Aragonite Live Sand

[g_morin]

is this brand any good?

http://www.livesand.com/

because i want black sand its cheap here... http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/239688/i/7/product.web

thanks
glenn

 

[Totalimmortal]

I've seen it in plenty of stores, should be just fine.

 

[g_morin]

its pretty cheap at 25$ for 20lbs???

 

[Heathd]

live sand in a bag isnt worth your money. You would be better off buying a quality aragonite sand, packed dry, and then seeded with some sand from a mature saltwater aquarium. Even if you can't find a cup of sand from someones aquarium, it will eventually become populated with bacteria. I have also bought the live sand activator from ipsf.com and its a great product.

If im not mistaken, black sand is heavy in quartz and comes from beaches near heavy or previously heavy volcanic activity. Something else to keep in mind with black sand is that its hard to keep looking clean. Think of how many things in your tank that will be black or leave black deposits on the sand.

 

[g_morin]

http://www.marinedepot.com/CaribSea...Reef_Aquariums-CaribSea-CS0821-FISSDS-vi.html

is the other black sand I found but this one would need a buffer and so forth

 

[Otherone]

Well I'm not gonna write a short story on - Alk, Acidic, Base, PH , Buffer, Buffering solution, decompostion of organic matter, and the Hydrogen Ion.

After you add saltwater to your aquarium test your PH - if it holds weekly at around 8.2, 8.4, or 8.6 you don't need to worry about buffers. Odds are you won't. Most of the PH and Alk stability is taken care of via water changes with quality saltmixes and weekly cleanings. When you get into a tank full of stoney corals I'd get my head around all the stuff I'm not gonna get into.

 

[g_morin]

Fair enough....thanks for the info
Glenn