seeking chemistry majors or a tank Guru

rosco

rosco

Member
I was looking at perilite ( the light white pebbles used in gardening) as a bio-meda. Its fairly cheap and has tons of surface area. I want to know if its safe for reef, heres the break down:
Silicon...................................................33.8
aluminum..............................................07.2
potassium..............................................03.5
sodium..................................................03.4
iron.......................................................00.6
calcium..................................................00.6
magnesium ...........................................00.2
trace.....................................................00.2
oxygen..................................................47.5
net total.................................................97.0
bound water...........................................03.0
total.....................................................100.0
The only elements I'm worried about are the iron and aluminum. If anyone could give any info that would be great. Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thinking:
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
The Aluminum is a definate spoiler. That's just an unacceptable level.
The "Trace" probably also includes a significant amount of Copper & Zinc.
I would suggest looking elsewhere. Cool idea though.
 
rosco

rosco

Member
As hard as it is is to hear that, I thank you. But while on the subject is there anything off the top of your head thats leading in that direction but reef safe?
 
flydan

flydan

Active Member
Hey,
In an earlier thread someone mentioned sandblasting sand from a hardware store or building supply store. It was pure white but I don't know the final verdict on what's actually in it. The person who posted said they had success with it when they couldn't find Southdown Playsand in their area.
HTH,
Dan'l
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I'm a big advocate of fine, oolitic, aragonite sand. The surface area is unrivaled. As a bonus, it can harbor animals that produce a lot of larvae as a healthy food. As a double bonus, these same animals can help clean up detritus & leftover fish food.
If you don't want it in the display tank, using a refugium works just as well.
Bang
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Just curious but did you test this stuff or was that a breakdown from some other source?
Totally agree about the aluminum, and depending on your additives this could even wind up increaseing over time.
Thomas
 
rosco

rosco

Member
it was a reading from a company that makes it.
But I have one more question, could a pourous foam compete with bio balls as far as surface area? I'm adding a 30 gal tub just to have a higher volume of water for more stability, but I thought while I was at it I might as well add some media (cheaply) to give my tank that much more of an edge.
Hey bang I looked at that sand on the companys website, where were you 7 months ago when I redid my tank. but hey thanks for the replies.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
I remember debating along those lines with other types of media but I do not have any facts about sponge material other than my opinon.
The sponge material would contain lots of porous areas and would be capable of holding lots of bacteria but I think it would also trap more detritus deep inside of it over time. I also don't believe that it can compete with the surface area of bio balls.
Here is a posting of part of that debate and my reply with regards to bio balls.
These are simple plastic pieces that are designed to maximize surface area, here are some examples of the surface area that they can contain.
For every cubic foot (12 X 12 X 12) of your average bio-balls there are 100 square feet of surface area. Some bio-balls now contain 200 square feet of surface area. And there are many in between this range. For instance. The 1.5” pronged ball, has 13.05 Square Feet of surface area per Gallon or 75 Bio balls per gallon or 160 sq. ft of surface area per cubic foot.
1" bio-ball. One gallon=approximately 225 bio-balls=surface area of approximately 21.5 sq. ft.
One gallon of Coralife Bio-Balls, (approximately 250 balls) has a surface area of approximately 21.5 sq. ft. This increased surface area supports between 45 and 60 gallons of marine life.
1000 of these bio balls can contain a surface area of aprox. 95.56 sq. ft.
There are other types to be sure like bio wheels, or elongated bio balls, some that look like an hour glass all with equal or sometimes better results.
There sure are tons of things that you can use instead of bio balls. Plastic golf balls, chopped up UGF, weed wacker string, toy army men, tons of plastic what ever you like. But they are not designed like the bio ball for MAXIMUM suface area.
Thomas
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Just for comparison purposes: A sandbed with one cubic foot of sand has about 14,828 square feet of surface area. :D
This is a 4" deep bed in a 45 gallon tank.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by Thomas712
Generic sand or ootlic type aragonite sand ?

You're absolutely right! It makes a huge difference!!!
Oolitic sand with a grain size ranging from 0.4 - 1.5mm and averaging 0.8mm.
 
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