closed system.

3) Unlike calcite, aragonite continues to react chemically with sea water after acquiring a bacterial biofilm coating. There are further ways to boost the performance of aragonite. The physical properties of the material can be enhanced by close grading which allows for more interstitial water per volume, and by manipulating the surface area to volume ratio which states that if grain size is uniform, the surface area as a function of volume increases as the grain size diminishes. Finally, performance can also be increased by technological means such as by a calcium reactor or the Eco-Sand plenum system. This combination of a superior raw material boosted by mechanical and technical means is simple and effective and lasts for the life of the system.

 

[tomnmaddie]

Doh!! forgot to give the authur of the article

Aragonite Overview
Richard M. Greenfield
Marine Geologist

want to give credit where credit is due ;>)