DSB

[liquidice79]

Hidily ho neighbourino's!!

Can someone tell me what actually comprises a DSB? Sand, aragonite or both? Can I get sand from a Hardware shop? And how deep is a DSB anyway? Sorry too many red wines but any answers appreciated nonetheless

 

[phases99]

It is best to use Aragonite at a depth of 3” or more. The finer the sand the better. I have one and it works for NNR.

 

[indy]

If you have a larger tank, try for 4-6". Aragonite is generally recomended, but playsand will work as well.

 

[Bearfan]

Hidily ho neighbourino's!!

Can someone tell me what actually comprises a DSB? Sand, aragonite or both? Can I get sand from a Hardware shop? And how deep is a DSB anyway? Sorry too many red wines but any answers appreciated nonetheless

Look for a sand called Southdown from Home Depot. It's the best option.

 

[Atari]

Do they even have Home Depot in Oz?

 

[ambulocetus]

My understanding was that the use of aragonite in a dsb was that is was non-silicate, and that over time it had the potential to buffer the tank to a certain degree. I used playsand from a hardware store in mine, (make sure it is really a fine grade). If you go to a lfs you can see bags of aragonite sand, usually selling for like $30 for 10 lbs. However, over here it was discovered that the same company that made aquarium sand, also sold the same product as general playsand. They were nice and sneaky and wrote on the play sand (which is like $5 for 50lbs!) not for aquarium use, just to make us feel scared into buying thew same stuff at a higher price!
Long and the short of the story is look at the hardware store sand, if it is really cheap buy a bag (its only 5-6 dollars here) take it home and test a small amount of it to see if it is aragonite (usually will effervesce when brought into contact with vinegar). If it does use it, if it doesn't it is up to you if you want to use it or try and find some aragonite sand. I gave up and used regular playsand, and then mixed in a small amount of aragonite from the lfs just for good measure!
- if you haven't already looked at it under the calculators section on here, there is a link to determine about how much sand you will need for your tank! (AA.com thinks of everything!)

 

[ram6519]

Does anyone know if the QUIKRETE Play Sand will work? That is the only thing my HD carries. I have looked at the bags and it does not say if it is Aragonite or not.

 

[tmcpeek]

Quikrete is silica based

 

[blorkiemom]

It's not. I hope it's not considered bad form to point to another forum, but there's a long discussion of the Southdown situation here:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26193&highlight=southdown

Sadly, most of the country is out of luck. :-( Me included.

 

[ram6519]

Ok, thanks guys. I can't seen to find anyone that carries aragonite sand in the Jackson, Miss area. I was hoping to find something less than $30 for a 50lb bag from my LFS.

 

[phases99]

No Southdown available in my area either. I bought mine from that fish place. Not a bad deal, even with shipping. http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/aragamax/Class//T1/F43+0532+0007/Itemdy00.aspx

 

[liquidice79]

Thanks for all the posts guys. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as Home Depot in Oz so I guess I'll be buying a tonne of aragonite from the lfs :x