Substrates for SW

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Live Sand

  • Crushed Coral

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  • Sand

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  • Sand Crushed Coral Mix

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Live Sand Crushed Coral Mix

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • gravel

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
welll FF, my lfs only sells the live sand bagged and should i just do like 60lbs of regular non silicate sand and like 30 lbs of live sand? cause i really want a DSB would that be goos?? cause i looked at a 3" sand bed and it is about 100lbs and that would only be like what $30 to fill it? anyhow

you guys dont reccomned the crushed coral? but what about live sand crushed coral mix? would that be pretty good and it would buffer the pH right? and with the sw fishies what pH do clowns and gobys and hawkfish need?

also this is a suggested fish for the 29 gal

2 electric blue gobys
2 O. Clowns
1 or 2 striped hawkfish

is that good?
 
Rudy, I would go to Home Depot and find playground sand. It is cheaper and it will work the same as live sand in the long run.

Crushed coral is good and all, but for a dsb you want nice sugary sand, that way it is easier to keep clean.

It is all about personal preferance. You may go with crushed coral and love it. I personally do not like the way it looks and the fact that you cant have the sand sifter gobies in a tank with crushed corals.
 
but what about live sand crushed coral mix?
It can be done, but eventually the sand will settle to the bottom leaving the CC on the top. You will then have to make sure you vac the CC often to remove any detritus so you do not end up with a nitrate problem. Sand does not need this much maintanance.
 
lando said:
but what about live sand crushed coral mix?
It can be done, but eventually the sand will settle to the bottom leaving the CC on the top. You will then have to make sure you vac the CC often to remove any detritus so you do not end up with a nitrate problem. Sand does not need this much maintanance.

You are right about the settling of the sand. I have a lot of shells in my tank because of the sand I used from the ocean. They all have made their way to the top and I am always having to pick them out. It is really a pain.
 
ok thanks but how do i do a gravel vac with sand???? cause if i do what i do now with my FW tank i wouldnt have any sand in the tank anymore :roll:

so how do you recommend having to do the vaccuming for sand?
 
malkore said:
sugar-sized aragonite sand.

We were using some larger (1.5 - 2mm sized) sand in our 29 gallon, but when we upgraded to a 55, all that went into the sump area.

The main tank is now filled with the same, Aragomax Sugar Sized White Sand.

It is hands down, more beautiful that I thought.. Specially with a brittle star moving around on it. :)

p.s. You play WoW? I've a lvl 28 Warlock on Garona. ;-) (Alliance)
 
You may not be able to find the right playsand at home depot. it's very regional. You need SouthDown brand playsand, and it should be very white, and may even say 'tropical'.

I really doubt you'll get 100lbs of live sand for $30. Its $30 for a 30lb bag of non-live sand that's aragonite based. Live sand will go for a premium, probably $2-$3 a pound.

Yep, I play WoW: Argent Dawn- 41 rogue night elf.
 
i play WoW Cava-14warlock not the undead

and also, what color? white? as white as i can get??? also why? why not a more 'regular' tan sand?
 
oh darn...i havent even gotten into that one....huge warcraft 3 and play have been playin warlords battlecry 3 lately....its very good for those who like that stuff
 
The sand in the ocean is white, not tan. White sand also helps reflect light back up so you maximize your lighting. Tan sand isn't aragonite based either, so it won't help keep the water buffered.

WoW is very cool. The only reason to not like it is the $15 a month subscription fee to play. But if you're like me and play 4 hours a day (minimum) then you're really getting some cheap entertainment (compared to cable television subscription fees)
 
lol, you remind me of my older brother malkore

and how much is the argonite sand?? per like a 50 lb bag? and also can i get some of that at HD or lowes?
 
Take a look at this page for a visual difference between a couple types of sand.

Your average "Play sand" is silica sand, typicaly has sharp edges (as shown in the page above) but will NOT release silicates into the water. That is a common misconception.

If you can find an argonite based play sand (such as oldcastle, yard-right etc) then the grains sizes have much more variation, rounded edges which allows it to harbor more sensative substrate fauna, and also helps maintain the Ph balance in your system. Argoniate has nothing but positives, silica sand simply has fewer positives (a couple argualbe negatives)

if you find the right argonite playsand at the homedepot, I got 4, 50 pounds bags for around $5 each. :D It's worth the effort to look for, don't you think? :wink:
 
argonite sand is not available on the west coast. ( I do however live a relativley short drive from the ocean :) ) Would pool filter sand work in SW?
Ok, heres another question. I live near cold water ocean. If I wanted to use sand and hopefully pick up some hitchhikers, would they survive the warmer tropical tank? I'm thinking probably not. I guess I would have to rinse it really really well and remove any life forms.
 
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