Will Imagitarium Sand change my ph?

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api ph test kit...but you should get the whole api master test kit to check ph, nitrates, nitrites and ammonia..
 
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Not sure about the brand name of the sand you mention but there has been an awful lot of talk about sand substrates on this TFF Forum lately and the general agreement is that sand, with the exception of aragonite types, seems to be inert and does not buffer pH to any degree.
 
Not sure about the brand name of the sand you mention but there has been an awful lot of talk about sand substrates on this TFF Forum lately and the general agreement is that sand, with the exception of aragonite types, seems to be inert and does not buffer pH to any degree.
So sand won’t change the ph?
 
No, it is a neutral substance.


This is a marine substrate with a lot of limestone and seashell in it that makes the water go alkaline.
okay so this product won't change my ph. I was just scared because some people said it did but I seen some reviews and said it was neutral
 
Plain old sand is fine. It will not alter pH. People on this forum talk a lot about what they term play sand. The kind you might buy to build a sandbox for your kids to play in. Everyone seems to agree that it is completely neutral and everyone seems to like it very much as a substrate. One caution is that it should not be very deep. About one half inch. To clean it at weekly water changes you need not gravel vacuum it like you would gravel. Most people just swirl the vac above it to churn up any detritus and suck it out. The thing I've heard talked about a lot is that sand, or any substrate, is home to most of your tanks beneficial bacteria and should not be disturbed too much. The reason you don't want the sand too deep is to avoid anaerobic areas and hydrogen sulfide pockets. This gas, if released, WILL alter pH and possibly kill your fish.
 
To yhe original question I guess nobody hasused it. All these answers refer to play sand. The Amazon reviews suggest it does raise pH quite dramatically with several reviewers claiming it as the cause of fish deaths.
That would be enough for me to not use it :whistle:
 
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.
 
The simplest thing to do is test it yourself. Use two tubs and put the sand in the bottom of one of them. Fill both up with water. Test the pH of both every day for several days and compare. If the sand-water pH increases compared to the water without sand, you'll know it's the sand that's doing it. If the tubs show the same pH as each other after several days, it won't affect the tank pH.
 
Someone said it’s synthetic. What does that mean. He just says it’s better because it won’t cloud the water as much
 

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