very fine sand -- good or bad

[KLN]

A friend of mine procured some white sand for me that is extremely fine. (As an amateur geologist, he thinks it dates back some 10,000 years to a time when Florida was under water, based on its location inland and depth of 4'-8'.)

In any case, it is much finer than the "live sand" in the tank now, and I wondered if such fine sand would cause problems with the organisms in the sand.

Any experiences with such fine sand in a reef tank bed?

Thanks.

[BillyZ]

most suggest a variety of grain size in your sand bed, ranging from fine, silt sand, to sugar sized grains. I would think you wouldn't want it ALL to be silt as that might make it too difficult for water to move through it and thus be filtered.

[KLN]

Thanks, Billy.

I can't tell if no one else answered because the above is the right answer and no one alse feels the need to comment, or no one else knows.

Just curious.

[WarOrks15]

well a ,mix would be better but i guess that would be fine. i am adding some vary fine sand to my tank now. but it seems to be a good mix of sizes. do you have a lot of live rock in the tank? or any other form of filtering?

[KLN]

By the way, I just poured some vinegar on the sand and it did not bubble. It was still wet from washing. Does it have to be dry for the vinegar test to work? Is it possible this could be silica sand?

[BillyZ]

it is possible. or its at least not argonite. i'd spread some out and let it dry and try the test again just to be sure.