Things I wish I had learned earlier about sand and want to share.

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[Ed]

I purchased some sand.   A light grade.   Its labeled as pure ocean sand or something like that.   The problem is, its not dinatious earth.   Its a quartz sand.   

Here is what I learned about quartz sand.  Its sharp to animals.  It injures them and they usually don't recover.    Animals like sand sifting gobies, clams, etc.    Here is another thing I learned about quartz or imitation ocean sand.   The mining process is not always as clean.   Please let me explain further.   Things like Lead, copper, other metals are often contaminated into this type of sand.    I wish someone had told me earlier.   

This type of sand produces a algae bloom quite easily.   It blocks the pores of live rock and often covers corals.   It does not let coral have proper light and restricts corals and live rock from acting they way they usually do.    Phosphates are high because this type of sand has silica in it. 

My only recourse is to blow it off with a large powerhead and remove it with every water change.

I just wanted to pass this forward and hope no one else gets this bad taste in their mouth.    If you go sand, please make sure its from a reputable distributor and is pure aragonite. 

[jerryB]

Ed,

I just about did the same thing when I started my 90 but found info on the web that advised against quartz sand. Here is who I buy sand from. It is pure aragonite and comes from Fiji. It is loaded with pods and tube worms and to top that off, is very cheap. Check them out if you need some sand. It is a finer grade sand though which I personally prefer, but know some people dislike it.

 http://westmariculture.com/

[Ed]

Jerry,
   I would love to see how large this sand is.  thanks, Ed

[drstratton]

Thanks for sharing that information.  I had only heard that you should not use a silica based sand, I had no idea about quartz sand. 

[drstratton]

Do you remember what brand the sand was and where you purchased it from?  Thanks!!!

[Ed]

yes, I do not want to announce it on here.   I am considering writing a letter to company.

[drstratton]

Thanks Ed, I understand and I would also write a letter.  It is so sad that you lost some of your fish because of sharp sand, who would have known.

[Nate C.]

Thanks for sharing that information.  I had only heard that you should not use a silica based sand, I had no idea about quartz sand. 

Quartz = silica.

Best stuff to use in an aquarium is Aragonite sand, if it doesn't say that is what it is, don't use it.  This type of sand is Calcium based, and will slowly dissolve into the water over time, adding a tiny bit of Ca to your system (by no means enough to not dose if you have corals though).

[Ed]

aragonite also keep PH Stable~!   Pure Aragonite~!

[The Apprentice]

Sorry to hear about this Ed I still have deep sand beds in my tanks I started in 2004 I have a small nano tank full of figi Aragonite Sand and crushed coral, It is taken care of by 2 tiger pistols and a Pink Bar goby pretty cool to watch them move that stuff around.
A never ending Job for them.

aragonite also keep PH Stable~!   Pure Aragonite~!