Tahitian moon sand. Is it real?

[Ando]

Alright I want to order some new sand for my tank because my sand is very nasty! I was thinking of going with some black tahitian moon sand. Is this stuff real sand or what? Because I want to get sand that is going to be beneficial for my tank.

 

Or will I be better off getting something different? I really would like black.. But, if it's not very beneficial then white is fine.

 

 

 

Here is a link to the sand I was going to get.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/prod...mp;pcatid=21432

[Bonsai]

Don't use it. I used it in my BC8, it's super-fine and in my experience, traps nitrates and other crap that is then easily stirred up and causes problems. I associate Tahitian Moon Sand with the everlasting Cyano battle I had with my BC8 before I tore it down, and ultimately started over.

 

I'm now using "Special Reef Grade" sand.

[neanderthalman]

Yes. It's really from the moon.

 

 

 

 

All sand is gross. Barebottom or bust.

[Daleo]

I had it. It gets dirty easily, fine traps nitrates, does not help maintain pH. I don't like it. Its better for freshwater, but is SAFE for saltwater.

 

PS It takes forever to rinse the crap

[EliPhant]

its also magnetic so if it gets caught under ur mag float then u gotta take the mag float out and scrape it out all the time, and yeah... scratches on the glass. I used to in my 10 gal and it seemed to get dirty really really fast, probably just cuz its black, u can see every little thing that falls on the sandbed.

[lakshwadeep]

You could try "natural wonders black calcite sand". That's what acoustic used on his tank:

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto...amp;limit=views

[neanderthalman]

The estes black sand is also reef safe and doesn't have any problems to speak of. Used it for years. Were it not for sand in general getting filthy over time, I would have used it again.

 

 

Also, I'm getting tired of having to say this.

 

Aragonite will not buffer your pH in a nano sized sandbed. In order for the aragonite to dissolve and raise your alkalinity, the water must be acidic. If your water is acidic, you have a far more serious problem already.

 

Where this does occur is in the bottom layers of a DSB in large reefs. These layers form anoxic zones, where denitrifying bacteria create a locally acidic environment, mainly from releases of small quantities of sulfur and sulfuric acid. This permits the aragonite to dissolve and buffer the tank. Unless you've got at least 4" of sand, and more likely 5 or 6 (depending on grain size), you're not going to get any benefit from using aragonite over any other sand. Put that much sand in a typical nano, and it's going to look stupid and unbalanced. But go right ahead.

 

This is a large reef fact, but nano reef myth. Same goes for vacuuming sand as well, for exactly the same reasons. Shallow sandbeds do not produce the anoxic zones that produce and harbor the toxic materials that make it so dangerous to disturb a DSB. If you use black sand, you're going to want to vacuum it with a gravel vac to maintain the appearance.

 

NB - you can get the buffering from a remote DSB or a DSB in a sump or fuge, where the appearance doesn't limit the depth of sand.

[Ando]

Well I did end up ordering the moon sand from Drs. foster yesterday.. I wish I would have gotten to this post before.. I may end up sending this sand back. I really don't want to have any problems because of my sand.

 

I currently have white sand in my tank. Is it possible to just take out all of my sand and clean it some how without causing a mini cycle?

[neanderthalman]

Remove it slowly, a bit at a time, over a couple of weeks, and you won't have any problems.

 

Think of your bioload and your bacteria as two ends of a teeter-totter or see-saw (depending on where you're from). If you knock one or the other too hard, you start it swinging - aka a cycle. Do a little bit at a time, and things will equilibrate quickly.

[jeremai]

Aragonite will not buffer your pH in a nano sized sandbed. In order for the aragonite to dissolve and raise your alkalinity, the water must be acidic. If your water is acidic, you have a far more serious problem already.

just wanted to quote this for emphasis.

[Billdemart]

This is a large reef fact, but nano reef myth. Same goes for vacuuming sand as well, for exactly the same reasons. Shallow sandbeds do not produce the anoxic zones that produce and harbor the toxic materials that make it so dangerous to disturb a DSB. If you use black sand, you're going to want to vacuum it with a gravel vac to maintain the appearance.

 

I have read countless times that you shouldn't touch the sand bed even in a shallow bed nano. Should I be vacuuming the sand during WC's?

[Rocket]

I have read countless times that you shouldn't touch the sand bed even in a shallow bed nano. Should I be vacuuming the sand during WC's?

 

 

That would be the only way I would remove a bed.

[Daleo]

Also, I'm getting tired of having to say this.

 

Aragonite will not buffer your pH in a nano sized sandbed. In order for the aragonite to dissolve and raise your alkalinity, the water must be acidic. If your water is acidic, you have a far more serious problem already.

 

Where this does occur is in the bottom layers of a DSB in large reefs. These layers form anoxic zones, where denitrifying bacteria create a locally acidic environment, mainly from releases of small quantities of sulfur and sulfuric acid. This permits the aragonite to dissolve and buffer the tank. Unless you've got at least 4" of sand, and more likely 5 or 6 (depending on grain size), you're not going to get any benefit from using aragonite over any other sand. Put that much sand in a typical nano, and it's going to look stupid and unbalanced. But go right ahead.

