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Re: Onyx Sand

>
>
>I like the looks and texture of onyx sand, I've done 2 tanks now, a 
>20 with 3 bags and a 38 with 4 bags.  It's so easy to work with and 
>holds plants real well, I guess something that seems so good, I 
>should be real happy.  The buffering is my only complaint, the 
>description says a slight buffering effect, I test my Kh at 6, and 
>my Gh at 10 in a non onyx tank.  With the onyx it has a Kh of 8 and 
>a Gh of 13.  Way more than I expected, my plants don't like it 
>either.  So, how long will the buffering last?  What does 'over 
>time' mean?  6 months, a year or 2?  I've got 5 more bags on the 
>floor ready to redo my 55g tank, now I'm not sure.
>
>Matt

I've asked one our employees who has had extensive first hand 
experience with Onyx Sand to comment (Doug Hill, which some of you 
may remember from the AGA conference round table discussion):

-to me the increase sounds slight 2 Kh and 3 Gh
-if he uses a water source with less hardness to start with then he 
should be fine
-the increase he is seeing is about par for the course for the 
product and the problem is where he is starting at
-it will most likely lose a little of the ability to buffer after the 
first 3 to 6 months
-but it will always add to the Gh and Kh, for most this would be seen 
as a benefit
-- 

Gregory Morin, Ph.D.  ~~~~~~~Research Director~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seachem Laboratories, Inc.      www.seachem.com     888-SEACHEM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~