uh oh, bad news about "black sand"?

[caferacermike]

Ok so this is for those of you using black sand (aragonite mix, not painted). I used Caribsea black sand in my 8g set up. I don't like the stuff to begin with, but I did decide to try it in the octopus tank. Well today I was working on the lights and dropped a screw into the tank. Feeling lazy I grabbed a neo magnet and put it in a small net. I then attempted to extract the screw. When I pulled it all out I noticed that the magnet was covered in sand. So I do this again to see if it happens again, sure enough sand sticking all over the magnet. I then head straight out to the garage where the remaining sand was waiting for me in the original bag. Yep it jumps on to the magnet.

So obviously there is iron in the sand, and a lot of it.

Anyone think this is bad?

[medi]

hmm...very interesting

[mikedelgado]

very very interesting. I think I read something awhile back on rc about actually dosing iron to help with coral coloration? cant remember though

[jsr]

Interesting. I wonder if rust would start forming over time?

[beefytang]

An interesting observation. A shame you didn't find a watch or some pirate booty while you were at it.

On this page, a lot of the companies are open about the iron content in their sand: http://www.azgardens.com/newsubst2.php

They claim it isn't harmful to saltwater setups. I suppose if you have lingering concerns, maybe contact the company that markets/distributes it? I used black sand in a pico and liked the appearance but had doubts about the viability of it as a substrate in the long run. It's nice for contrast, no doubt. Makes coral colors pop out like crazy.