silica sand mixed with coral sand

[fishgirl53]

Is silica sand ok for a cichlid tank mixed with coral sand I have heard sand can ruin your filter is this right at the moment I have black very fine gravel and want to change to the white look thanks 

[Adrienne]

There is no problem mixing the two together.  Coral sand will raise the pH so you would need to test to check it is at the correct pH for the cichlids you want as you haven't specified whether you are talking African or South America.

Silica sand is very very fine and as most cichlids require a high current due to being such messy feeders you will find it gets into your filters fairly easily.  You could put a pre-filter on the strainer and clean it regularly as that would help.  White silica can be notoriously hard to keep white.  One other thing to consider is that silicon does pack down and if gas forms in the pockets and is released, it can be fatal for the fish.  This is not likely to happen if you have a decent amount of coral sand of a larger size though.

[fishgirl53]

I have blue dolphins and pink convicts 2 yellows I was also looking at aragonite how would that go it is quite expensive though

[fishgirl53]

I have snails in there at the moment to airate the gravel will that work with the sand

[Adrienne]

Sorry for not replying yesterday (it's our family Christmas this week).  You would need your pH to sit between 7.5 - 8.0 for those two species so anything that raises the level above that will need a buffer of some sort to keep the pH at a level the fish are really happy with.  Your pink convicts would likely adjust to a higher pH level if it raised slowly over time but will not breed unless optimum conditions are kept.  Buffers like peat in the filter do help but you would then need to check that the level does not drop too low for the dolphins

Aarogonite is easier to keep clean than sand but also raises pH.  I'm not sure how well snails work in keeping silica sand aerated.  MTS are the best substrate stirrers  With the sand you either need not to disturb it at all with livestock in the tank or keep it well aerated all the time. Lots of people use sand with no issues, the most common complaint with the white silica (which is not a real sand) is that it is so time consuming to keep clean.