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MattinIdaho 
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 Topic: Utah Sand
Posted: August 21 2011 at 12:10am |
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I have a question about Utah Sand. I bought some "Oolite" sand from someone in Utah about 4 months ago. The sand grains are almost perfectly round. I just put it in my tank last night. I turned the tank lights on expecting the sand to look whiteish underneath the lights but it did not. It is still brown much the color of wet sandbox sand. I thought most sand would go white under the lights but this did not. Does the Utah sand turn white under a hood light? Did I most likely buy Utah Sand? It was not advertised as anything other than Oolite sand. Does anyone have any ideas?
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phys
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 1:37am |
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it partially depends on your lighting. Whats effective Kelvin rating do you have? I have some myself and the grains are more eggshaped. There's several places in the world oolitic sands come from so it may or may not be from here in utah.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 8:47am |
My first thought is, Did you rinse it first? If not, you may have added all the dirt that came with it, which would make it look more like like brown mud. Second, clean Utah Oolitic sand looks tan in the sun and bright white under typical reef aquarium lighting. I'm with phys/Paul, what is the lighting on the tank? There are pics and instructions for cleaning and use in the Reefkeeping Tips below. 
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MattinIdaho
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 12:19pm |
No, I rinsed it very very well. I not only stuck the hose in the tank but stayed with it and pumped the hose up and down. If anything I overkilled on the rinsing.lol
I am not sure on the lighting I have. This is my first tank and was bought used. The bulbs were fairly new but it has been in storage for about 4 months.
I have read some about lighting but admit to knowing very little. I was planning on setting up and cycling the tank and getting my basic start with these lights and then looking into what lights I want and purchasing new lights in 3 or 4 months when I started to add the first corals to my tank.
1 Actinic White F54/85 TVHO that is very bright 3 54W Blue Plus 1 10KK T5 HO 54 1 Current T5HO 460 NM Actinic
All of the lights appear to be at least working when turned on.
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bur01014
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 4:20pm |
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this is strange....my utah sand is completely white under my lighting...it appears your lighting should also be sufficient to make it appear white...it does have to be rinsed good though....I typically do 5 gallon buckets of utah sand at a time and each bucket takes about an hour of rinsing to get it cleaned properly....or maybe you were sold some kind of other sand? HD play sand?
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MattinIdaho
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 5:35pm |
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That's what it took me. About 1/2 hour per 5 gallon bucket. It appears to be oolite from everything I have researched about it. I love the look of the sand, just not the color. I am completely confused. I don't know whether I need to buy more sand or if it will still look the same and it's my lights. I don't live in a reefer heavy hobby area so it is tough to get someone to come out and look. I am totally perplexed and just anxious to add some water and get it going.
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bur01014
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 7:53pm |
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pics?
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 9:53pm |
If there is no water, that makes a difference. Did you rinse the sand following the instructions in the Reefkeeping Tips thread linked below, where I said to rinse it until the rinse water runs a clear white color? Also the 10K tube may be bringing out more of the sands tan color. It's all about reflected light spectrum. What we see is the color put off by the lights reflected back to our eyes. It would be really helpful to see a pic of what you are seeing.
Here is what it should look like. This is 98% Utah Oolitic sand. 
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MattinIdaho
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 9:59pm |
Yes, that is how I rinsed. It cleaned up very nicely. I only have a pic on my phone and can't download it to my computer. My picture actually looks close to the one you posted. It looks more brownish tan to me than white. I don't want bright white but most of the reef tanks I have seen are more white than what I have. What bulb would bring out the white more? What would I give up by trading to another bulb. If anyone wants to see a cell phone picture I could send you what I have. 208 709-6559
I'm making RO water right now so I need to decide whether or not to stick with what I have or scrap it and start over. Other than the color, the sand is beautiful!!
Thanks a ton for trying to help me out guys!!
Edited by MattinIdaho - August 21 2011 at 10:00pm
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ptronsp
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 10:11pm |
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My Utah sand is very white. I would think it has something to do with your lighting.
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The only clowns I like are in my tank!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 10:13pm |
This may sound kind of silly, but without water in the tank, I believe the room lights are going to add their spectrum of color to the tank. Room lights are usually soft white and that's a lousy color for a reef tank. I'd mix up the water with salt, add it to the tank, turn off the room lights and see how it looks. Feel free to send that pic to 435-632-3366 and I'll take a look. Adding water to a new sand bed is going to stir up a cloud. It helps to add it slowly pouring it onto a dinner plate to keep it from digging up the sand.
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pgravis
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 10:21pm |
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you can text me the pic, and I can try and get it posted for you. 801 529-2511
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See my house: www.eclecticvictorian.com
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pgravis
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Posted: August 21 2011 at 11:08pm |
Pic of sand in question 
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See my house: www.eclecticvictorian.com
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phys
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Posted: August 22 2011 at 3:29am |
That does look more brown compared to what i have. I can tell by the color off the rocks that you have a fairly blue tint for the tank. it could be that the person you got it from, got it from an area with a different concentration of minerals contained in the sand. here's a pic of my sand, i have been waiting to get some good lighting so right now i only have a 50/50 CFL and some 6500K CFLs lighting it (no coral except xenia, shrooms, and galaxia in there right now). If you look at the left corner of the image, the sand looks a little whiter, thats where some light is falling off of my other tank. I collected this myself near the location Mark has on the forums.  Here's another pic a bit closer that's been corrected for lighting color: Hope this helps!
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MattinIdaho
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Posted: August 22 2011 at 6:26am |
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That is some nice looking sand and what I vision for a color. If it's not a light problem I am very very tempted to pull it all out and order some new sand before I start dumping water in it.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: August 22 2011 at 10:30am |
Thanks for the pic. I was hoping it was just the lighting but I have to admit that it does not look the same as
the sand I am accustomed to seeing from the dunes west of Stansbury
Island. And I've seen literally tons of it. Can you ask the seller exactly where they collected it? Before trashing it, compare it to this pic. If you look at a bit of the dry sand close up, does it look like this? This image was taken outdoors in the shade prior to rinsing. (yes it was a yellow bucket  ) 
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MattinIdaho
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Posted: August 22 2011 at 5:18pm |
I can't find the seller again. It was bought off of KSL a couple months ago and I have not seen it listed for quite a while. Can't remember his name either but he lived only a couple miles from Aquatic Dreams in Clearfield.
No it does not look like that in either color or shape. The grains of sand are almost perfectly round with a few black basalt flakes in it.
I'm not going to use it. I just won't be happy with it. I'm not sure if it is even Utah Sand or not, I just wondered about it.
I really want to use white sand so I am going to take everything out and buy some more to start over with.
My wife will laugh so hard when I ask her for $200 for more sand. 
Edited by MattinIdaho - August 23 2011 at 10:08am
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phys
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Posted: August 22 2011 at 11:38pm |
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I have about 100 lbs of sand left from my excursion. Same stuff as you saw in my tank. Its yours if you want it, you just have to find a way to get it lol
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MattinIdaho
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Posted: August 23 2011 at 10:13am |
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Thanks a ton for the offer!! If I lived closer I may take you up on that but I ordered some new stuff last night. I appreciate everyones help with this. If anyone knows someone who would be interested in what I have I would sell it dirt cheap. I paid .80lb and have since rinsed it so it is sqeaky clean. I have around 125-150lbs and would sell it for $40 and could bring it down to Utah Thanksgiving weekend. It's beautiful sand other than it's not white.
Edited by MattinIdaho - August 23 2011 at 12:45pm
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: August 23 2011 at 10:38am |
 80 cents/lb.! I guess I'm giving away the right stuff for 50 cents 
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