Artificial reef sand?

EricR

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I'll ask one thing then stay out of this...
*just for the sake of directing answers from people who know what they're talking about (...meaning NOT ME)

Is your reasoning for wanting man-made (no shells or coral skeletons):
(1. Strictly for uniformity?
(2. Concern about long-term biological/chemical reactions due to use of material that was once part of a living organism?
(3. Both or something else?
 

MnFish1

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“Composed of pure aragonite flakes, calcareous algae, juvenile seashells, coral fragments and other marine organisms.”

Curious - it is the size you want - its extremely uniform - as stated in the link. So - you want what material? Silica sand? I thought you meant you didnt want 'chunks' of different sizes of those things - as compared to a 'sand' not made of those things. Did you actually read the link?
 
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jDoSe

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Curious - it is the size you want - its extremely uniform - as stated in the link. So - you want what material? Silica sand? I thought you meant you didnt want 'chunks' of different sizes of those things - as compared to a 'sand' not made of those things. Did you actually read the link?
I have not only read the link, but have had reef tanks with miniflakes, mesoflakes, and reeflakes.
Have you actually read my posts?
 
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jDoSe

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Ha! Awesome. This is going well :)

edit. Perhaps if you stated Why you want artificial sand it may help people who are trying to help.
Hi, my posts were asking if someone has come across what I am looking for. I do not wish to debate why I am looking for it, as it will get off-track very quickly as people will argue points irrelevant to the finding of the sand I am looking for.

I am just looking to buy the sand.

We can debate if a sand is or isn’t what I am looking for, but if the description says made of shells and one requirement is to not be made of shells…
 

WheatToast

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I am reminded of the once popular dolomite sand, though the grains look very irregular, and I am not sure about the grain size.
I have no experience with this sand, but maybe @Paul B can chime in.
 
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jDoSe

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I am reminded of the once popular dolomite sand, though the grains look very irregular, and I am not sure about the grain size.
I have no experience with this sand, but maybe @Paul B can chime in.
Hmm interesting. I think i once added a bit of this to my calcium reactor media, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used as aquarium sand. I was hoping for an aragonite vs calcite, but if this works it may be an option.
 
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MnFish1

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PS - I do no
I have not only read the link, but have had reef tanks with miniflakes, mesoflakes, and reeflakes.
Have you actually read my posts?
Yes I read your posts. And spent an hour trying to research for your question - to help YOU. If you had perhaps stated the REASON you didn't want natural aragonite - that might have helped. But - you didnt - no problem. I do not believe there is 'man-made' sand that meets your 2 mm requirements. Here is what I found.

Here is what is supposed to be one of the top 5 marine sands (the company) - you can perhaps call them to get the grain size. I'm not sure if maybe one or 2 grains in a bag will vary from your 2 mm requirement (Just kidding):Its sold in multiple colors in multiple stores. none of the sites I saw say the 'grain size':

https://estesco.com/marine-sand/.

Here is a site for a Ca/CO3/Mg sand (Dolomite) - if you buy >25,000 kg you get a huge discount (of course you can buy smaller sizes). you can pick the grain size, etc.

I have no clue whether this sand is 'reef safe'. https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...0.7724857.normal_offer.d_image.1b8b28f7xPagEP

Good luck - FWIW - no one here is trying to debate you - everyone is trying to help you.
 

kittenbritches

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Schitts Creek Comedy GIF by CBC
 

sde1500

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You have rude/snarky responses to numerous people across multiple threads when I look back through your posts. Not sure that is the most sustainable means of ensuring responses to questions you solicit in the future. Forums are a discussion, the "why" is important to many. Food for thought
 
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jDoSe

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Nice find. Thats a 5gal bucket, so it at least gives a rough idea of size. Good color too, doesn’t seem pure/bright white. Now to find out if something like that is reef safe. It is meant for human drinking water so…probably…

I’ve added the users who just want to argue and create drama to my ignore list. Glad some people actually want to help!
 

MnFish1

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LiveFreeAndReef

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Nice find. Thats a 5gal bucket, so it at least gives a rough idea of size. Good color too, doesn’t seem pure/bright white. Now to find out if something like that is reef safe. It is meant for human drinking water so…probably…

I’ve added the users who just want to argue and create drama to my ignore list. Glad some people actually want to help!
Everyone on this thread was trying to help, the only drama came from you
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I originally deleted this, but your ongoing attitude to people trying to help forces me to repost it. I'd suggest being nicer to folks taking time from their day to help you. They should be thanked, not dismissed.

1. Saying what you want AND why can help avoid long term disappointment, because folks often are asking the wrong questions or have made incorrect assumptions, and simply answering it doesn't end up being the best solution. That happens all the time here. Folks ask how to do something, but when delving deeper into the why, they end up not wanting to do what they originally asked about.

2. Since you are asking for something that we do not understand the why, we cannot know exactly how close to your original specifications you need to be, and which specifications are most important (size, uniformity of shape? uniformity of size?, chemical composition, not shells, appearance, etc.)
 

LiveFreeAndReef

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I originally deleted this, but your ongoing attitude to people trying to help forces me to repost it. I'd suggest being nicer to folks taking time from their day to help you should be thanked, not dismissed.

1. Saying what you want AND why can help avoid long term disappointment, because folks often are asking the wrong questions or have made incorrect assumptions, and simply answering it doesn't end up being the best solution. That happens all the time here. Folks ask how to do something, but when delving deeper into the why, they end up not wanting to do what they originally asked about.

2. Since you are asking for something that we do not understand the why, we cannot know exactly how close to your original specifications you need to be, and which specifications are most important (size, uniformity of shape? size?, chemical composition, not shells, appearance, etc.)
I like option #3 ;) reverse sandbed!
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I like option #3 ;) reverse sandbed!

I deleted that one, but I can return it for a laugh...

Here's a suggestion for a truly unique reef that meets all of your specifications except "aragonite". 2 mm polystyrene spheres. All exactly the same size and shape and color, not shells. You can make an upside down reef, with the sand floating against the top glass rather than laying on the bottom glass!
 

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