 

This is a large reef fact, but nano reef myth. Same goes for vacuuming sand as well, for exactly the same reasons. Shallow sandbeds do not produce the anoxic zones that produce and harbor the toxic materials that make it so dangerous to disturb a DSB. If you use black sand, you're going to want to vacuum it with a gravel vac to maintain the appearance.

 

NB - you can get the buffering from a remote DSB or a DSB in a sump or fuge, where the appearance doesn't limit the depth of sand.

 

This is the first time i've ever heard this, which really surprises me, because usually everything gets beat into your head about reefing here.

 

My pH is not acidic. It's 7.8 which is just not as alkaline as I would like it to be.

[Billdemart]

That would be the only way I would remove a bed.

 

Uh... what?

[neanderthalman]

I have read countless times that you shouldn't touch the sand bed even in a shallow bed nano. Should I be vacuuming the sand during WC's?

 

That's an extension of the fears resulting from the catastrophic effects of disturbing a DSB. Entire tanks have been nuked by the release of what I understand to be sulfur compounds from the bottom layers.

 

Those layers don't form in shallow sandbeds, so you don't run that same risk. However, if your sandbed has a large quantity of detritus, you could create an ammonia spike. Thus, if you want to start vacuuming, you need to start slowly. Don't do the entire sandbed, and don't go the full depth. Work up to it.

 

I think there's great benefit in detritus removal. It made a huge difference when i started doing it in my 10g, though that's just my personal experience.

 

This is the first time i've ever heard this, which really surprises me, because usually everything gets beat into your head about reefing here.

 

My pH is not acidic. It's 7.8 which is just not as alkaline as I would like it to be.

 

It's not surprising at all. It's 100% true for large reefs. This lends the myth a hell of a lot of credibility, and so it continues to get trumpeted as "fact". The fact is, what works on a large reef does not necessarily work on a small reef. There are unique effects from scaling down the systems, and this tends to get "drowned out" by the cacophony of people beating the myth about buffering into your head.

 

If your corals are happy, then I'd be suspicious of your test kit, to be honest. A rather amusing quote, and I don't recall whom I heard it from, was "I didn't have a pH problem until I measured it". If your tank's inhabitants are doing just fine, then it's more likely that your test kit is bad than the corals are somehow happy at 7.8pH.

[Ando]

Well I did end up getting the moon sand.

 

On the back it says "contains a clarifier, chlorine/ammonia removing water conditioner, and a biological additive to begin cycling immediately"

 

I think those additives are in small little packets.. Should I just rinse this sand in a bucket with fresh ro/di water and then add it too my tank?

 

Also I need to take out all of my old white sand... I'm going to do this in small amounts over a month time.

[fiction101]

The idea of having black sand is great until you actually see how nasty it gets in person. I think this is a huge mistake on your part. Not one person recommended it, yet you switched to it. Good luck.

[steviejitsu]

Well I did end up getting the moon sand.

 

On the back it says "contains a clarifier, chlorine/ammonia removing water conditioner, and a biological additive to begin cycling immediately"

 

I think those additives are in small little packets.. Should I just rinse this sand in a bucket with fresh ro/di water and then add it too my tank?

 

Also I need to take out all of my old white sand... I'm going to do this in small amounts over a month time.

 

 

biological additive to begin cycling immediately sounds like they put in some organisms so you have some ammonia to start your cycle haha.

[Ando]

The reason I did it was bc my friend has had it for 2 years and his still looks pretty good.

[fishbutt]

Well I did end up ordering the moon sand from Drs. foster yesterday.. I wish I would have gotten to this post before.. I may end up sending this sand back. I really don't want to have any problems because of my sand.

 

I currently have white sand in my tank. Is it possible to just take out all of my sand and clean it some how without causing a mini cycle?

 

A siphon with a small opening will suck up the sand... Remove the large end from any aquarium vacuum and it will do the job of removing the sand without stirring up your tank.

[neanderthalman]

The idea of having black sand is great until you actually see how nasty it gets in person. I think this is a huge mistake on your part. Not one person recommended it, yet you switched to it. Good luck.

 

If your black sand gets ugly, then you're doing it wrong.

 

Either you need more sand sifting critters, or you need to start vacuuming your sand (it's safe in a nano-sized sandbed, for the last @#@@ing time)

[Daleo]

Well, no matter what, I hope it works out for you. Just DO NOT get it in your magfloat!

[hazmat]

Well, no matter what, I hope it works out for you. Just DO NOT get it in your magfloat!

 

+1000

It's SO hard to get it out of the Mag float once it gets in there. Because it's magnetic it sticks in the grooves of the pad. And the grains are fine. I had to pick them out with tweezers. And I ended up scratching my tank. So be careful! It's hard to see it as it blends in with the black pad on the algae magnets.

 

But it sure is pretty when it's nice and clean

[jeremai]

If your black sand gets ugly, then you're doing it wrong.

 

Either you need more sand sifting critters, or you need to start vacuuming your sand (it's safe in a nano-sized sandbed, for the last @#@@ing time)

so wait, let me get this straight - I can vacuum my sandbed, right?

[neanderthalman]

so wait, let me get this straight - I can vacuum my sandbed, right?