Question about sand

[labatt]

Just to be clear, I've read most of the thread on southdown sand. Waht I got out of it is that I should be looking for a mainly aggronite based sand, not silica. I can test this by adding vinegar to the sand and seeing if it dissolves. Most of it should by adding vinegar several times. If this is correct then is any sand that I find with these properties safe, also what type of vinegar should I ues to test?
Thanks in advance

 

[WaterKeeper]

You can use any vinegar but I tend to use white as it is a bit stronger. It can take quit awhile to completely dissolve the sand and quite a bit of vinegar unless you use a very small amount of sand. If the sand repeatedly fizzes when you add a dose of vinegar then it is most likely aragonite. Some sands will fizz for a second as they may have small amounts of carbonate on the surface. That tends to be a one shot deal and when hit with another dose of vinegar nothing happens. Good sand hunting.

 

[jerehmy]

I had silica sand in my reef for a week then found out it was bad and did some remodling withe live sand, what a differance in color and apperance!!

 

[NCreefwannabe]

Silica sand isnt bad, tons and tons of reefers use it for years. Wasnt this found to be a myth about silica sand being bad?

Btw I have southdown myself lol. A local guy has like 5 palletts of it in his warehouse.

 

[WaterKeeper]

I like aragonite over silica. The main reason is the sneaking suspicion that there is organic acid produced in anaerobic areas of the bed. Carbonate sand will neutralize these while adding calcium to the water column. It has been pointed out to me that if that was a major contribution one's DSB would disappear with time. Indeed, if it was an major component of its function it would but my own feeling is that this process is slow. It just gives me a better feeling that the aragonite is there to help things out. My other reason for liking it is that it is almost always less dense than other sands and that may help bed migration from bio-activity. Sure use silica but, for my own way of thinking, get aragonite if you can.