Sand

[Brianemone]

Hi

Does anyone (im sure someone does) know if using sand from normal beach is ok to put into a marine/reef tank or will it have some adverse effect on the water chemistry

[lduncan]

what size tank? From what beach? NZ beach sand is silica sand, as opposed to that found around coral reefs, which is carbonate based. People complain about silica sand causing diatom blooms in reef tanks, but i'm not convinced.

The only thing that puts me off using it, is the fact that white carbonate sand looks better than grey silica sand.

Another potential problem in high flow tanks is that the sand gets blown around too much and can cause the tank to be cloudy for a long time.

Layton

[Brianemone]

325litre just over four foot and 20"by20",

being from hamilton i thought mount muanganui/tauranga or

my other idea was some black sand from the west coast but im not sure about the iron content and its effects.

your right about the look though, i much prefer the whiteness of the coral sand and the way it reflects the blue marinefluros.

[lduncan]

I'd stay away from the black sand. Too much iron can cause algae problems. Silica sand should be fine, but coral sand is better.

Layton

[David R]

If its for a reef tank coral sand would be the best (wouldnt it?). I set my fw tank up with pool filter sand. The shop just gave it to me (apparantly they get given it to give away with filters), and so far I've not had any problems. Just make sure you rinse it really well.