Black Sands?

poop_head

poop_head

Member
Hey I was looking at putting an all black sand in my tank. The LFS said that they would have a lot of Iron and would likely mess with your readings/chemistry. I found this item though for saltwater tanks. What experience have you guys had with these black sands?
CaribSea Tropic Isle Tahitian Moon Sand 20 lb
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I'm not sure where they get the iron story from...
Anyway, I think crimzy has black sand and has posted pics on that very topic. YOu may wish to do a search.
It is not a reef tank, but a FOWLR I think. THe major issue, IMO, wouold simply be that it would not have the buffering capacity that carbonate sand would.
 
gharner

gharner

Member
i think it still is carbonate sand isnt it? i want to do black sand and a mantis in a 3 gallon deco kit......hope black sand is ok
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Black sand should be fine.....I'd agree on not knowing about the iron theory or thought......As far as buffering.....it would have very little affect.....Your sand bed isn't buffering a ton as most would think anyways.....
 
steve24

steve24

Active Member
i use the black sand by Tidal Marine Substrates called "gray coast" in my 55 reef. here is what they advertise about it ...
Why you should use aragonite
Aragonite is a naturally occurring, calcium carbonate mineral. It is precipitated from ocean surface waters mainly by organisms (e.g., coral) that use it to make their shells and skeletons. In recent years, aragonite has nearly eclipsed all other marine substrates. This is chiefly because of its superior buffering capacity. Aragonite becomes soluble at a pH level of 8.2. At this pH level, the release of calcium and carbonates into the aquarium causes an upward shift in pH. This occurs so slowly, however, that aragonite is less of a viable buffer and more of a safety net. With aragonite in the aquarium, one can be reasonably sure, that the pH of the system will never go below 7.7-7.9. Additionally, aragonite's porous structure and size make it ideal for the propagation of denitrifying bacteria.
and if your wanting a pic...
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
It says right on CaribSea's web site that the color you mentioned ( Tahitian Moon, did not see anything listed as Tropic Isle, the brand with that color name is Super Natural ) does not effect your pH and you will have to use buffers. This tells me that this is not an aragonite/calcium based sand and I would not use it in a marine system.
 
poop_head

poop_head

Member
hey thanks for the info guys. It looks like I will go with the brand Steve suggested since it is a aragonite substrate.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
If anyone knows where this substrate originates, I would love to know. It is actually calcite, which is very very close to aragonite. It would be interesting to know what "impurity" it must have to make it gray...is this where the Iron comment comes from?
 
poop_head

poop_head

Member
yes, iron is an element that will make rock appear darker or a black color. This is why my LFS said that the iron might be a problem. It seems as the pic above that it is not a huge thing for your system and I saw a post on another forum of the actual numbers of elements contained let me see if I can grab it.
 
poop_head

poop_head

Member
This is from their website:
How do calcite and aragonite compare?
While calcite and aragonite share the exact same chemical composition, aragonite has always been favored for marine aquaria because of its higher buffer capacity. However, magnesian calcite, such as our Gray Coast™, has been shown to have a higher buffer capacity than even aragonite, making it an ideal choice for marine aquaria.
Elemental Concentrations in Gray Coast™
Calcium
197,500
Cobalt
4
Iron
2876
Potassium
417
Magnesium
115400
Manganese
43
Molybdenum
6
Strontium
63
Vanadium
7
Zinc
23
Units=ppm, source: Plasma Emission Spectrometer, EPA Method 3050, Univ. of Georgia Chemical Analysis Lab
 
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