Carb-sea live sand or Southdown.
- Thread starter tykill
- Start date
adrian
Active Member
The south down is said to be the exact same sand that carib sea sells as aragamax, good stuff. You want at least 4" for a properly functioning live sand bed, if thats what your after. You also have to make sure the south down is the right kind, there are said to be two kinds packaged as south down, one is aragonite, the other is not. Yes, crushed coral is the same thing, only much larger and not very usefull for creating a DSB. HTH
mad_dog
New Member
BurnNspy
Recently added approximately 40 lbs. of aragonite to my 55 gal. two weeks ago as part of the process of changing from cc to dsb. Alkalinity dropped from 2.4 to 1.1 milli-equivallents within 2 days; As you stated and the Carib Sea packaging advertises that aragonite is supposed to be an excellent buffer enhancement. Is this normal or should I look elsewhere for the problem.
Recently added approximately 40 lbs. of aragonite to my 55 gal. two weeks ago as part of the process of changing from cc to dsb. Alkalinity dropped from 2.4 to 1.1 milli-equivallents within 2 days; As you stated and the Carib Sea packaging advertises that aragonite is supposed to be an excellent buffer enhancement. Is this normal or should I look elsewhere for the problem.
l and l
New Member
I'm in a similiar situation here. I just bought my 100 gallon tank last week and I'm cycling it right now. The LFS sold me some fine aragonite (40lbs) and I just found this board and all the topics about CC being a "nitrate factory".
I guess I'm still learning, but Crushed Coral and aragonite are different?
I just ordered 40 lbs Florida Keys LS and Nature Ocean 40 lbs from SWF and I'm wondering if I should remove the Aragonite or just mix them all together to get a DSB. Of course I'll have to add some more to get 4-6". I used the equation and I think I need 250 lbs.
L and L
I guess I'm still learning, but Crushed Coral and aragonite are different?
I just ordered 40 lbs Florida Keys LS and Nature Ocean 40 lbs from SWF and I'm wondering if I should remove the Aragonite or just mix them all together to get a DSB. Of course I'll have to add some more to get 4-6". I used the equation and I think I need 250 lbs.
L and L
B
busster
Guest
Wallda I noticed your from WI. where abouts,& did you find south down here?
ironreef
Member
araonite is crushed coral just different grain sized. I use cc in my reactor that says aragonite. In reef tanks its suppose to buffer but i don't see it breaking down it takes low ph to do this. It will break down over time like erosion and other movement. My cal reactor i go through @30lbs a year= takes co2 and low ph to break it down to truly buffer. Low ph in a reef = death
sweetjesus
Member
To answer the first and main question! YES, just mix them together.
fshhub
Active Member
mix them, they are the same sand
oh yeah, cc is a nitrate factory, not because of it's comp., but more it's grain size, it traps detritus, in the long run raising nitrates, aragonite(or sd) does not,also the smaller grain of aragontie creates more surface area for bacteria to grow on in your system
[ December 17, 2001: Message edited by: fshhub ]
oh yeah, cc is a nitrate factory, not because of it's comp., but more it's grain size, it traps detritus, in the long run raising nitrates, aragonite(or sd) does not,also the smaller grain of aragontie creates more surface area for bacteria to grow on in your system
[ December 17, 2001: Message edited by: fshhub ]
cyn
Member
Well, the SD issue is a dead one here. My local HD refuses to even talk about ordering it. I did find some argonite sand on the web for a decent price and will be ordering it within the next 2 weeks. The shipping costs about as much as the sand though. Total cost ended up at about $2.00 per pound. Do I need to remove all of the CC or can I mix the sand into some? I have about 2in of arg. sand now and 1in of cc..Live and learn, life goes on.
