What kind of sand is this?

[wisoot]

Hi there

 

I was given this sand from my LFS to be used as substrate. He did not tell me what kind of sand it is. Do you guys know? I don't want anything which will leach silicate into my tank.

 

Hope you can see the picture below.

Many thanks.

[matt the fiddler]

was it dead or alive? allready in a salt tank?

 

m

[wisoot]

Hi Matt

 

It is from my LFS tank. I phoned him and he said it is coral sand. Does it look like it? I've mixed it with some live sand from mail order which is much finer and It's already in my tank which is cycling.

 

w

[Meloco14]

Looks like crushed coral to me

[wisoot]

Hi Meloco

 

The size is about 1mm. After i put it in, i then read about silica sand and got paranoid. I noticed most people use aragonite sand but in my LFS it is sold it in a 20lb bag which is way too much for my 8.5 gallon tank.

 

I am not sure if i should just change it to aragonite. If i do, i will have wasted my expensive live sand which is already mixed with that sand in the tank. : (

 

w

[matt the fiddler]

if it is crushed coral.. you woudl be better to have a smaller size grain. or.. buy dead sand.. or find a local reefer who has too much

[TroyT]

Originally posted by wisoot

I noticed most people use aragonite sand but in my LFS it is sold it in a 20lb bag which is way too much for my 8.5 gallon tank.  

 

w

 

 

A 2 inch sand bed in a ten gallon tank comes to 21 pounds of sand. So it sounds like to me you would be only be tossing out 3 pounds out of a 20 pound bag. If you have refugium put the rest in there? Just trying to help.