What is aragonite?

[sean04]

I'm setting up a new tank and wanted to know what is aragonite?

 

[kkyyllee]

its a type of sand

 

[marduc]

more specifically it is a form of calcium carbonate that is generally encountered in our hobby as sand.

 

[sean04]

Would this be good to use as a sand bed for my tank?

What or which type of sand should I use for my sand bed?

 

[Grins]

Yes, it is what is typically used.

 

[marduc]

Aragonite is the ideal choice for a sand bed due to its chemical composition.. calcium and carbonate; which are both substances that are routinely added to our tank as we measure and supplement both calcium and alkalinity (carbonate alkalinity). Aragonite can and does dissolve slowly over time (more so at phs below say 7.8), and many people run it in a calcium reactor for this reason.

 

[Randall_James]

aragonite sand is typically dead coral skeleton...

I did see an item on Discovery once that stated (and not sure how true this really is) that the aragonite sand found around reefs is virtually 100% created by the fish of the reef "biting" off coral skeleton. Makes the Trigger fish pretty important huh?

 

[bertoni]

Aragonite is a fine substrate, but it doesn't dissolve much and won't add an appreciable amount of calcium or alkalinity to the water, not in a reef tank. Silica substrates work just as well, and are cheaper, although they often aren't as pretty.

 

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10268113#post10268113 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Aragonite is a fine substrate, but it doesn't dissolve much and won't add an appreciable amount of calcium or alkalinity to the water, not in a reef tank. Silica substrates work just as well, and are cheaper, although they often aren't as pretty.

I think the "hardness' of silica is a bit of a problem. It scratches glass very easily where the aragonite has some forgiveness.. (as bad as I am about getting crap stuck under my magfloats, it is a issue for me)

 

[bertoni]

Well, I have mostly acrylic tanks, so either is about the same to me.

 

[Randall_James]

I wonder if glassbead would work very well, sort of like ultra high quality oolitic sand of the beads were small enough

 

[bertoni]

They'd be fine, if they were the right size, and the glass was fairly plain. I wouldn't use high-lead glass, although that might not even matter much.