DSB question...

[bartman]

If i am able to get my hands on some south down sand can i use that in conjunction with LS that i will obviously put on top. 4 inches of LS is a chunk of change i am sure and if i can even cut that cost in half it would allow me to put more money towards lighing and LR. There are lots of Home Depots around where i live and i might have a good shot at getting some. Also what kind of weight am i looking at with the DSB? I have a 75 gallon tank and it would help me to budget out the sand if i knew that. I do plan to allow about 6 months to let the tank cycle so i would think that with that kind of time set aside the southdown will have time to get the critters to move down there too.
One more thing...if south down turns out to not be an option what other alternatives do i have with non-living sand with the LS to top it off.

 

[cyn]

Hope the SD pans out, it will save you $$. I did not have that option, and used dry argonite sand(80lbs.) and topped it off with 40 of live sand. (This is a 55 gal. tank) Ever since I made the switch to DSB, no nitrates or phos! I am thrilled. There are DSB calculators on here somewhere, try the search feature. I wish I could remember where I saw them at, but sorry, I don't.
HTH,
cyn

 

[adrian]

If your going to use live rock when cycling your tank you can use 100% sterile sand when constructing your DSB, critters and bacteria will migrate from the rock into the sand over time, it wont take that long. It wouldnt hurt to add a few pounds of LS to boost the diversity though. The best sand I have used is aragamax by Carib Sea which comes in 30 pound bags, it usually goes for about $25 a bag, but Ive seen it much cheaper, and muc more expensive. There are a few peopl on the web that have south down and are willing to sell it, but I think the shipping cost would sour the deal. Im not sure on the total weight youll need, Im guessing I have upwards of 100 pound in my 75, although that could be way off HTH

 

[predator]

Adrian is right.That agromax sand is nice.It's a real fine grain and is also affordable.I to have a 75 and I have 160 pounds of ls.I'v got a 3 and a half inch sand bed.

 

[kidrockfish]

Bartman, I faced the same concern when I set up my DSB. Ideally S.D. would have been my top choice, but it is not avail. here. I considered agg.max from LFS, but at $35 per bag, it became very pricy. I ended up going with 75lbs of quickcrete (sp?) white silica from my local hardware store. It is a very fine grain sand and looks good. I think I paid around $10 bucks total. I seeded with about 40lbs live sand from my LFS. I have seen disscussions about possible problems with silica causing diatom blooms, but as of yet (4mos) I have not had a problem. This is in a 46 bow front, and the total depth is 4-5 inches. I hope this helps.

 

[ratbattey]

200 lbs of SD made a 4.5 inch bed in my 72 bowfront.

 

[bartman]

Well(sigh) went on the hunt for the elusive southdown today and came up empty handed. Well so much for that thought. Thanks for the info though. I was hoping that 150lbs would get it but seems i will need just a weee bit more. Thanks again for all the answers.
Bartman

 

[devante]

Bartamn, You will need 200lbs of sand to make a 4in DBS. Are you going to put rock on the glass, and build it up from there? Or are you going to place the rock on the sand. 200lbs will work for both. I have some extra left becuase I placed my rock on the glass.

 

[fishforme]

I bought some extra sand too when I originally setup my tank. Now that I have a few corals and fish, would it be a big deal to simply place some more sand in the bottom of the tank. I know it may cloud the water a bit, but does that matter?