Should/Can I Use Aragonite Sand?

[Tyler LaZerte]

My soon-to-be aquarium is going to have a lot of snails and shrimp in it. It is also going to have cpds, otocinclus, and Corys. I want to use alder cones to add some cool blackwater to the aquarium and the thing with that is that i'm afraid it will lower my pH too much for the snails. So, with this stocking in mind, should I just use Aragonite Sand for them?

[Eric R]

What's the kh and pH of the water you use for your water changes? Unless you have fairly low kh pH water to start with, you shouldn't notice any detectable decrease in pH. Most people (myself being one of them) that have hard water and want to reduce their pH have to use RO or distilled water to significantly decrease their kh first.

[Tyler LaZerte]

@ererer Out of the tap, the water has a pH of 7.1-7.2 and a kH of over 10 dkH.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Tyler LaZerte

[Tyler LaZerte]

@ererer Or, could I get any inert sand and mix it with aragonite sand? 

[Eric R]

@Tyler LaZerte with a kh that high, I'd be very surprised if your ph changed much if at all just from you adding alder cones. I recommend just adding the alder cones a bit at a time until you get the desired tint that you are looking for, all the while checking kh and pH. My guess is that you may slightly lower kh and that pH won't change and that your snails will be fine. Don't worry about the aragonite unless you see dkh get below 4 or pH drop below 7.

[Tyler LaZerte]

@ererer Okay sounds great! Thank you very much! 

[Eric R]

If you want to read more about black water and pH, I suggest reading the following: https://tanninaquatics.com/blogs/the-tint-1/that-ph-thing-again