Will Imagitarium Sand change my ph?

[Guest54213]

Someone said it’s synthetic. What does that mean. He just says it’s better because it won’t cloud the water as much

Then someone else says it’s real. I felt it, it feels like real sand to me

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Someone said it’s synthetic. What does that mean. He just says it’s better because it won’t cloud the water as much

I use play sand personally. It doesn’t cloud at all once you clean it, and it looks great.

 

[Guest54213]

I use play sand personally. It doesn’t cloud at all once you clean it, and it looks great.

Well the thing is I already put it in

 

[Guest54213]

I left my Betta and my two Corys in a 3 gallon tank just for a day to check the ph and all. I will get back to you guys once I see if it’s good. (So see you guys in 9 hours) and my Betta is a good boy he won’t harm them.

 

[Colin_T]

Synthetic simply means man made, vs natural sand that is found in the ground and is made by rocks being crushed into little pieces over a long period of time.

 

[Guest54213]

Synthetic simply means man made, vs natural sand that is found in the ground and is made by rocks being crushed into little pieces over a long period of time.

oh okay thanks

 

[AbbeysDad]

Disclaimer: I don't know about this particular brand of sand.
Generally speaking, sand is inert and does not affect pH. As stated, many hobbyists use 'play; sand. I'm using pool filter sand in a couple of tanks, about 4" deep in my 60g planted display tank.
The beauty of sand is that detritus does not get down under to decompose. Sand substrates should not be stirred as some believe. Stirring could put organic matter down under, perhaps subjected to anaerobic decomposition which may result in hydrogen sulfide pockets!
Otherwise, a coarse sand is an ideal substrate that does not require vacuuming like gravel does.

 

[Byron]

I tried looking this product up but without success, I got two different spellings, and not the manufacturer's site for data. So, given what other members have said, I would not use this sand in a soft water fish species tank. It may be OK in a tank of fish requiring harder water. Any substrate that changes pH should be avoided unless the change is necessary.

The chemical properties of any sand, just as with gravel and rock, depends upon the natural rock from which the sand/gravel is derived. Calcareous rock (limestone, marble, dolomite, aragonite, coral, shells--latter are not rock obviously but often used in some aquarium gravels and sands) will continue to very slowly dissolve mineral into the water, increasing GH (general or total hardness) and pH. Not all fish do well in such conditions. Soft water species may have considerable difficulty, depending upon the initial GH and pH of the source water. Betta and cory were mentioned, and both are soft water species.

 

[Guest54213]

I tried looking this product up but without success, I got two different spellings, and not the manufacturer's site for data. So, given what other members have said, I would not use this sand in a soft water fish species tank. It may be OK in a tank of fish requiring harder water. Any substrate that changes pH should be avoided unless the change is necessary.

The chemical properties of any sand, just as with gravel and rock, depends upon the natural rock from which the sand/gravel is derived. Calcareous rock (limestone, marble, dolomite, aragonite, coral, shells--latter are not rock obviously but often used in some aquarium gravels and sands) will continue to very slowly dissolve mineral into the water, increasing GH (general or total hardness) and pH. Not all fish do well in such conditions. Soft water species may have considerable difficulty, depending upon the initial GH and pH of the source water. Betta and cory were mentioned, and both are soft water species.

so then what should I do?

 

[Guest54213]

well this is made for aquariums - a couple of reviewers said that over time it raised their PH from 7.5 to 8.6 and it killed all his fish - I don't know maybe that is enough of a ph change to kill them. A bunch of other people notice no PH change. One notices a very slow increase of PH and suggested you just use a product (like PH down) to fix it. As far as only adding 1/2 inch of sand you'll never be able to plant anything - I think you'd need 2-3 inches (I use 3" of Florite - clay to plant).

One reviewer said it killed all his invertebrates. Most of the reviewers mention no problems with it - nobody mentions PH so I'm assuming they didn't check for Ph changes.

It's like the cheapest sand on the market so - not that cheap isn't good - but cheap sometimes means it lacks the quality that other brands have. Read the back of the bag and see if it mentions Ph. Buy some, let it sit in a cup for a few days and test it to see if there is a ph change or just buy a name brand sand that everybody knows won't change PH.

Personally I don't know how they call anything black or white or any other color real sand, so obviously there are additives. I wish I could get all my fish a softer substrate (at least clay is somewhat softer) but to me sand just blows all over and is a mess to keep clean - I'd be accidentally vacuuming it up all the time. I'm sure that it looks more natural.

Well I'm going to check my ph today. If it does raise it to a high ph I'm going to return it. Someone said that Seachem Flourite is good to use?

 

[Guest54213]

if it does I will go with this brand which I trust. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018CLX3C/?tag=ff0d01-20

 

[Essjay]

If you filled the tank with water yesterday the pH could well be different today just because of the water. It is common for freshly run water and water that has been allowed to stand to have a different pH. This is why I suggested testing a tub of water run at the same time to compare with water that has the sand in it.

 

[Guest54213]

If you filled the tank with water yesterday the pH could well be different today just because of the water. It is common for freshly run water and water that has been allowed to stand to have a different pH. This is why I suggested testing a tub of water run at the same time to compare with water that has the sand in it.

ah ok

 

[Byron]

if it does I will go with this brand which I trust. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018CLX3C/?tag=ff0d01-20

I would not waste your money on this. I did my 70g tank with black Flourite on the advice of members on another forum; it turned out to be quite rough (not in my hand, but obviously this is no way to tell) and within a couple of weeks I had to remove the cories due to barbel degeneration and one panda even lost about 1/3 of its lower jaw. They all recovered in another tank with play sand, and today, some 8 years after this occurred, I still have the cories including the panda with part of its mouth missing, comical to look at but it obviously is able to eat or it wouldn't still be with me.

The other thing is that Flourite does not improve plant growth any more than inert sand with plant additives. After two years, I tore the tank down and dumped the Flourite in the back garden. Complete waste of money. The same plants have in the subsequent 6 years grown just as well with sand and substrate tabs/liquid supplement.

There is nothing detrimental with play sand. It is extremely safe for all fish, plants grow well in it, it looks natural, and it is inert. On top of all that, it is the least expensive sand substrate you can get. Other inert aquarium sands are OK, but much more expensive.

 

[Guest54213]

I would not waste your money on this. I did my 70g tank with black Flourite on the advice of members on another forum; it turned out to be quite rough (not in my hand, but obviously this is no way to tell) and within a couple of weeks I had to remove the cories due to barbel degeneration and one panda even lost about 1/3 of its lower jaw. They all recovered in another tank with play sand, and today, some 8 years after this occurred, I still have the cories including the panda with part of its mouth missing, comical to look at but it obviously is able to eat or it wouldn't still be with me.

The other thing is that Flourite does not improve plant growth any more than inert sand with plant additives. After two years, I tore the tank down and dumped the Flourite in the back garden. Complete waste of money. The same plants have in the subsequent 6 years grown just as well with sand and substrate tabs/liquid supplement.

There is nothing detrimental with play sand. It is extremely safe for all fish, plants grow well in it, it looks natural, and it is inert. On top of all that, it is the least expensive sand substrate you can get. Other inert aquarium sands are OK, but much more expensive.

ah okay I read the reviews and it didn't seem good