This video says that some sands that look unnaturally white are not actually sand from the ocean, and that they are not recommended for use in reef aquariums, but why - I could not understand, since I do not know German.
I'm sure there are a lot of reefers from Germany here, I would be very appreciative if one of them translated briefly - why this particular video is not recommended this sand.
This video says that some sands that look unnaturally white are not actually sand from the ocean, and that they are not recommended for use in reef aquariums, but why - I could not understand, since I do not know German.
I'm sure there are a lot of reefers from Germany here, I would be very appreciative if one of them translated briefly - why this particular video is not recommended this sand.
This video says that some sands that look unnaturally white are not actually sand from the ocean, and that they are not recommended for use in reef aquariums, but why - I could not understand, since I do not know German.
I'm sure there are a lot of reefers from Germany here, I would be very appreciative if one of them translated briefly - why this particular video is not recommended this sand.
The guy is a fast speaker (with a Schwabischer accent), but here's what I get out of this...
While both sands are natural in that they 'come from nature', the sand on the left is a mined product (calcium magnesium carbonate) from areas like the dolomite mountains and/or calcite:
So basically, calcium magnesium carbonate or calcium carbonate, respectively. This material is heavier, typically more 'white', has lots of very fine particulates, has sharp edges and is harder, is not as porous as reef associated sand, can lead to 'magnesium poisoning' (in the case of Dolomite) and has a different trace element composition to reef sand, so dissolves into different elements. But it is much cheaper since it's mined locally, not shipped thousands of miles to Germany.
In contrast, reef sand is composed of calcareous fragments of biogenic origin which corals can more effectively use:
Pictures, composition, genesis, and occurrence of biogenic coral sands.
www.sandatlas.org
Basically a stabilized form of predominately aragonite with some calcite mixed in.
My take: What is not discussed is the role that bacterial biofilms play in mitigating some of the potentially less desirable chemical attributes of the mined product. And if water changes are regularly performed, there may actually be little noticeable difference in the reef aquarium water composition over time. There is no doubt that physically they are quite different products, but the only way to know how the mined product actually performs vs. reef sand is to have a controlled study using functioning reef aquariums.
