Black Sand

[nickyboi]

I know I have asked this before but had a failry vague reply.

I understand the black sand from the west coast beach of Piha has a fairly high iron content and have been told it may make the water fairly acidic (PH around 6.0) and this is no good for my Mbuna, so what I really want to know is:

1 - can this be countered by adding oyster grit and ph increasing/buffering things

2 - has anybody ever done it in a cichlid aquarium

3 - are there any other changes to water parameters that I should know about???

Thanks in advance

[alanmin4304]

I don't know anything about your black sand but if you want hard alkaline conditions you are giving yourself a real challenge starting with sand that will go acid. I would think you should use a mix with marble or sea shell to increase the hardness and pH.