African Cichlid sand for saltwater

[newbie65]

Hey fellow aquarist
I was going to set up a 55 gallon cichlid tank and purchased 60 lbs. of eco-complete african cichlid sand. It looks like ground up oreo's. I called Carib-Sea and they said it would be perfectly fine to use this sand for a saltwater tank and that the only thing that would happen is that the bacteria in the sand/bag would die due to saltwater. They also told me that the black stuff is volcanic rock b/c I was concerned about it having any traces of metal which would be disastrous. Their Tech guy reassured and reassured and reassured me that the amounts of iron I do believe are no concern at all. I was needing to know if anyone has ever had experience with this stuff or has actually done this before. I can't send the sand back b/c it would eat me up on shipping so if this does not work I guess I'll have no choice but to go freshwater

 

[ca161406]

just get new sand wont set you back too much, then sell what u got on cregslist or somthing

 

[rotarygeek]

You can go bare bottom. That is without sand. You dont need it to have a succesful tank. And if later on you decide you want it and can afford it, buy a bag and add it about a cup a day till you get the amount you want. What really hurts buying is Live Rock. That stuff is expensive. I paid 7 a pound for 65 pounds of it. Rediculous.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I wouldn't personally use an inert sand in my saltwater aquariums. If I were you, I would try to just buy 60lbs of live sand ... should be about 66 dollars. Trust me, you are going to spend 10x that amount of live rock, fish and other equipment. Just do it right the first time.