Crystal Reef Sand is NOT Aragonite...see the video

R

ReefManiac99

Reefing newb
I just posted a video: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRaSkxo29wA]Crystal Reef Sand is NOT ARAGONITE - YouTube[/ame]

I was fooled into buying Crystal Reef "Aragonite" sand. What a failure! Sand "MAY" be okay for reef tanks, but the fact that I've been able to prove several of their statements are outright lies makes me concerned. So, I dumped it and bought other sand.

Hope enough people read this and see the video and don't make the same mistake.
 
Hey, on that bahama sand, where did you buy it and did you buy the coarse or fine? I see it is kinda cheap and I like the way the fine looks but I am not sure if that is right if you are going to have sand shifters. https://www.marcorocks.com is the page where I found it. Not sure if they are legit or not.
 
Alright, I was not real sure of if they were legit or not since their site is not the best in the world. Sometimes that is an indication, not allways. Just wanted to verify. thanks I am probably going to order some of that bahama sand after I get paid here any time.
 
I received a sample from and aggregate supplier called Marcona Industries. I wanted more, but at that time they were only selling it by the ton.
 
Paul West at it Again!

Hi,

This is Dave Marra, eBay Manager for Crystal Reef live sand. I walked into my office today to find Paul at it again. Paul West, of Hastings Ohio, is the seller fijisandman, livereeffoods, reefapalooza and some other handles on eBay. He is also known to this community as ReefManiac99. He sells calcite sand on eBay and has for many years. His product is ok, but in order to discredit a better product he has launched a "Anti-Crystal Reef" campaign against our company because our live sand has been selling off the shelves since we started selling on eBay again. It appears he is using tactics to discredit our company through videos and online media.

He is entitled to his opinions, however he is also walking a fine line when demonstrating why his product is better than the competition. He uses multiple eBay handles as well as multiple reef forum handles to either discredit the competition or promote his business. I am not exactly sure why he hiding behind these various handles, but it is obvious he is doing so to sell more of his sand.

Although Crystal Reef would never practice tactics like this, I have been asked by the owners to set the record straight. What we sell is bright white live aquarium sand. Our signature product is unique in nature because of its white color. We do not have any personal issues with Paul West and his product. It is very apparent he has a problem with ours. We understand that.

I am sure if ReefManiac99 was a REAL customer they would have notified me of their displeasure with our live sand. This did not happen. In fact, I haven't had a complaint yet from our many customers. If there is one, we will take care of it like any responsible business would.

I have been reefing for over 12 years and I currently have the opportunity to work for a fabulous company. I have learned over the years, especially in forums, there is always a debate over what equipment is the best, what rock or sand is superior, and lets not forget water parameters. I too, have a personal account with several forums, but that is personal, not business. As I write this I find little business professionalism in attacking the competitor. I received a nasty letter from Paul West last month. I explained to him in reply that it is better for competing businesses to work together, rather than against each other. Apparently, I didn't convey the message well.

My advice to the forum is use your best judgement whenever purchasing a product for your aquarium.

Thank you for your time,

David Marra
eBay Manager, Crystal Reef Live Sand Co.
 
Dave,

We love the idea of competition producing great products. We do not however condone malicious tactics (business or otherwise) on this forum in order to sell a product. I'm very interested (as I am sure everyone else is) to get your side of the story (about your product not the competition) so that we can make an informed decision. Everyone likes to find another great product or a cost effective method of doing something with their setup.

I would urge you to release the contents of your sand, whether it is silica based etc. to discredit the negative comments of a competitor, that is after all, business as usual. I would even discuss with one of our moderators (definitely the right people to talk to) about maybe lining up a sample for one of them for at cost.

We definitely base our opinions off the merits of a product. I would like to have more information on yours.

Sincerely, Cathic
 
I did buy the sand, and the video speak VOLUMES. Sheesh! I tried to help the community by posting some actual video documentation of what CR is really selling, and now you want to discount what's plainly obvious? I'm not who David believes I am. He's obviously trying to cover his backside by putting "spin" on the facts.
 
Brilliant!

Cathic,

I couldn't agree with you more.

Let me give a little history behind Crystal Reef. Crystal Reef Live Sand Co. was founded in 1996. Our main product is live sand, however we are currently under research and development on cultured live rock and marine foods.

Specifically, our sand is aragonite. Aragonite by definition is, " a carbonite mineral, CaCO3". Aragonite comes in many different shapes and colors depending on what is bonded with the CaCO3. For example, if Iron was present in the bonding of CaCO3, the rock/sand would have a tint of red in it. Our sand is unique, because it is naturally occuring, however very rare to find. There are only 3 places on Earth to find this sand. In 1999, we obtained licensing and agreements with these three very large mines for the sand. It is not chemically altered or bleached. In fact, other than the beneficial bacteria with our trace elements, absolutely nothing is added to our sand. I have it in my 210 gallon and it looks great.

We are currently running a test market run on eBay for a projected 12 months. If we succeed there, our bags of live sand will be on the shelves of almost every pet/aquarium store nationwide, hopefully by 2013. We offer a 1 lb sample of our live sand on eBay for $2.59, shipping included. I am not promoting this for sales, but more or less to set the record straight. Our sand is aragonite, it is healthy for your aqaurium and we would never lie to our customers as the video states.

Our eBay handle is crystal-reef-sand, found on this link: eBay My World - crystal-reef-sand.

As I don't monitor the forums as much as our eBay account, if you have questions please feel free to contact me anytime through eBay.

Thanks,

David
eBay Manager, Crystal Reef Live Sand Co.
 
Yes Waddi I agree. I would however like to buy some of this stuff and perform my own analysis to see what happens.
 

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