Starting a New Tank

[Saltwaterlvr]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum type, but I heard I can get great info here. I'm starting a 60 gal. tank. I did my research and found play sand at Home Depot & Lowes, but it's the Silica sand. Can I/can I not use this for starting my tank? I've read that some people did not have a problem adding LS to the mix and making it all ok, but then I've heard some people say that it does not work. Please help the newbee....

 

[Devilishturtles]

Welcome to AA, Saltwaterlvr.

Silica sand is, to put it simply, just fine for aquariums. But.. it does have a few drawbacks over aragonite sand (such as livesand). It doesn't buffer your water so you *may* have problems with pH. Aragonite sand naturally buffers water as it breaks down. Silican sand doesn't break down over time, so it doesn't have any buffering capacity. It can compact a little easier than aragonite sand, but with some sand sifters that's no problem either.
And...that's about it. If you want to mix some silica and aragonite (LS), that'd be perfect.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Saltwaterlvr]

Devilishturtles,

Thank you ssoooooo much. I do understand what you're saying and I'll give it a try. I was just trying to keep a few bucks in my pocket to spend on setting up the tank. Right now I have a clown knife (8") and I plan on transferring him to my 29gal.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Definitley understand where you are coming from. Sand is expensive!

Just to clarify, you did mean to post this in the sw forums right? Do you have the clown knife in a tank with the sand? I'm confused.

 

[Saltwaterlvr]

Yes I did. I'm taking him out to convert the tank to SW. My 29 gal. will be my new freshwater, along with my wife's 20 gal. The 60 was originally meant for SW but I couldn't afford to get started at the time. Good looking out.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Gotcha. I dunno too much about a clown knife, but a 29 should be okay for it I assume?

Have you ever medicated your tank with any medicine? Used any fertilizers for live plants? Chemicals used for freshwater and copper are toxic to sw life (inverts) so if you've used either in your tank you might consider ditching the sand and just buying new. Either that, or rinse very very very well and run some fresh activated carbon for a while to make sure.

 

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

Please do not cycle your tank with live animals.
I agree with Lindsay. This is a great place to buy your dry goods and here is a link to some Aragamax Sand http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7321&N=2004+113554, they don't charge extra for bulky or heavy weight. I bought 270Lbs of sand a lighting system and the shipping was $15.99. They have great customer support and ship your items pretty quickly.

 

[melosu58]

Moving this to the Start up forum.