Let me hear your thoughts on black sand.

[justjes45]

I have Hawaiian black sand-
Never heard of it being magnetic, nor have I had any problems with the acting like that… This is a new one to me.
I like the way it looks and I had a burrowing fish once and he seem to do just fine –

 

[chris31759]

Very good points on the courseness of the sand and acrylic tank. I love acrylic tanks but have gone back to glass. I know scratches can be buffed out of acrylic. I am just getting lazy in my old age. I am jealous of every acrylic tank I see. I guess course sand of any color can cause problems for burrowers.

 

[barbarag]

From what I understand black sand will never become live sand.

no one has answered this question and I would also like to know the answer to it because I have black sand also. And if it does not that means that I will not be able to in the future get a manderin

 

[rajkovich207]

I don't know why it wouldn't become live. Anything touching the water is surface area for the black.
There has been tons of helpful info in this thread so far, I really appreciate it it guys! I'm still not set on the black sand but am heavily leaning tword it!
I've got about two months lefts before I put sand in my tank so I've got time to sleep on it.
Keep the comments rolling! There isn't much info on it out there so the more we fill this thread the better for everyone!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

A quick Google search netted me a posting of the Hawaiian black on another forum where someone contacted caribsea to find out what it was made of. The North American sales manager responded saying it's about 1% aragonite and mostly basalts @Randy Holmes-Farley is this OK for the tank? I've never heard of it. Bath salts on the other hand I've heard of... Lol

Basalt just means lava. Not very revealing, but at least it isn't coal slag.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Black sand is not good for burrowing or sifting animals. Saw it wear away at the face of a radiant wrasse.

Was it sharp edged?

That could be a concern for any material if it wasn't rounded like a natural ocean or river sand.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

no one has answered this question and I would also like to know the answer to it because I have black sand also. And if it does not that means that I will not be able to in the future get a manderin

I'm not really seeing a reason that it shouldn't become live sand in the sense of bacteria and things like pods that would feed a mandarin (although that can be a problem with any type of sand).

 

[rajkovich207]

Randy I really appreciate you chiming in here with your thoughts. I'm thinking I'll just buy some and run a magnet through it. If it turns out OK I'll give it a shot.

 

[eliramos]

Don't quite remember the brand I had but it was magnetic
I my glass cleaner would pick up sand when I got close to the bottom.
Also I had a yellow coris and he buried all the time and I never saw a scratch.
And up until I got him I saw pods everywhere till he cleaned house

 

[rajkovich207]

Other then scratching or excessive iron is there a down side to magnetic sand? And will the iron build up over time or release over time slowly? Is this something I can control with a poly filter?

 

[Russellaqua]

The term basalt to a geologist has a fairly specific meaning that applies only to volcanic rocks with a specific mineral composition. These minerals tend to be high in calcium and iron, and low in silica. Iron and titanium oxides may or may not be present, which is why some sands are more magnetic than others. Both magnetite (Fe3O4) and ilmenite (FeTiO3) are magnetic and are found in basalt, but aren't always present in great quantities. I'm not sure how much the ferrous iron in these minerals would build up in the water before oxidizing and becoming relatively immobile, but tanks with a lot of it might experience some excess algae growth. A portion of basalt is typically composed of volcanic glass as well, where no minerals have formed and is very similar to window glass. Overall, these minerals are harder than glass (hence the scratching), and if the sand bought is either poorly weathered, or is made by crushing basalt rock the individual grains will be highly angular and sharp. I see no reason as to why black sand wouldn't become "live" as there are reefs in Hawaii in areas of black sand. The exact biological community in black sand might be somewhat different, but still suitable.

 

[rajkovich207]

Thank you Russell for your detailed explanation, that helped clarify a lot of things. I'm going to shoot caribsea an email for toots and giggles and see what they have to say.

 

[rajkovich207]

OK here is what I have sent to them. Subject line is Hawaiian black sand.

Hello, I intend to buy this product item listing 00797 on your site. I have heard it is magnetic and I am a bit worried what makes it that way, if I need to be concerned about iron or other heavy metals in the sand, and if there is a possibility that they may leach out. If any does is it something I could just take care of with a poly filter? Also it says aragalive, does this mean aragonite based and will contribute to the buffing of the tank? Is it a live sand and intended for marine use?

I believe that sums up my questions for the time being and I look forward to your reply.

If anyone has any other questions they'd like answered real quick, assuming I get a response, post them here and I'll add in them into the replying email. I'll keep this thread updated as responses allow.

 

[DeniseAndy]

following...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

OK here is what I have sent to them. Subject line is Hawaiian black sand.

Hello, I intend to buy this product item listing 00797 on your site. I have heard it is magnetic and I am a bit worried what makes it that way, if I need to be concerned about iron or other heavy metals in the sand, and if there is a possibility that they may leach out. If any does is it something I could just take care of with a poly filter? Also it says aragalive, does this mean aragonite based and will contribute to the buffing of the tank? Is it a live sand and intended for marine use?

I believe that sums up my questions for the time being and I look forward to your reply.

If anyone has any other questions they'd like answered real quick, assuming I get a response, post them here and I'll add in them into the replying email. I'll keep this thread updated as responses allow.

Regardless of what they say, aragonite sand provides almost no pH buffering of aquarium water unless the pH drops well down into the 7's.

 

[rajkovich207]

I wouldn't mind that extra bit of buffering just for a piece of mind. I actually did get a response from them about an hour and a half later. The more I went over it the more vague it seemed but it's satisfying enough for me to have no other concerns.
Here is their response:

Hawaiian Black is magnetic because the minerals that make it black are weakly magnetic. It does contain some aragonite which helps to maintain pH and alkalinity, but not as well as say, the Aragalive Fiji Pink. But Hawaiian Black is is essentially insoluble at these pH ranges and has been used for years in marine aquaria. But, if you are squeamish, perhaps one of the other Aragalives would be more interesting. Aragalive Fiji Pink is a spectacular favorite. Thanks for your contact, if you have any other questions, let me know!



Betsey G.Moore

CaribSea Inc

[email protected]

(772) 461-1113 ext 13

(772) 461-1986 fax

 

[jsker]

This will short, I have had the black sand in my latest setup and like the astectics of using the sand. No issues. Yes it has more iron in it and it sticks to my magnetic glass cleaner. Just be a little bit more careful when cleaning.

 

[SB Reef Lights]

I have several tanks using PETCO black sand. None are magnetic. Corals pop on the sand. It's hard to keep perfectly black long term.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have black sand in a newly setup bio cube with purple coralline pukani rock and it is a beautiful effect. Will enhance yellows and whites in fish and greens in corals

 

[JedClampett]

I use a black and white sand as you can see in my profile pic, I think it has a great look