# Seachem Tidal Gray Coast Calcite for Planted Aquarium??



## manojprabakar (Mar 20, 2008)

Has anyone ever used Seachem Tidal Gray Marine substrate for a freshwater planted aquarium??

I have flourite as a substrate now and I'm thinking of layering it up with this tidal calcite to increase the depth. I got this for a cheaper price ($6) for a 22 lb bag. 

The bag says that it can be used for tropical aquaria but has anyone ever used it? Do you think it'll be beneficial for the plants?

Please don't hold back on your replies.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

Not the best choice for a planted tank- very high in carbonates and designed to raise and buffer the hardness/pH in a tank. Most plants prefer a neutral if not acidic pH, and some plants can only be kept in very soft water. If you're going with a Seachem product, the Onyx sand or Fluorite products are the ones that would be much more appropriate for a planted tank.


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## JDowns (Jan 27, 2008)

I think if you check on Seachem's site you will notice that Onyx Sand and GCC are both virtually the same product.

A thread discussing your question. Onyx Sand == Gray Coast Calcite

Both are essentially an iron rich CaCO3.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

That's true. A Seachem rep told me that Onyx Sand and GCC are the exact same product but in different bags of differing sizes. Marketing ...

You can usually find GCC cheaper per kg than Onyx Sand.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

Yet Seachem compares GCC's buffering capabilities to aragonite? That's on the extreme side... I certainly wouldn't want an aragonite substrate in a planted tank. :-s


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

I called Seachem and there is more info below.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

I called Seachem ... the rep told me that they are identical. It's just in different bags. You can practically see that they have the same amounts of elements listed in their CN.
*Onyx Sand:*
Concentration of nutrients in Onyx Sand™ 
Aluminum 822 
Barium 5 
Calcium 197500 
Cobalt 4 
Chromium 10 
copper 4 
Iron 2846 
Potassium 417 
Magnesium 115400 
Manganese 43 
Sodium 135 
Nickel 7 
Vanadium 8 
Zinc 23

*Gray Coast Calcite:*
Elemental Concentrations in Gray Coast™ 
Calcium 197,500 
Cobalt 4 
Iron 2876 
Potassium 417 
Magnesium 115400 
Manganese 43 
Molybdenum 6 
Strontium 63 
Vanadium 7 
Zinc 23


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## manojprabakar (Mar 20, 2008)

Thanks you guys for your replies.

I didn't want to risk my tank by adding the GC Calcite. So I went with the plain old "Play Sand" as a top layer. But I'm concerned about the depth of the sand. I now have around 1 in of sand on top of flourite. Do you think that's too deep to grow HC?

Thanks again.


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