Advise please- Sand or substrate

[Dewey]

Well ive had my tank cycling for 9 days know. Ive been doing some reading in the forms. Heres what i have in the bottom of the tank. Its crushed sea shells and live agronite.

From what ive been reading sand is better.Should i change this out Know to save problems in the long run?

Should i go with a dsb ? or sand a live sand on top?

Tank 40 gallon Thanks for all the help Duane
35 pounds of rock

 

[fishfreek]

The ultmate decision to change it out or keep it really ends with what you want to do. What do you want to do with the tank? Is it your goal to setup a reef tank with corals or where you thinking just a fish only setup? If fish only what kinds of fish where you looking at. (some fish prefer one substrate over the other)

How deep is your current substrate?

 

[Dewey]

sand or Crushed shells

Well i think the tank will be lr and a few fish .I know i would like to try a pair or clowns.And some thing that would get along with them.

 

[fernzpat]

Crushed sea shells should be fine then as long as you keep it down to a few fish. What filtration are you going to use?

 

[Dewey]

Filter

I have a Magnum 350 - and seaclone 100 skimmer

 

[fishfreek]

If you elect to go with crushed coral substrate keep the depth at 1" or less. Syphon 1/2 of the substrate when you do water changes to keep the nitrate levels down.

If you elect to so sand then size your sand particles so the average and majority of the sand bits are sugar grain size. Give yourself a depth of 3-4" and dont syphon the sand when you do water changes.

 

[Dewey]

Sand

Ok what should i buy for sand???

 

[bennerkla]

most pet stores have sand that you can buy that is specifically for aquariums.

 

[BillyZ]

the argonite sand you buy at a LFS will be extremely expensive. Look for sterelized argonite play sand at the home improvment store such as home depot or lowes. Specific brands that have been used and known to work are OldCastle, Southdown and Yard Right. Good luck hunting it down, it can be tough to find in some areas, and some places only stock it seasonaly (cause most kids don't play in sand boxes in the winter... most)

 

[bennerkla]

how much is the sand for aquariums

 

[Sam]

A LOT!! Follow the adviced of getting the same calcium based playsand from the HD. Make sure it says silica free. The brands mentioned meet that criteria and is sterilized ( remember kids play with it).

 

[Guest]

how much is the sand for aquariums

Anywhere from $4 - $40 for a 40lb bag, depending on where you get it from.

 

[Beerman]

www.purearagonite.com

 

[BillyZ]

as stated, the "aquarium argonite" sand is priced quite high for no real reason other than trying to cash in on a niche market. On average, buying argonite sand "for aquarium use" can cost about $1 per pound. You can buy the same sand "for sand boxes" for about .10 (ten cents) a pound. Which is actually more than I paid for mine. I paid $3.xx for a 50 pound bag of OldCastle play sand (western NY area)
A home improvement store or even a gardening store is truely your best bet.

 

[cj10488]

how much is the sand for aquariums

approx $1.00 per lb from what I have been finding

20lb bags cost me $20.00 here at my LFS


James

 

[ashearier]

I got a price of 7 dollars for 50 pounds of Southdown at Home Depot in Wausau, Wisconsin.