Coral Beach Natural IndoChina Coral Sand is CITES and U.S. government approved premium quality natural coral sand from a new source in Southeast Asia. Great care is taken to ensure that the harvesting of this sand is not endangering the environment. IndoChina Coral Sand has bacteria added (see explanation below).

The sand is illustrated showing the relative sizes of each grade. The average actual grain sizes are as follows: Grade 0 - .00 dia, Grade 1 - .00 dia, Grade 2 - .00 dia, Grade 3 - .00, Grade 4 - .00, Grade 5 - .00 dia.

Special Cultured Bacteria Added
Special cultured bacteria of a particular species of Bacillus are added onto the surface of the coral sand (billions of bacteria per pound of sand) in the processing at Kordon. These bacteria have distinct advantages for marine aquarium keeping and are different than all others currently provided with coral sand. The bacteria used by Kordon are not the multiple species originally developed for sewage that are used by some for aquarium products. Most species of bacteria used in sewage mixes are inappropriate for marine aquarium use. Also, the bacteria used by Kordon are not the Nitrosomonas/Nitrobacter combination normally claimed by suppliers to be in their wet packaged products. Nitromonas/Nitrobacter nitrifiers have to be provided wet because they do not have a cyst stage allowing dry delivery. To provide the bacteria wet requires bacteriostatic treatment and toxic solvents to keep the water free of fungus and other toxins.

The Kordon bacteria is a species of the genus Bacillus which was originally developed for commercial aquaculture and has been scientifically selected for aquarium use based on years of tests. This bacteria species is laboratory raised through to the dormant cyst stage so that it is a long-lived pure culture with a shelf life of years. When placed in the aquarium water, the bacteria awake and continue their life cycles.

The hardy Kordon bacteria are provided dry and do not require being stored wet. These bacteria are equally effective in fresh or salt water. The sand and shell in Kordon's products can be rinsed by the aquarist with less than15% removal of the bacteria, leaving an ample number of organisms alive. They remain attached in the nooks and crannies of the substrate. Kordon's bacteria are faster acting than nitrifiers. The Kordon bacteria quickly and effectively remove organics so that milky white bacteria common in new-tank set ups do not develop in the aquarium water, or are kept to a minimum. Also, the bacteria eliminate odors and beneficially lower the level of the nitrogen cycle so that the toxic peaks for ammonia, nitrite, and organic nitrogen compounds associated with nitrate are reduced and less stressful on the fish and invertebrates; thus they lessen the work load required of nitrifying bacteria associated with the nitrogen cycle.

The bacteria needed by marine aquarists to establish the nitrogen cycle are naturally brought into the aquarium by their presence in the surface slime of fishes and invertebrates, or can be accelerated by adding a freshwater or marine nitrifying bacteria product to the aquarium water. Kordon's bacteria do not interfere with any of the nitrifying bacteria and their action.