Aqua Natural African Cichlid Aragonite Sand, 10LB

Aqua Natural African Cichlid Aragonite Sand is an oolitic aragonite sand sold in a 10lb bag. It is suitable for marine, reef and African Cichlid aquariums, where higher, stable pH is wanted.

Buffering

Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate. This sand is 98% pure calcium carbonate and slowly dissolves to support carbonate hardness. Aqua Natural says it maintains pH at 8.2 without constant chemical additions. That is a good match for Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika cichlids, which do best in hard, alkaline water.

Grain shape

Oolitic aragonite has egg-shaped, smooth grains. They are gentle on fish that dig and sift, such as many cichlids, and on bottom-dwelling marine fish. The sand is sustainably harvested from The Bahamas and is phosphate free, so it will not feed algae.

Small grains have a large surface area, which gives beneficial bacteria plenty of room to colonize.

Who should avoid it

Do not use aragonite in tanks for soft water fish, like tetras, discus or most shrimp that need low hardness. It will push pH and hardness up.

How much

A 10lb bag covers a small area. For a 55 gallon cichlid tank at a 2 inch depth, plan on several bags.

Setup

• Rinse to remove fine dust before adding.
• Pour slowly and fill over a plate to limit clouding.
• Test pH and KH after a week to see where they settle.

Cichlid scaping

Pair the sand with stacked rock for territories and caves. Cichlids rearrange sand, so set rocks on the glass first and add sand around them for stability.

Marine use

In reef tanks, many keepers use a live aragonite like CaribSea Arag-Alive. This dry aragonite is a cleaner start that seeds over time. For a neutral sand instead, see Aqua Joe Aquarium Sand.

Because the grains slowly dissolve, a sand bed can thin over the years; topping up with a fresh bag keeps both depth and buffering.