Oh so happy

[jegel]

I just got half of my order from Premium Aquatics.
This is my second order with them. These guys have had great service and prices. I'd deffinetly recommend them.

On another note...
I was on a page on About.com's Saltwater topics and read that the play sand can leach silicates into the water. It said this can last anywhere from weeks to months. I just recently added 50lbs of playsand but I can't really say I noticed any increase since I've been under heavy attack of every type of algae for the past 2 months. I'm finally starting to get a handle on it. Any thoughts?

Also some food for thought...
I did a little experiment, I turned the direction of my return line from my sump towards one side of the tank, then added a power head to the same side. This created a lot of current on one side with very little current on the other. I let this go for almost a week without cleaning any algae. I couldn't even see through the glass on the side with no current and the other side was almost spottless. Since then I directed my return line towards the middle, left the power head on the one side and today I added another power head to the other side. I've read about this before on this board but never thought much of it till I saw the difference.

[FishDaddy]

Hey Jegel,
Getting new stuff for your tank is GOOD!! PA is one of the best companies around, along with our sponsors, of course!
The Silicates in sand debate has been around a while. Dr. Shimek has basically said that "sand is sand" and Silicates should not be a problem.

Water movement is a good thing for tank health. Dead spots are harbors for excess nutrients that feed algae. Algae blooms are a normal part of the maturation process of a new tank and, with good husbandry, these too will pass. A good variety of snails will help in the meantime. See: http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/li...=&RecordNo=166

Are you dosing Kalkwasser? This would help in binding algae feeding Phosphates for export via your skimmer.
Dick

[Doug1]

Since South Down Tropical play sand is aragonite, it has little silicate content.
Even Silica based sand leaches very little silicate, it is fairly insoluable in SW esp with the lack of wave movement and grinding that we dont have occurinf in an aquarium.
Once the free silicic acid is utilized the diatom population will diminish and stabilize

[tdwyatt]

aluminosilicates... bioavailable and relatively soluble in both fresh and marine water, usually at the highest concentration near river mouths, also a necessary nutrient for sponges and other inverts. There is some experimentation going on now for reef tanks with non-calcareous sands as substrate for DSB, although it would be preferable to use aragonite as it stands now. Plain sand and glass are not significant sources of silicate for reef tanks nusiance algae, but aluminosilicates and organosilicates found in mains water supplies ARE, necessitating the need for our top off water to be as silicate free as possible.