Wow! I knew I loved this list! It sometimes amazes me how in depth (no pun
intended) our discussions can get.
You have some great points here. Theories are just that, theoretical.
Anybody can have one, and just because you have one doesn't make it
true...even if you are a doctor. That being said, I would never put silica
sand in my tank. For one, it's not natural. Calcium based substrate is
natural to the reef environment. I also believe that it leeches back into
the water. I have seen the before and after affects of adding a good
calcium sand to my tank. My pH stabilized whereas before I couldn't get it
to stay up. How it does that I don't know. The lower pH theory sounds
reasonable, and it should be easy enough to test with a second pH meter and
probe.
Craig
> hhhhmmm. Interesting. Personally, and this is just me and an opinion, and
we
> all know they saying about opinions, but I am not really on the Shimek
> bandwagon. As a matter of fact, I dont really agree with most of his
> theories. He has advocated keeping reef tanks at 82-83 degrees for a while
> now, and about 6 months ago, one of "the authors" of one of the magazines
> just ripped his high temp theories to shreds. This author (cant remember
his
> name or which mag it was in) also ripped many of his deep sand bed, set it
> up and just ignore it type theories apart too. I dont agree with Ron and
his
> sand bed theories, and although he may have had success with them, I think
> he leaves many things, specifically what you have to do to properly set up
> and support one of the sandbeds, out when he is advocating them. As I had
> mentioned in my giant email a few days ago, he says you need some type of
> export mechanism to export nutrients. I had read his material and had
never
> read that at all until I emailed him to "debate" some of his theories.
>
> The whole concept of the calcium based substrate leaching calcium back
into
> the water for corals to use can be, and from what I have seen, is
completely
> valid. The way it is supposed to work is that as the oxygen levels in a
> sandbed lessen with depth, the pH in the sandbed is lowered as well. At a
> certain point (7.2 I believe) the water is acidic enough to actually
> slightly break down the alkaline, calcium based substrate. Through slow
> osmosis, the water, along with the calcium and alk buffers are released
back
> into the water, thus becoming bio-available for the animals in the system.
> Usually, the amounts released are so slight that we need to continue
> supplementing our systems, but from what I know, it does in fact occur.
>
> The point is, the pH deep in the sandbed and the pH in the tank are
> completely different, or at least are supposed to be. That is why the
> calcium can become available with out melting the corals.
>
> I know you were just relaying what he said, so please dont take this as a
> personal thing. This is just what I have read and seen.
>
> IMO,
> Shane C.
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