Whats the downside to using silica sand?

FYI, a lot of beach sand is silica sand. What do yall think they restore beaches with? It costs way too much and causes too much damage to go out and dredge the ocean for sand, so they use silica sand to restore beaches that have been eroded by hurricanes etc.

 

silica is sand. silica is the sand they use to make glass.

 

Get a section of Star board to cover the bottom.. Its white and very reflective and you can pull it and bleach it . I think all that reflective crap is over kill I tried it saw no difference in the long or short term. But star board is the best if thats what you want to try in the tank.. It was an idea that some 1/2 baked smart guy came up with ! But I went a different route when I tried it ..
I simply set a sheet of white PVC wall covering under the bare bottom tank Just because you read it somewhere the guy writing it maybe is not as smart as he think he is ? But the reflective idea is way over rated . if you can't find anyone to sell a section of that board ? I'll ship you a section at cost of shipping.. I used PVC white paint and aluminum foil never saw any improvement in coral growth form it . No more then from tank with just a bare bottom . I have my theory on where that idea came from..

 

Ive used polished aluminum before and all it did was heat up the tank. I think I should be fine with the bare bottom. As for using pvc sheet, wouldnt painting the bottom bright white have the same effect?

 

I have been considering using silica sand in my refugium, upon my tons of reading on silica sand I've found that it does not create, cause or release silicates. It does however be very compact and almost cement like if not stirred which of course will cause problems in itself...

 

It all depends on the source where it's been extracted from. the only drawback will be like geekdafied stated; no buffering capability, which argonite base sand will eventually loose after 2 or 3 months down the road, it does reflects light much better than any other substrate, and will not harm sand sifters as what seems sharp for an average person is probably pretty dull for a creature 100 times smaller. I have 50/50 argonite, silica, (play sand) since day one going into 9mo. now and never experience any adverse effects.