Aragonite Sand???

Hello-

I'm new to owning an axototl. I had him in a bare bottom tank, but heard that over time that can be stressful to them. So, I went to the pet store to get some sand for his tank. I obviously was out of my league when looking at all of the types of sand that where there. The co-workers at the store were of no help. Finally, I decided on getting the smallest grain sand there was. I figured that would be best in case he swallowed some. It turned out to be Aragonite sand. I didn't realize until after I set it up that it is mainly meant for saltwater tanks (something not mentioned on the bag). I guess that this type of sand can raise the PH of the tank. I just took a PH of the water and it was between the 7.0 and 7.5 range, but I'm not sure if this will raise over time.

Also, the water was very cloudy at first. I did several water changes and also let it filter overnight. It's pretty clear now, but still a little cloudy.

So...I have 2 questions:

Is aragonite sand bad to use in an axolotl tank?

and

How soon after adding the sand can I put him back in the tank?

If anyone has some experience or information on these questions, your help is greatly appreciated.

Starfreak7 said:

...had him in a bare bottom tank, but heard that over time that can be stressful to them...

Click to expand...

Many axolotl keepers use bare bottomed tanks. (Personally, I have been using them for many years without issue) Where stress comes into play in this scenario is a combination of a lack of hides and too much bright lighting.


Aragonite sand is a naturally occurring form of Calcium Carbonate. In the case of your bag, it is most likely from a marine coral source. This will cause extremely high water hardness levels. Adding it to a new tank will cause a sudden increase in hardness, which will damage your tank's ammonia cycle.

While axolotls like their water cold and hard, too hard can be just as stressful as too warm.

Additionally, aragonite sand comes from many different sources. It can contain other things that Calcium Carbonate, which can sometimes result in a dangerous raise of pH over time when used in freshwater applications.


If you put "crushed coral" in the forum search function, you will find much more information on this topic.

Just go to your local hardware store and get a big bag of play sand [for children's sand boxes] and use that. It's what I used! It's pretty fine, so you have to rinse the **** out of it. I got a half a bucketful, hit it with the hose, drained the water, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc, until the water runs clear, and I still rinsed it some more. It takes a long time, and still leaves you water cloudy for a few hours, but, you can't beat the price and it is axie safe. ;D

Just don't put the sand too deep. Over an inch or so and pockets of gasses and bacteria can build up.

Im with johnny on the no substrate wagon I have not noticed any stress on my axolotls from having no substrate.

If you are new to all this then you have made a good decision not to use aragonite sand as it would just give you another water issue to deal with.