Sand sticks together like rock

[j.Zero]

Hello!

I have my tank for a while now and while cleaning it, I noticed some parts of the sandbed sticks together. You can literally pick them up like a rock.

Also, found out that my pistol shrimp and yellow watchman goby are gone. I'm worried they didn't thrive in my tank because of the sand.

Is this normal? The sand I used was a repacked sand from a fish store which does not specialize in saltwater tanks.

I'm thinking about breaking my tank apart and buying seachem pearl beach or meridian as these are the the easiest brand to get my hands on to.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Karen00]

That sounds like the type of sand that's used in sandboxes for kids. It's usually labeled as "play sand". I have never looked at what goes into it that type of sand but I think it clumps so kids can make sandcastles and things like that from it. Is there a brand name or any info on the package or is this something the store packaged in which case it could be anyone's guess as to what type of sand it is. Hopefully others will chime in with ideas. The way you describe it sounds like the behavior of clumping cat litter (not that I'm saying it's that).

You might have to remove it for the health and safety of your tank.

 

[j.Zero]

Unfortunately, there are no brands or any info on the packaging. But here are some photos if it could help. The part indicated by the arrow is a small "clump" of sand which I wasn't able to breakdown.

 

[Cell]

Sand clumping is a relatively common phenomenon. I dont think it speaks to the quality of substrate.

 

[j.Zero]

But won't it affect livestock like gobies and pistol shrimps? It's like half of my substrate has frozen solid when I checked earlier.

 

[Cell]

If its half the substrate in a solid block, then it's a calcium precipitation issue or something like that, I cant exactly recall. @Randy Holmes-Farley probably has an easy answer for you. Small clumps here and there is normal, I think.