Lapis sand contains limestone & sea shell

**ahhua** · 5th Sep 2005, 23:33

Hi, everyone

I just bought a pack of lapis lustre sand from a LFS and encountered it contains small limestones (tested with acid, bubbles appear) and sea shells. I have no problem with the previous pack bought a few months ago. I am worry the PH will go up and cause algae blooming. This will not suitable for my planted tank setup.

Any lapis user here has the same problem and how you remove them from the sand?

Thx.

**ahhua** · 6th Sep 2005, 01:30

just did a yahoo search for lapis lustre and found a few comments on it. It is beach sand and contains limestones and sea shells naturally. As stated in RMC website, their application is not mainly used for aquarium.

I think all the lapis packs will come with limestones and sea shells and it is a matter of more or less. We will need to depend on our luck to buy a less problem pack as what I got previously.

Some useful links:
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plant.../msg00107.html
http://www.gsas.org/Articles/1997/pres9702.html
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/gravel.html
http://www.rmcpacific.com/aggregates/sands.shtml

**barmby** · 6th Sep 2005, 13:10

ahhua, not to worry. it is very minimal amount...

**Fei Miao** · 6th Sep 2005, 13:13

Welcome to AQ! A lot of us have been using lapis for ages without problems

**|squee|** · 6th Sep 2005, 14:08

If anything, it helps to your kH so you don't get massive pH swings. It's a good sand, so far I've not seen a single complaint about it.

**andrewtyr** · 6th Sep 2005, 14:22

lapis!!! haha, IMO seasoned lapis is much better than ADA

**vinz** · 6th Sep 2005, 14:30

Originally Posted by ahhua

Hi, everyone

I just bought a pack of lapis lustre sand from a LFS and encountered it contains small limestones (tested with acid, bubbles appear) and sea shells. I have no problem with the previous pack bought a few months ago. I am worry the PH will go up and cause algae blooming. This will not suitable for my planted tank setup.

Any lapis user here has the same problem and how you remove them from the sand?

Thx.

pH go up won't cause algae bloom. Frankly, you're getting free KH, magnesium and calcium... so, it's actually a good thing. Anyway, I doubt it'll last for more then a few months.

It will effect your estimation CO2 levels, but there is a way around it. Take a sample of your tank water and shake or stir it vigourously for a few minutes, then let it sit for a day then measure the pH. This is the pH of your tank water at ambient Co2 levels (let's call it A). Then measure your tank water's pH at the end of your light cycle (call this reading B). To get about 30ppm CO2, B must be 1.7pH lower then A.

**ahhua** · 8th Sep 2005, 01:25

Hi, thanks for replies

I don't know why this pack come with so much limestones and sea shells. Just a small handful, I can see a few of them. However I will store it....