Carib-Sea ARAG-ALIVE BAHAMAS OOLITE sand ?

[salt210]

What do you all think about it? Im going to be switching over from CC to it. I read in Marine Chemistry that for a sand that is less than 2mm the substrate is recommended between 1-2in. the oolite is supposed to be less than 1mm. is it a nice white? I found the product online for 17 for a 20lb bag plus shipping. is that a good price? sorry if I placed in the wrong section if so please move

 

[drtito]

Do not waste youy money on half baked sand as I have. What you should get is the sand from this site its the live rock/live sand button read the description its the best bang for you buck. You wont need to get all your sand live but it helps. If I could start all over I would use this sand.
p.s. I do NOT work for SWF.com its just good sand.

 

[salt210]

not trying to say your wrong or argue with you but for informations sake how is it half-baked? it is live sand with beneficial bacteria. I just don't think I can afford as much sand as I will need at 120 for 40lbs

 

[shiby1510]

Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/2699353
not trying to say your wrong or argue with you but for informations sake how is it half-baked? it is live sand with beneficial bacteria. I just don't think I can afford as much sand as I will need at 120 for 40lbs
... benefical bateria... ever wonder how long those things can be sitting on the shelves for??
Also.. just because it has "beneficial bacteria" this does not mean it is alive. You want sand with lots of critters. It is no where near live sand. If you aren't going to get live sand, which you don't have to if you want to save money...(I didn't buy live sand either.. I used southdown) get sand that is cheaper than this stuff.. It's not worth it.
If you buy any kind of dead sand and add a cocktail shrimp.. you will have the same bacteria as the arag-alive.
If you buy dead sand just add some live rock and it will become live over time. Just don't fall for the "arag-alive is live sand)
What I said and what drtitto said is meant to be helpful and not to bash on you.

Good Luck!

 

[gc1962]

I beg to differ on this sand, I purchaced this sand when I set my 90-gallon tank up and my tank went through a cycle in less than 2-weeks, now if there is not any beneficial bacteria in the sand I dont believe that my tank would have not cycled as quick. When I set up another I will use this sand hands down again.

 

[xtreeme]

I used carbisea sand also in my 55g. It too cycled around 2 weeks. My sand was still wet had water in bag. Bacteria is alive, depends what you call living. I never found crustaceans though or little critters. Maybe takes while tank only 2 months old hehe still learning.

 

[salt210]

I know that you guys are trying to help with information. but I do want to get "good" beneficial sand. if the sand isn't alive I might just get the black sand. it says on the bag that it isn't alive

 

[novahobbies]

I don't want to fuel a bigger debate here, but I'm a firm believer in the caribsea product......for a specific reason. When I set up my aunt's 90 gallon, we used all carib sea product, and after the sand was laid down, I added the first 10 gallons of h2o before taking a quick break. When I looked back in the water after it had settled a little,, there were at least a dozen amphipods and isopods scooting around the sand surfae, trying to re-burrow. I don't think that product sits on the shelf very long at all....and if there are 'pods in the sand, there's very likely a good bit of bacteria in there as well. So I'd give them a solid thumbs up. Just sayin' is all.

:Edit: I've been setting up my 110 today. I just added the sand, and I see pods on the glass. Don't know which kind, I'm not that close, but they're definitely live critters!

 

[mr_x]

first of all, the term "live sand" means it has nothing more than bacteria in it. if you buy sand with a bunch of worms and pods in it, but no bacteria(you'll probably never see this)- you got dead sand.
secondly, don't buy the bag-live sand. buy dry, sugar sized, aragonite based sand and rinse it and put it in the tank. you can seed it with a few cups of sand from your LFS's display or a local reefers established sand bed, and that with your live rock, will make the dry sand become live soon enough.
it's the same concept as base rock. you buy base rock and live rock, and the base rock becomes live(which again, only means it has bacteria on it's suface) eventually.
i see pods in my frag tank- it has no sand at all. tell me. where did they come from?

 

[shinobi9119]

I used it in my 75 reef, I like it, BUT i only bought a small bag, I have about 3 inches of "not live sand" It is designed for jawfish, and I just added a that bag of live sand to the top, SO i seeded the other sand, I recommend doing that along with carib sea

 

[salt210]

ok.just a few more questions. if I get the dry sand and add it to an established tank after washing it and only adding about 20lbs at a time will my tank got through another cycle? the tank is a 210. also since I will be using dead sand( lack of better terms) could I used the tahitian moon sand from carib sea?

 

[mr_x]

no. dry sand will not cause a cycle, but it will cause the water to cloud a bit. i'd add it all at once. i don't know what tahitian moon is made out of, but all i could find on it says it's inert. so i guess it's ok. meanwhile, i think there are some advantages to white aragonite based sand-
-it reflects light
-it looks natural
-it helps support ph

 

[salt210]

guess Ill be sticking with the white. thanks

 

[texasmetal]

Pavestone brand Crushed Limestone. If you can find it at a store, $5 for 50lbs. Looks great. Buffers the water. And best of all, cheaper than... well... dirt.

 

[iowafish]

Originally Posted by TexasMetal
http:///forum/post/2704190
Pavestone brand Crushed Limestone.
Really? Wow... with that price, that's like a substrate shopper's dream come true!
But how does it compare to aragonite sand? Any drawbacks, or reasons why someone shouldn't use (or consider using) it?
KH

 

[texasmetal]

It makes your water cloudy when it gets disturbed. If you're putting it in an already established tank you would have to rinse it A LOT. Otherwise if you're putting it in a new setup, it won't matter. Once it becomes saturated in water it stays settled pretty well.
It contains mostly calcium, some magnesium. Beneficial elements. I have had no issues. It's a tip I picked up from my local MAS members.

 

[drtito]

Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/2699353
not trying to say your wrong or argue with you but for informations sake how is it half-baked? it is live sand with beneficial bacteria. I just don't think I can afford as much sand as I will need at 120 for 40lbs
I am sorry salt I did not mean to be brash. If you can add as many differnt sands as you like, mix and match till you like it. You want diversatiy in your sand.The reason I say get this sand is that it has alot of critters in it already as opposed to putting all the critters yourself. I also got cribe-sea arga alive sand and was dissapointed with it. color was off , was not all sand , did not have alive critters in it. sorry again I did not mean to be rude. I hope you got what you were looking for here.

 

[salt210]

Xand any others interested. I was able to find a black sand that states that it is arganite based. don't want to say where tho