changing tanks

[apples]

Hi there, I'm new to this group, but I've been keeping my tank going well now for four years. I'm about to upgrade my tank and am interested in getting opinions on a choice of substrates. I will need about 80 to 100 pounds of new sand to cover my new tank. I don't want to spend too much money so I'm thinking of using just regular silica sand in my tank on the bottom and topping it off with the sand I already have (aragonite live sand). Are there any problems with this? and Why shouldn't or should I do this? Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

the silica is still a controversial issue.

many experienced aquarists advise against for reasons of elevated silicates, other experienced claim that it is perfectly safe to use.

i don't know first hand, but would do the aragonite.

 

[apples]

Cool, its exactly the kind of opinions I'm looking for. I don't know where, but I did read somewhere that silica sand is ok to use, I know that soft bodied animals won't like it, but I only want to use it on the bottom half of my sand bed. I have enought sand now to coat the new tank with about 2 inches of sand but want a deeper bed, this has worked well for me. Its also kept my sand star happy. I know this is another critter people don't like, but it was the only way I was able to get rid of the dyno/cyano problem I had on my sand bed. Despite lots of skimming, kalk, water changes with ro/di etc... I'm just wondering if adding silica base sand will create other nightmares I'm not ready for, or don't want to deal with. Unforunately I don't live anywhere were southdown is readily available, and sand is pretty much a dollar a pound. Thanks again.

 

[Newts]

One problem brought up about silica sand was that under a microscope the sand has sharp edges witch are not good for the sandbed critters.The aragonite sand has rounded smooth edges.I think this was brought up buy Dr. Ron Shimek and he post pictures of this in one of his articles.He suggested silica was not as good due to this.

 

[Whisp]

I have been using silica based sand (washed thoroughly) mixed with southdown sand (I still have 2.5 bags of it). I have had no problems with it. My pod population is exploding like crazy. The issue of sharp edges only applies to larger organisms relative to the sand particles. Another variable to consider is the friction by a moving organism generated against the particles. Pods are very slow moving and small to worry about injury caused by the silica's sharp edges. I am happy with the silica sand (so are my pods). It serves as shelter for the pods and useful bacteria just as well as those expensive sands. I just bought another tank yesterday and used silica-southdown mix topped with some sand from an existing tank for seeding.