[rwag]

was thinking about using aragonite for my sand bed
from http://www.purearagonite.com/

Is this a good idea? 11.95 for 30lbs buy 4 bags get 1 free. Is this good as is for a sand bed or should I mix it with something else? It is for a new 125gal that I am setting up. TIA
Ryan

[eses]

I have heard good things about this company, I have not used it, but it appears to me just to be sugar-sized argonite sand and should work well for you.

[naser]

you allways would want a pure aragonite sand bed anyway....

[newreefman1]

nAh..that aint true.

lol

I used a silica sandbed with about 50 lbs of pink reef aragonite on top only cause i had it.

If you read some of the new studies, silica is not attributed to diatom blooms and the actual buffering capacity of aragonite is minimal at best...with that in mind..theres no reason not to spend 6 bucks for 120 lbs at home depot for silica playsand unless you have to have WHITE sand. If you want a variance in grain size, you can get some oolitic sand and others and add it and mix it in...but silica seems to work fine..aand I know quite a bit of others that use it too...Heck of a lot cheaper as well.

I dont know how naser knows..he hates sand. lol

[rwag]

thanks for the info. I have been reading posts on the southdownn sand but have been unable to find it. I think my second best option is the pure aragonite. Just wanted to make sure no one had any problems with that sand/company! Thanks again
Ryan

[naser]

well you dont need any type of sand but if your going to have calcuim baring animals you should have some sort of calcuim based bed...

[eses]

I am starting to agree that silica sand is actually inert, I've noticed no problems so far with my new tank, but it has only been a month now so we'll see.

Aethetically silica sand looks slightly different. Sugar sized argonite looks like little round sugar-sized pebbles, silica has alot of shard-looking pieces of sand that don't look as natural.

Either sand you use, you will have to buffer the water, so I see no reason to spend the money on argonite sand when silica may work just as well. But time will really tell if silica is a good choice.

[newreefman1]

No Naser thats the thing. Theres no real proof that aragonite sand actually helps to buffer the water and all. Sand to SPS I dont think needs to have any correlation. I could have an all glass bottom, in that case where's my calcium substrate? So...For whiteness...its nice...it probably even buffers just a teeensy bit..but youre going to have to supplement anyways for calcium and alkalinity so who cares anyways?

I like the price of my silica, looks fine too

[reefhead]

calcium baring animals??????




Any sand will do just make sure the particle size is correct.

Aragonite sand will not assist in buffering----at all

[organicreefer]

for the most part i agree with newreefman/reefhead on the silica/aragonite issue......but i think there is good evidence that aragonite does definitely help buffer the system and even small amount ca is liberated as well.........the stuff does dissolve over time.yes, the effect is extremely small,but its definitely there

i prefer to use aragonite,it costs more but i like it

[naser]

why not youd spend 20 or 30 bucks on a coral or fish.. and your trying to save 5 bucks on a ugly grey sand.... aragonite is a natural sand, especially for a reef. i know silica wont hurt but why skimp on the cost between 15 bucks and 5 bucks.

[newreefman1]

Ill tell ya why. It was going to cost me almost 100 bucks to use aragonite in the quantity I wanted and ....I got more than I needed for 6 bucks at HD.

Also. I had 25lbs of pink carribean reef sand(aragonite) that I seeded on top..and then added a layer of abotu 10-25 lbs of Fine white aragonite sand on top. My bed looks just like everyone elses..but when you look at the cross section along the glass, its tiered in color. Thats all

WIth my reactor, my alk and calcium are doing just fine and I have no diatoms. Thats 94 dollars in my case for more corals...and I still have white sand.

[naser]

hey its just preference... my sand bed cost me 30 bucks.

[newreefman1]

If I couldve found it for 30 bucks that night, I would have gotten it. I wanted a DSB though and you think different about sandbeds than I do But, still you have a large tank...so scale it down and I probably would have needed 30 bucks too. Where did you get it?

[naser]

AW...

[newreefman1]

I was there. They had nothing for that price 3 months ago. Oh well. I have what I have and you have what you have. lol

[Reinhold]

The last time I saw a silica sand reef bed, it was on the "reef" in the lake in front of my house (old tires, beer cans, outboard motors, anchors and tackle boxes piled up at the bottom.)

If you are trying to duplicate an ocean reef in your home, why not use ocean substrate?

To me, it's a matter of aesthetics.

[newreefman1]

As far as aesthetics are concerned my sand bed "looks" just like yours if looking at it like with the exception of the cross section. I have aragonite on top (previous live sand).

With that in mind, a reefer on a budget could get perfectly good silica sand, and pay a teensy bit more for LIVE sannd(even just a few lbs) and top layer their bed.....when starting out a tank and still have most of the aestheticically pleasing aspects of a sandbed, and a more live bed from the beginning...for less than the price of a totally dead aragonite bed that is just totally white.

[Reinhold]

Note to FishKid:

That's "aesthetics," not "anesthetics." Don't go looking for any 'caine drugs!

[mobrien]

To answer the original post, I have used that company and the service and product was great. About the differing opinion on substrate material I went with the argonite. I do believe that thier is no proof that silica sand produces diatoms. Argonite sand will buffer your system, (the larger the sand surface the more). The problem with silica is that the shapes of the particles are sharp and pointed, this does not make the pods, worms, ect very happy. I have found that these small sand bed critters in tanks with a silica sand bed tend to stay out of the sand more and hang on the rocks ( where they tend to get eaten more) to save themselves from the abrasive nature of Silica. Anyway just my 2 cents

Mike