Is my lfs owner feeding me a bunch of bunk?

[caliskier]

So I go into my lfs and ask the owner about dry sand and live sand. She gives me a whole story about how if I do not buy the live sand that they have and fill my tank with it I will have clouding problems. She also said to stay away from something (can't remember if it was crushed coral or what) because it will drive up the nitrate? anyway it will drive something up. The big thing was that she said if I get dry sand it will cloud my tank up everytime I do a water change. Is this true?

Also where can I get cheep sand...in Oklahoma?

 

[RogerMcAllen]

That is not true at all. After your sand gets a nice coat of bacteria (it will happen on its own), it will become a bit "heavier" and won't cloud. LS in a bag is pretty much a waste since by the time it is in your tank everything in it will be dead.

The crushed thing is crushed coral. It won't do anything for nitrates, but it will increase your water hardness.

 

[Civicman86]

crushed coral will collect nitrate from what i have heard. Make sense though since it is not as dense as sand and has more places for waste to hide and sit. Thus increasing nitrates.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

If you like the look of crushed coral all you will have to do is vacuum it once a week to get rid of trapped debris. The other bad thing about it is many of the sand dwelling critters don't like it as it will scratch them.

 

[caliskier]

Thanks guys, I thought as much, when a salesperson is overzealous about something it usually means they are streaching the truth.

Where can I get cheep sand though?

 

[MT79]

CC substrate is generally not recommended in reef tanks because it will accumulate detritus over time and produce excessive nitrates. As mentioned the animals that would normally consume the extra organic matter in a DSB/SSB-worms, etc.- can't live in CC b/c it is too course/sharp.

 

[caliskier]

Another thing she told me is that i need one hermit crab per gallon, now that I didn't believe my tank is 125 gallons. I said, maybe I would get less and let them breed. She said that they won't breed in your tank. Is this true, can you get the hermits to breed in captivity. I would think that you could if they sell for so cheep.

What say you guys, 1 crab per gallon in a 125 gallon tank?
Can't breed hermits?

 

[lando]

Check out Home Depot for tropical playsand. You can get a 50lb bag for $8. Make sure it is aragonite based and not silocate sand. As for the crabs, 1/gal is a bit extreme. Geez, have they tried to sell you any tank or reef suppliments yet? I would find a new fish store.

 

[Jermz79]

1 crab per 5gal. sounds more reasonable and 1 snail per 2 or 3 gallons is cool. Just make sure you get a mix of Turbo, Nassarius and Cerith snails!

In my 29gal. I have 15 turbos and they keep up with the nasties, but I could probably use a few more ... of course I robbed my 29gal of 5 Turbos to put into my Nano !!!

If your local HD doesn't have the playsand everyone refers too (mine didn't ) check out www.premiumaquatics.com they have some pretty good prices for sand!

 

[seaham358]

Dry sand will cloud your tank when you first fill the tank with water and it could tank a few days to clear up. So if you do use it cover it with garbage bags and fill the tank by pouring water into a bowl placed on the bags. Leave the bags in until the tank is full, this will cut down a lot on the cloudy water.
Clean up crew IMO 1 crab per gallon is way too many. I have maybe 40 in my reef and I also have about 30-40 snails. And IMO they will not bread in a tank, if they do they become food.
LS in a bag IMO is not worth the money... Buying play sand and then getting 5lb of real LS to seed it would be the way to go..

 

[MT79]

Can't breed hermits?

No, hermits will not reproduce in your tank. They may "breed" but the fry will never reach adulthood in an aquarium. There is just not a large enough variety of plankton, be it phyto or zoo, to feed on. Also in such a small environment predation would be a problem.

 

[caliskier]

If your local HD doesn't have the playsand everyone refers too (mine didn't ) check out www.premiumaquatics.com they have some pretty good prices for sand!

Yeah, I am in Oklahoma and I don't think they do either. I will check that site out.

 

[caliskier]

Dry sand will cloud your tank when you first fill the tank with water and it could tank a few days to clear up. So if you do use it cover it with garbage bags and fill the tank by pouring water into a bowl placed on the bags. Leave the bags in until the tank is full, this will cut down a lot on the cloudy water.

Good idea

Clean up crew IMO 1 crab per gallon is way too many. I have maybe 40 in my reef and I also have about 30-40 snails. And IMO they will not bread in a tank, if they do they become food.
LS in a bag IMO is not worth the money... Buying play sand and then getting 5lb of real LS to seed it would be the way to go..

Thanks for the advice on the crabs, I thought that was a bit much myself. And the sand, I just got the feeling that she was trying to make a sale.

 

[flamingonhot]

2 per gallon for smaller tanks (hermits) is usually right but it would be a little toomuch if you had over 100 of htem.

 

[caliskier]

Check out Home Depot for tropical playsand. You can get a 50lb bag for $8. Make sure it is aragonite based and not silocate sand. As for the crabs, 1/gal is a bit extreme. Geez, have they tried to sell you any tank or reef suppliments yet? I would find a new fish store.

I am thinking about not going back there, though they have a pretty large sellection of fish

 

[caliskier]

Can't breed hermits?

No, hermits will not reproduce in your tank. They may "breed" but the fry will never reach adulthood in an aquarium. There is just not a large enough variety of plankton, be it phyto or zoo, to feed on. Also in such a small environment predation would be a problem.

That's too bad, thank goodness they are so cheep. Can you breed anything in a saltwater tank?

 

[MyMonkey]

I just found your post Cali. Yes. Some clownfish will breed in your tank. And, snails will reproduce quickly sometimes. I have heard of some Cardinal fish breeding in captivity as well. Regarding the sand, if you find the stuff at Home Depot that would be great. Then, you can just seed it with some live sand from an existing setup... Such as mine for free. I hear a few cups of live sand will do the trick.

 

[nsu7]

Where can you get LS? If none of my LFS don't sell it, are there any online dealers?

 

[MyMonkey]

Well, I googled "live sand" and came up with this: http://www.petco.com/shop/product.a...&cm_pla=708941&cm_ite=5427773&CMReferringUrl=

Not sure if that was the brand you were looking for. But, there were several other types as well. Odd, almost every one of the LFS's here have live sand in a bag. Not sure how alive it is, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

 

[nsu7]

Thanks. I have heard the bagged stuff isn't so alive after being bagged for so long. I will call the lfs today and see if they have any like you might buy LR... un bagged, straight from a tank...