White sand from carib sea

[maroun.c]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me if the ultra fine white sugar from Caribsea is good for a DSB or for marine use in general?
It did not react to acid contact so I presume it does not contain any calcium however does it contain any bad components for marine use? My main interest is to use it for the lower part of the DSB in my refugium and coral frag tank that is attached to my display. I will be topped with a couple of inches of coral sand or maybe miracle mud which the LFS should have in stock in one month from now. I also will have a sand bed in my display tank mainly fine coral sand which has calcium in it so I guess I have enough sand for calcium contribution. What I like in this white sand is that it's really the fine sugar sized which would be great for anaerobic area, still the LFS owner tells me he thinks its only for Freshwater use.
Thanks for any input

[briangg57]

Alot of sands can leach silican in your system and you'll have a constant algea problem. I'm not saying the one that you have will but IMO a safe and healthy and also good looking choice is crushed argonite.

[tuckrule]

I use this sand. It advertises no silica. I have ran 3 tests in 3 months with this sand for silica and results are undetectable. I would say you are safe from a silica stand point.

[GuOD]

I used silica sand in my tank and never had any problems

[maroun.c]

I will be using it as I said in my coral frag tank and in the refugium so In case I have problems down the road I can easily take all the sand out. The LFS owner just confirmed to me that they will be getting miracle mud, and caribsea live sand in 3-4 weeks from now. do you tthink it will be better to have miracle mud instead or maybe miracle mudd topped by 1-2 inches of livesand on top to avoid having it go back with the flow to the display tank?

[lancer99]

I thought Caribsea's ultra fine sand was oolitic, which I believe is calcareous....

IMHO muds and packaged "live" sand are both gimmicks. I can see using mud for organisms that need draw nutrients from their roots (e.g. seagrasses), but if you're growing macros for nutrient export, you want them taking up nutrients from the water. Even if you're growing macros just for show, IME mud is unnecessary.

As far as bagged "live" sand goes, you can get the same thing with dead sand + a cup of live sand from a tank, or just let it seed from LR.

No sand will be a significant contributor to calcium levels in your tank. The pH of saltwater isn't low enough to dissolve much of it, plus the grains quickly become coated with biofilms.

HTH,
-R

[maroun.c]

So Lancer are you saying it's ok to use this white sand at least for the lower 2-3 inches of a DSB?

[seanm001]

This is the sand I used:

Sugar-Sized Sand (http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/23609/product.web)

It's sugar-sized, white, and oolitic. It was a great choice for me. I don't buy into the bagged live sand idea unless it's a live sand coming from the ocean (like Tampa Bay Saltwater). The sand I used comes bagged dry and is a lot less expensive than the bagged live sand gimmick. I seeded it with half a handful of sand from another tank and live rock.