Sand Question
- Thread starter Velvet AciD
- Start date
Here is the link...please take some time and read it. There is a lot of information.
http://www.fishinthe.net/html/section-viewarticle-50.html
http://www.fishinthe.net/html/section-viewarticle-50.html
I use playsand. But if I had it to do over again I wouldn't.
Apparently some playsand contains silica, and it can cause red algae. Only in one of my tanks has it done this. With minimal light (a normal hood probably isn't enough to cause it) I have found that it does not have any ill effects.
Red algae isn't difficult to remove manualy. This is in one of my cichlid tanks and I haven't tried to place an algae eater to eat it. More than simple enough to use a credit card.
Apparently some playsand contains silica, and it can cause red algae. Only in one of my tanks has it done this. With minimal light (a normal hood probably isn't enough to cause it) I have found that it does not have any ill effects.
Red algae isn't difficult to remove manualy. This is in one of my cichlid tanks and I haven't tried to place an algae eater to eat it. More than simple enough to use a credit card.
now, i'm no chemist or geologist...but from what i understand, if the sand isn't silica, it's most likely going to alter the water chemistry in some way, most likely by raising the ph. what types of sand are there out there that won't do this other than silica sand? so silica sand should be a good choice for our aquariums, as it does not alter water chemistry and it's usually smooth and safe for bottom feeders.
here's a link:
http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/sand.html
reading this thread, i thought i'd seen something about the 'silica sand causes algae/diatoms' thing somewhere else as well and that it was debunked as a myth. after all, silica essentially = glass, and most of us have glass tanks that aren't swarmed by red algae. i did a little sleuthing and couldn't find that source, but i did find the above link. in that, one person, referring to types of silica sands, writes, "Because of its low solubility, I would expect the silica sand to have no effect on diatomes [sic]. The soda-lime glass of your aquarium is many, many times more soluble than that sand. [One learns weird stuff running an optics shop!]"
here's a link:
http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/sand.html
reading this thread, i thought i'd seen something about the 'silica sand causes algae/diatoms' thing somewhere else as well and that it was debunked as a myth. after all, silica essentially = glass, and most of us have glass tanks that aren't swarmed by red algae. i did a little sleuthing and couldn't find that source, but i did find the above link. in that, one person, referring to types of silica sands, writes, "Because of its low solubility, I would expect the silica sand to have no effect on diatomes [sic]. The soda-lime glass of your aquarium is many, many times more soluble than that sand. [One learns weird stuff running an optics shop!]"
