Volcanic Sand

londonwriter

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Hi All,

At the recommendation of my LFS, I'm going to switch the substrate in my tank over from crushed coral shell to sand, in order to try and reduce the Nitrate levels which I've not been able to get under control since actually starting the tank.

Apparently, I'm aiming for at least 2inches of sand so that denitrifying bacteria starts to grow.

So, I've bought two bags of black Nature's Ocean aragonite sand in order to seed the new bed, and I've found some black volcanic sand online which is considerably cheaper than buying live sand to fill the rest of the tanks' bottom.

The sand is stated as being safe for underwater use, and the grains are 0.1-0.3mm.

So my question is, is this suitable to use? And will the fact that it's quite fine be an issue?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Best,

Londonwriter
 
It's not a great idea to use volcanic sand. Unfortunately, sand made from volcanic rock has very very sharp edges and will irritate beneficial organisms that might otherwise try and live there. I'd avoid it if I were you. Also, don't get "live" sand, that's a total gimmick, there's nothing left "Live" sealed in that plastic bag... Just get plain dry aragonite :)
 
It's not a great idea to use volcanic sand. Unfortunately, sand made from volcanic rock has very very sharp edges and will irritate beneficial organisms that might otherwise try and live there. I'd avoid it if I were you. Also, don't get "live" sand, that's a total gimmick, there's nothing left "Live" sealed in that plastic bag... Just get plain dry aragonite :)

Hmmm, interesting Ski Fletch. Thanks for that. I was starting to suspect that it may be too fine for the tank as well, and just cause issues with the filter.

I wonder whether it's possible to get black aragonite sand though? Any ideas?
 
I believe the sand is Tropic Isle Tahitian Moon Sand (black sand), I found it on Drs. Foster and Smith.

I actually like the black sand a lot. It looks a lot sleeker when its all black, but it was hard to keep the white sand out when I was transferring corals from my old tank
 

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