Live Sand or Crushed Coral?

[SWnewby]

We haven't decided on any kind of gravel for our SW tank, but petco has live sand with tiny seashells in it that i really really like, but i read somewhere that you shouldnt buy live sand in a bag because more than likely it has already died sitting on the shelf...

So is it better to get live sand? or crushed coral?
and if its better to get live sand, where do i get enough for a 55 gallon tank?

[ilostnemo]

Its all dead no matter how old it is, at least thats what ive heard. Plus crushed coral will be easier for cleaning. If you use a syphon on sand well you get the idea. lol

[Sadielynn]

Sand is more asthetically pleasing IMO
The crushed coral can and will trap ditritus and can cause your tank to have high NitrAtes , NitrItes and ammonia ... the sand is a bit harder as it is "packed" down and holds less detrits ... You may have some luck using some play sand from Lowes or any other home improvment stores ...it us usally pretty cheap under 10 bucks for a 50 LB bag ... just besure to whiff it to make sure there is not "oily" smell to it if it does just pass it up ... You will need to pre wet it down a bit to allow it to sink easier ...
LS that we talk about has anerobic bacteria just how much is live is debatable ... I use it becuase my tanks are nanos and also it is "pre wet" for me allowing quicker set up times and less prime time of having to presoak it for any period of time .... all sand will become live in time ... if I ever change my tank I will be using the dry sand that is white , I guess I became partial to the look of it with the crabitat my neice has ..

[SWnewby]

Is it safe to use sand from lowes or a home improvement store? is there anything else i can use besides sand? that wont trap all the gunk?

[redneckgearhead]

I have Crushed coral with no problems. its been in the tank for over five years now. IMO if cleaned regular it should be fine.

[SWnewby]

ok great! thank you guys for the imput! also is it safe to put tiny seashells in the tank as well?

[redneckgearhead]

For your substrate or just decoration? you should put an assortment of sizes in if you plan on having hermits. that should help keep them from killing your snails for their shells.

[mdaniel2882]

Originally Posted by SWnewby

Is it safe to use sand from lowes or a home improvement store? is there anything else i can use besides sand? that wont trap all the gunk?

You are getting a lot of bad advice.

The sand from lowes or home depot will contain alot of cilicates. this will cause a diatom bloom beyond belief. Crushed coral is difficult to keep clean at best and will causes hith nitrates. Live sand is a waste of money because you have no idea how long it has sat on the shelf. that is why people assume that it is no longer live

What you want is dry argonite sand. It will buffer the PH in you tank and it is easy to keep clean. I vaccum mine every week.

you want to rinse it before you put it in and then wait for the cloudiness to go away.

DO NOT USE SAND FROM HOME DEPOT!

[redneckgearhead]

not sure i gave bad advice. just expressed my experience with my tank.

[SWnewby]

ok how do you vaccuum sand? and there isnt anything else i can use besides sand?

[kdogg85]

You could always use decorative gravel, doesn't look as real though. I have sand from home depot and have went through my diatom bloom. Got very lucky. Vaccuming sand isn't as wild as it sounds, just lightly brush the tube over it and you will suck up mostly the crap on it. you will lose a bit of sand, btu nothing to even worry about.

[Floyd R Turbo]

+1 on aragonite sand for a SW tank. I use Pool Filter Sand in one of my and one of my customers' tank and that works great. It is silica based but it doesn't leech into the water any more than the silica from the glass the tank is made from. The PFS I got was from Menards, while bag, blue lettering, Granusil brand, in the sandblasting materials area. The guy at Leslie's pool supply told me it's identical to their stuff, they just have gone through the extra certification process to give it the 'pool safe' stamp.

Plus PFS is slightly coarser and larger than play sand, and I have siphoned it along the surfance, and you get some sucked up but not that much. Especially for $5 a bag.

But you have to rinse the ever living you-know-what out of it.

[Sadielynn]

I also am not sure any bad advice was given ...Some use this and some use that ... Some have issues others have used it for years ...
Every tank is diffrent ...
I have heard some say that the silica sand does not cause blooms others that swear it does ... there is not much on the market any more that is silicate free....
Either way you decide on the look you want do you want natural sandy bottoms or a crushed coral look ....?
Some make cc work as they have super charged currents in thier tank
the sand just does not allow it to get "stuck" as easy ....
The sand for pool filters and such should work as well ... call your local pool CO and see if they sell it ...
As for the shells besure to boil them in water to clean them if they are not from a tank already ... Especially if they come from the beach ....
You can use good ol aquarium gravel but it may leech the paint on the stones off and cause issues ... your best bet is sand ....

[SWnewby]

awesome! I think i've decided to just get dry sand from the fish store, thank you guys so much

[cmor1701d]

OK, dry aragonite is the best choice, but today it is only available from a specialty store at $20 - 30+ per bag. You used to be able to get Caribbean plays and at Home Depot for about $5.00 per 50# bag. It was sold in garden center for use in a sandbox. You can still plays and, but today it is made of quartz (silica) sand. There is nothing wrong with using this in an aquarium. Read Silica Sand by Rob Toonen for more info.

Will you have more dissolved silica than if you used aragonite? Yes.
Are diatoms an issue in EVERY NEW aquarium? Yes, but they burn out in short order.