Substrate? River sand?

[NoobtoSalt]

So I've been wondering since I got the tank as to what type of sand I have. And when lewisriverfisherman (Brandon) has come over a few times he always mentions the sand in the tank and asks where I got it. It came with the tank and I'm begining to think that they got it straight from the river. I've done a little research and it doesn't sound like that's a bad thing but I wanted to see if I should add some additional sand in the tank to help out or not? The Goby I have seems to sift this sand just fine and everything in the tank seems to do ok but other than color am I loosing out on anything? I have all sorts of stuff growing in the sand.

[ReeFit]

if it really is river sand then its probably really high in silicates which is bad. if it was me i would have never used sand i didn't know the origin from.

[NoobtoSalt]

When I bought the tank it was already setup for a year. She never had corals but she had livestock in there for over a year. From what I know now I agree...but being that it was in the tank at the time I didn't think anything of it. Since it's been cycled for so long I probably don't have anything to worry about right? I've been doing water changes every 2 weeks for the past 3 months since I've owned it and all my levels seem to be under control.

[7Max-GTE]

If it is leaching silicates you will get mega algae blooms and corals will not extend polyps or color up very well. Also non-calcium carbonate sand will NOT buffer your ph like it should, and you can get big ph swings which will stress out coral.

[ReeFit]

silica sand is prone to diatom blooms. i've just heard of people having problems using it after a long time, if your going to do any kind of reef it won't be of any help.

[NoobtoSalt]

So now the dilema comes in that I have a lot already in the tank, is it going to throw it off if I pull out all the current sand and put in new sand? Should I just wait till someone on here is selling there sand that way it's already cycled?

[ReeFit]

already cycled sand will probably recycle your tank faster, but it will still go through a mini cycle and you will want to wash it for ditrius and excessive nitrate buildup before you introduce it to your tank. i personally remove all inhabitants to make changes like that and let the tank run for at least 1-2 weeks before reintroducing tankmates, all the while testing parameters. you can also use stability or prime to help reduce the cycle effect on your fish / inverts.

[impur]

Silica sand is 100% fine to use and will not leach silicates or lead to diatom blooms. That is all a myth in this hobby which has been disproven over and over again.

[NoobtoSalt]

So other than changing the color of my sand I should be alright with the sand that I currently have? I kind of figured I'd get both answers but other than spending a bunch of money now on sand will I gain anything other than the possibility of loosing some livestock and re-cycling my tank?

[impur]

You should be fine with the sand you currently have. Unless you just hate the look, i'd leave it as is. Sounds like its a healthy sandbed, and changing it out will give you troubles. You could do small sections at a time and maybe be ok, but if you don't mind it why risk it ya know?

[NoobtoSalt]

Yeah I'd like a lighter color sand but I'm not sure I want to go through the hassle if your saying it should be fine.

[impur]

You could always get some white sand to mix in, which would help lighten it up a bit. That certainly wouldn't hurt anything. Just sprinkle it on top and it will work its way down and mix with the current sand. Try to get a similar grain size as you have now, or slightly larger. If the grains are smaller than what you have now it will just work its way down to the bottom and you won't see it.

[NoobtoSalt]

Good idea! I think I might go down today and get some!

 

Thanks for everyones help on this.

 

And Thanks Brandon for making me aware of it!

[ReeFit]

i agree that you probably won't see any silicate leeching into your water if you haven't by now because its bound to the silica, but there are tons of reasons why you would want to use aragonite over the stuff you have if your trying to do anything but a FOWLR.

 

You need to do some research on sand beds and how they affect a reef system. notice how the saltwater LFS don't sell silica sand.

[NoobtoSalt]

I understand that it's not ideal, but I'm looking into seeing if it was just going to kill off my corals. I've had most of my corals in the tank for 2-3 months and they all seem fine but was looking at the long term effects. I got a PM from someone that did a group buy awhile back and I might just add some of that sand to my tank and see how it does.

[ReeFit]

it will work, you will undoubtedly be chasing some of your parameters sooner than you would with a coral based substrate. I personally would introduce like 5-10lbs of aragonite, don't use the live sand because it will definitely throw off your tanks conditions, let your bacteria seed good clean dead sand. do this once a month over time and let it seed. you may get a mini cycle or 2 because of it, but it shouldn't harm anything.

[NoobtoSalt]

Sounds like a plan. I'm waiting to hear back from Rick on the sand but If he's around I'm going to go pick it up today.

 

Thanks for all the help!

[impur]

i agree that you probably won't see any silicate leeching into your water if you haven't by now because its bound to the silica' date=' but there are tons of reasons why you would want to use aragonite over the stuff you have if your trying to do anything but a FOWLR. [/quote']

 

Like what?

 

You need to do some research on sand beds and how they affect a reef system. notice how the saltwater LFS don't sell silica sand.

 

I see silica in LFS all the time.

[ReeFit]

Like what?

 

Silicate sand has no buffering capacity, Coral based sand is full of calcium, will help keep your ph swings down and is part of their natural environment for a reef setup. There are 100's of articles on this subject so i won't go into big detail on it. Bottom line is silica sand will work fine, you can get it at your local walmart for cheap, it will not harm your livestock unless you don't know the source of the sand, then your just playing roulette at that point. In my opinion I am all about replicating the corals natural environment and would do what i could to make it that way in as low stress of a change as possible.

 

 

I see silica in LFS all the time.

 

Stores that dabble in pond / freshwater etc sell it. but i've not seen any at the salt only stores. but i don't shop everywhere either.

[impur]

Eh if the only benefit is the sand dissolving to aid in your calcium, i wouldn't consider it a benefit at all. How fast do you think it dissolves? I'd guess maybe a teaspoon a year? If that. Calcium reactor media lasts a long long time, and it has water running thru it with a significantly reduced pH just to help it actually dissolve. In a reef with a pH of ~8.3 there is going to be such a minimal amount of dissolving it wouldn't effect even the smallest tank.

 

If you rely on your sand to buffer your water, or to even help buffer, you are in for a world of trouble.

 

But i think we are at the same conclusion on silica as long as you know its source.

[NoobtoSalt]

So how long is my tank going to be cloudy? Hours, days, weeks? I knew it was going to be cloudy just didn't ask how long.

[ReeFit]

i use clarifier by seachem, it clears particulates up in a few hours, otherwise run some carbon and a good filterbag it should clear up in 6-10 hours depending on how much debris is in the tank and how small it is. do you have good flow and do you have a skimmer box?

[NoobtoSalt]

skimmer and decent flow. Tomorrow I'm getting my Koralia 1400 to add to the tank in addition to the 1050 I already have. I will have to check out the clarifier tomorrow.

 

I did a small layer maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch right now. I figured I'd add some more tomorrow once the dust settles a bit, just so I can see how things are liking the new sand but so far the goby is sifting it like crazy already!

[ReeFit]

Sweet deal, yea i love that clarifier, i use it all the time when i clean my tanks, etc. I have not had any ill effects on my corals or fish, etc.

[Rick]

If it was well rinsed then it may be clear today without adding anything to it.