HTH pool filter sand for agassizii

[antk]

i live in california, so that prop 65 warning is everywhere, including the hth sand

 

[anewbie]

i live in california, so that prop 65 warning is everywhere, including the hth sand

The article i found wasn't a prop 65 but something more generic but again i'm not sure if it is related to arbitrary small particles getting into the lunges or something specific to the chemical composition of the mineral. In doing the search i was mostly just trying to figure out if the stuff was fish safe and/or inert. I wasn't trying to play advocate for/against the stuff. Even in their natural habitat there are areas where various things that have long term negative impact can be found - ignoring man made intrusion. I.e, it could be i'm overly cautious but lacking expertise understanding i tend to lean towards a more conservative approach.

 

[Mike Wise]

As an old minerals exploration geologist all I can say is that none of the elements that make up the mineral are toxic in themselves. That being said I doubt that any kind of sand is strictly composed of a single mineral. It's possible that other minerals mixed in with the staurolite might have a toxic component. My philosophy is, "when it doubt, throw it out".

 

[Bob Dixon]

When polishing and shaping gems, fine dust is created. It is bad news. I think that even if staurolite were to leach toxics, the amounts would be so tiny that water changes would keep it from building up. Generally speaking, ALL crystallized minerals are stable.

 

[anewbie]

When polishing and shaping gems, fine dust is created. It is bad news. I think that even if staurolite were to leach toxics, the amounts would be so tiny that water changes would keep it from building up. Generally speaking, ALL crystallized minerals are stable.

I think the concern is more of the purity given its intended usage. For example play sand is intended to be used by kids as is pool filter sand (i'm not sure if it is regulated or not but one would presume greater care would be used around its composition; though from some of the issues found with milk production one is never sure; however the stuff your are suggesting is targeted more torwards industrial usage so i would presume (hence unsureness) around it containing other stuff less suitable for fishy environment. I honestly i don't know it might very well be a baseless concern since after all a fair amount of natural minerals is probably found in or near the amazon as well as quite a bit of bird poop