Sand substrate

[MCluett]

how many pounds of sand would i need for a 10gal nano tank? i plan on 20lbs of LR as well and would like to get some sand sifting fish so i would like a decent amouth of sand. i really just need an estimate so i dont order to much. any suggestions?

 

[cogburn]

get a 50 lb bag of pool filter sand for about $12... use what you want and save the rest for something else

 

[CaptainAhab]

Aquariumlife.net - Aquarium Substrate Quantity Calcualtor

 

[cogburn]

never saw that before capt. thats awesome

 

[melosu58]

FantasyReef Calculators

 

[cogburn]

you need to be a member of that forum for those calculators melosu

 

[CaptainAhab]

not mine

 

[MCluett]

ok thanks alot, i heard about the pool filter sand. where would i pick some up

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

I'm not sure if thats the best thing to use for SW tank?

 

[cogburn]

ace hardware, anywhere that sells pool supplies... should be relatively easy to find.

 

[MCluett]

I'm not sure if thats the best thing to use for SW tank?

i have read mixed feelings on this as well on the site. anyone else have any opinions or reasoning behind whether i shouldnt or shouldnt use this?

 

[CaptainAhab]

Populist opinion is not to use silica based sand although I've never seen any hard scientific evidence that silica based sand leads to increased algae. It is factual that the edges of silica sand are sharper than aragonite sand and thus some believe that this irritates sand dwellers. It has round grains that pass easily through the gills of gobies and other sand-sifting organisms. Having never spoke to my goby or snails so I can neither confirm or deny this belief.

 

[ccCapt]

Good article....Silica in Reef Aquariums.
"Is it OK to use silica sand? Probably. Many people do so. I also believe that not all “silica “ sands will be the same for the reasons described above relating to processing of the sand and the nature of the mineral inclusions present. So the fact that many people successfully use some (or many) types of silica sand does not necessarily imply that all people can use any type of “silica” sand without a problem."

 

[MCluett]

ok caribsea isnt that expensive on Bigals so i willfind out how much i need and if it isnt too much then i will just spring for the aragonite. does anyone know the dimensions for an ordinary 10gal tank, not a nanocube or anything just a normal rectangular tank.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Fish Aquarium and Tank  Sizes and Characteristics, starting an aquarium, buying equipment, choosing tanks

~20" x10"

 

[MCluett]

thanks alot

 

[cmor1701d]

Playsand for a kids sandbox is also safe to use. Caribean playsand is no longer available unfortunately.

 

[MCluett]

playsand is good. what should i be looking for when purchasing it? will it say anything specific on the package?

 

[MCluett]

would this stuff do the trick?

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/...Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

 

[CaptainAhab]

It's also silica based.. in case you were wondering