Oolitic Sand...

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Q

Quizcat

Feeder Fish
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Dec 22, 2016
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I'm setting up a new Fluidized Sand Bed Filter on a new 20 Gallon fresh water tank, which will not be planted yet, but possibly in the future. The seller of the sand filter is pushing Oolitic Sand Media as being better in the fluidized sand filter, claiming that:

"Oolitic Sand is an excellent choice for Marine, African Cichlid, Livebearer, and even goldfish aquariums as well as Koi Ponds. Oolitic Sand will aid in buffering as well as adding calcium, magnesium, & trace minerals back into the water (this can be especially help for ponds with high amounts of organics that are often introduced to the water and subsequent decomposition)."

I'm trying to decide whether Oolitic Sand is worth paying another $16.00, plus shipping, or whether I should just go with the regular Silica Sand Media that comes with the filter. I'm planning to establish the bio-filter first before adding African Cichlids. I haven't decided what kind of substrate I'm going to go with yet, whatever is best for African Cichlids I suppose.

Is it worth upgrading to Oolitic Sand for the Fluidized Sand Filter, if so, why?
 
oolitic sand is a very fine sand with buffering capabilities. I have used it as a substrate in african cichlid tanks. I never used a sand filter so I can't say what type of sand would be better. Biggest problem with sand bed filters is getting the proper flow thru them. Too little flow and they don't work, and too much fkow and they push all the sand out. I would sooner use K1 media in the filter.
 
I agree with Joe oolitic sand (fine grand aragonite) is a great alkalinity buffering media, compared to "sand" sand which is inert.
I use aragonite in a fluidized reactor which was 4 ft tall by 8 inches in diameter, and used about 2 or 3lbs of aragonite as media.
As aragonite buffers, it dissolves so I found every had to add a handful every so often.

 
I haven't had Cichlids before...do I need to pay some kind of special attention to mineral depletion, beyond what is normally given to other kinds of tropical fish in a fresh water tank?

The vender pushing Oolitic Sand for the filter media doesn't say that Oolitic Sand is better for bacterial cultivation than Silica Sand, only that it's better for mineral replenishment in the tank.

I wonder about whether the sand in the filter is likely to migrate into the tank as well, since I haven't owned a fluidized sand filter before. But, if that be the case, then it might be a good idea to choose Oolitic Sand as a substrate so that the sand in the filter can be easily replenished right from the substrate, or from what is left over in the bag.

Is Oolitic Sand as a substrate better for Cichlids, and if so, why? Or, are other kinds of sand perfectly acceptable?

joe jaskot said:
oolitic sand is a very fine sand with buffering capabilities. I have used it as a substrate in african cichlid tanks. I never used a sand filter so I can't say what type of sand would be better. Biggest problem with sand bed filters is getting the proper flow thru them. Too little flow and they don't work, and too much fkow and they push all the sand out. I would sooner use K1 media in the filter.
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Yes, perhaps as a buffer, it would be preferable. Then, I should probably use it both as a substrate and in the filter itself, just to make everything consistent when having to replenish the sand.

The vender represents their "special order" sand as being "Oolitic," and as though it were something specially graded for the filter. But, it sounds like I might be able to just order Argonite, or Caribsea, and just use it both for the substrate and as the filter media.

duanes said:
I agree with Joe oolitic sand (fine grand aragonite) is a great alkalinity buffering media, compared to "sand" sand which is inert.
I use aragonite in a fluidized reactor which was 4 ft tall by 8 inches in diameter, and used about 2 or 3lbs of aragonite as media.
As aragonite buffers, it dissolves so I found every had to add a handful every so often.

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I have rift lake cichlids, my sand filter, has local quartz sugar sand. The heavier the sand grain, pecific gravity. The easier it is to control in suspension.
I want some olithic sand someday, until then 2 TBS spoons to the 55 gallon water change. Has been the routine.
Cichlids are pretty durable fish. 65F to 88F temp range, I hold mine around 7.5 pH to 7.8. As best I can. I would prefer closer to 8 PH. They are bright colored, and throw out babies. So they must be happy.
 
The generic term cichlids, covers wide groups of fish where some such as (1) rift lake and Central Americans prefer mineral rich water with high pH.
But it also includes some South American or West African cichlids that prefer soft mineral free water with lots of tannins and low pH.
So you need to be more specific about the types you are getting.
Oolitic sand/aragonite buffer alkalinity, which neutralizes fish urine, but also provides a higher osmotic environment "some" cichlids prefer, mainly group 1.
But that buffering also provides stability to pH doesn't drop.
If the flow of a fluidized bed is too strong, it will blow sand all over the place, if its too weak, you won't get the benefit.
I also use aragonite in the substrate, for alkaline preferring cichlids.
 
I live in an area with hard water, and the PH is pretty high, around 8.2 to 8.4. I'm just in the planning stages right now, but I think my interest leans toward Malawi/Lake Victoria African Cichlids. But, it sounds like I might be better off considering Central Americans due to the high PH, and the hard water conditions we have here.

I've still got a lot of research to do in order to specifically decide on which exact varieties I'll be selecting. I'm a little bit limited because some varieties can get pretty large, and I am only going to have a 20 gallon tank. So, my selections are limited by the smaller tank size.

I want to get the tank up an running first, establish the bio cycle, etc...before putting any fish in the tank. Tentatively, I'm considering Caribsea Oolitic Sand or an Argonite generic as a substrate. But, as I mentioned, I'm a novice when it comes to Cichlids, and I'm not sure the Ooilitic or Argonite substrates would be appropriate to both Africans or Central Americans.

I've got the Fluidized Sand Filter already, so I plan to use it along with a Filter Max II or III pre filter on a Rio 1000 power head that will supply the Filter.

duanes said:
The generic term cichlids, covers wide groups of fish where some such as (1) rift lake and Central Americans prefer mineral rich water with high pH.
But it also includes some South American or West African cichlids that prefer soft mineral free water with lots of tannins and low pH.
So you need to be more specific about the types you are getting.
Oolitic sand/aragonite buffer alkalinity, which neutralizes fish urine, but also provides a higher osmotic environment "some" cichlids prefer, mainly group 1.
But that buffering also provides stability to pH doesn't drop.
If the flow of a fluidized bed is too strong, it will blow sand all over the place, if its too weak, you won't get the benefit.
I also use aragonite in the substrate, for alkaline preferring cichlids.
Click to expand...
 
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