# Garnet, Silicates and Algae



## Blacktetra (Mar 19, 2015)

Thought:

If by "brown algae" you mean diatoms, they appear in most any new tank start anyway.
I say just go for it. Half of this hobby is learning from others, and the other half is learning from your own experience.
Eventually, with enough of those two, you get a relatively nice tank.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Any "sand" is mostly silica.. just mostly "locked"..


> The most common constituent of sand, in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings, is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz, which, because of its chemical inertness and considerable hardness, is the most common mineral resistant to weathering.


Can't see a "silicate release" problem though blasting sand would be relatively "sharp"...so that might be a consideration..


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## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

Blacktetra said:


> Thought:
> 
> If by "brown algae" you mean diatoms, they appear in most any new tank start anyway.
> I say just go for it. Half of this hobby is learning from others, and the other half is learning from your own experience.
> Eventually, with enough of those two, you get a relatively nice tank.


Diatoms are algae. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom

_Diatoms[6] are a major group of algae, and are among the most common types of phytoplankton. _

Bump:


jeffkrol said:


> Any "sand" is mostly silica.. just mostly "locked"..
> 
> 
> Can't see a "silicate release" problem though blasting sand would be relatively "sharp"...so that might be a consideration..


Outstanding. Thank you @jeffkrol for the information!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Since I was curious.. did a bit of digging.. nothing much except it is useable..
One thing:


> But its not so good for planted tanks, way way way too heavy and it compacts!..but its expensive and a mission to initially clean


for whatever is's worth..


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## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

jeffkrol said:


> Since I was curious.. did a bit of digging.. nothing much except it is useable..
> One thing:
> 
> 
> for whatever is's worth..


I was planning on using mix of 25% garnet sand and 75% garnet gravel which might help with compaction but that's good to know. Thanks again!

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk


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## skanderson (Jul 25, 2010)

mixing 2 different size particles will help with compaction but not in the way you mean. the smaller particles will settle into the voids of the larger causing an increase in compaction.


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## MChambers (May 26, 2009)

Esteban Colberto said:


> I have really been considering using garnet blasting media and garnet gravel in my new tank. Even found some that's specifically made for aquariums. However when I check on wikipedia I see that garnet is a silicate mineral and I'm wondering if that's going to encourage brown algae to grow in my tank. Basically I don't know if the silicates in garnet are "available" for the algae to use.
> 
> Any thoughts or information would be most welcome. Thank you!


Where did you find garnet for aquariums? Would be very cool. A friend of mine did this once, but he managed to get it a big container of it shipped at low coast.


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## Lingwendil (Nov 16, 2012)

MChambers said:


> Where did you find garnet for aquariums? Would be very cool. A friend of mine did this once, but he managed to get it a big container of it shipped at low coast.


I'm trying to source it in bulk somehow locally with no luck, but I grabbed five cups (approximately 6.5#) of Garnet #16 extra course (fleabay item #263079225327) for $15 shipped to try it out. Do a search for "garnet #16 blasting" and it comes right up on Google. It's heavy but it doesn't pack too badly, would probably be nice mixed with black diamond blasting sand (20/40) in small amounts.

Perfect amount for my marineland 5.5 gallon-



This stuff is wild. One of the Bichir threads on monsterfishkeepers has a huge tank full of the stuff that inspired me to try it, and I love it.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/emerald-creek-purple-garnet.683377/


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## Lingwendil (Nov 16, 2012)

Also, one of the benefits of garnet is much, much less silicates when used for blasting, it is usually very low dust too.


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