Testing for alkaline sand

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Jer-

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Hi everyone.

I was hoping to see if anyone could tell me how i can test and see if the sand i am going to use in my tank is in fact coral sand or the like (ones that buffer your water to high pH levels- i only know of coral sand that does this).

Im hoping its not coral sand but I have some in my very little 5 gal tank and the pH is around 8.0 whereas the water straight from the tap is around 7.5. So maybe the sand brought the ph in that tank up?

plus i couldnt find any pix online that shows me wot coral sand looks like....so i really need to experiment.
thx
 
Coral sand is pretty obvious, the little pieces of crushed coral are noticable. Aragonite, which also affects the ph, is very fine, and would have been sold as that, or oolitic sand.

When water first comes out of the tap, it is often low in oxygen and high in co2. co2 drives the ph down. when the water is put into a tank and run through the filters, or disturbed by the aerator, the co2 is driven out, oxygen is absorbed, and the ph will often rise because of this.

Do a test - fill a container with tap water and test it. Run an airstone in it over night, and then test it again. Is there a difference?
 
You can test if sand/ rock contain calcium carbonate (which will increase your pH) by adding a small amount of dilute hydrochloric acid or vinegar to a sample of it. Bubbles of carbon dioxide are produced if calcium carbonate is present.
 
Oddly enough, my pH is higher out of the faucet than it is once I add it to the tank. Faucet runs about 6.8 to 7.0 while my tanks run anywhere from 6.2 to 6.6.
 
Vinegar DOES NOT WORK. You need dilute Hydrochloric acid, murtaic acid or sulfuric acid, one of which can probably be found at your hardware store.
 
Yenko said:
Vinegar DOES NOT WORK. You need dilute Hydrochloric acid, murtaic acid or sulfuric acid
Yenko, why do you say that Vinegar wont work? I would have thought it would react with calcium carbonate and fizz.

Do you mean muriatic acid? Thats another name for Hydochloric acid! :D
 

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