offshore80
Member
I think I've read on this site about using play sand in an aquarium. I'm setting up my 175 and was thinking about putting down 2-3 inches of play sand then covering that with live sand to seed it. What say you? Any suggestions?
Play sand???
- Thread starter offshore80
- Start date
and then a couple of cups of good ls from a mature tank, and you are on your way.
offshore80
Member
Thanks, err umm where do you get south down? I've never heard of it. Is that like play sand?
lionstorm
Member
make sure its from the Caribean and that its argonite, silica sand does not work well from my own experience (i.e. one tank got 150 lbs of southdown sand and live sand on top, the other empty tank got 50 lbs of silica sand and some live sand on top and i've only noticed life in the thin top inch of ls, its not seeming to want to go into the silica sand (which means i get to painstakingly deal with that tank and take out some sand eventually.....yay)
offshore80
Member
Hmm, does it say on the bag where it comes from? I damn sure don't want to screw sumpn up trying to go cheep. But, damn gotta save where you can.
cgr
Member
I looked for South Down or any other aragonite sand in South Florida and could not find it. So I decided to compare other play sands and decided on a white, small grain sand from Toys R US. I cleared my old cc and added 125# of this sand and 25# live sand on top. I did this about 4 mos ago and there is quite a lot of live prospering in my DSB. I completed the entire project over a period of two weeks and never took any of my fish out of the tank. I had no casualties. The sand I used is silica but is working very well.
120 Gal FOWLR
1 Yellow tang
1 Blue tang
1 Sailfin tang
3 chromis
1 cleaner wrass
1 tomato clown
1 sleeper gobie
1 scooter blenny
1 bicolor blenny
1 coral banded shrimp
emerald crabs, snails, blue and scarlet leg hermits
Wet/Dry filter w bioballs
5+” DSB
Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates undetectable,
PH 8.2, Salinity 1.024
120 Gal FOWLR
1 Yellow tang
1 Blue tang
1 Sailfin tang
3 chromis
1 cleaner wrass
1 tomato clown
1 sleeper gobie
1 scooter blenny
1 bicolor blenny
1 coral banded shrimp
emerald crabs, snails, blue and scarlet leg hermits
Wet/Dry filter w bioballs
5+” DSB
Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates undetectable,
PH 8.2, Salinity 1.024
lionstorm
Member
Originally posted by Offshore80
Hmm, does it say on the bag where it comes from? I damn sure don't want to screw sumpn up trying to go cheep. But, damn gotta save where you can.
i agree with saving where you can but this isn't a hobby in which you should try to cut corners when it comes to expenses. I had to pay $14 a bag for 3 50# bags of southdown sand because it isn't available in the Texas area but I love how it looks and the sand bed looks great, I feel when it comes to my fish nothing is too good within reason.
offshore80
Member
I agree 100% That's why I'm trying to spend my money on a nice wet/dry filter and skimmer (any suggestions?)... I've budgeted $850 for both and in no hurry I can wait. I don't want to make a costly mistake though and put the wrong stuff in there. I'll have to much money invested in the tank to make a stupid sand mistake.
escape2thewater
Active Member
I bought 200lbs of arragonite from acrotropic, they are out of illinios. 12bucks per 50lb bucket plus shipping which shouldnt be too much to go to VA. I ended up paying more for shipping to FL then I paid for the sand! I'm very happy with it though. Many diffrent size particles specifically made for DSB. Definately worth checking them out before making your purchase.IMO.
www.acrotropic.com
Kyle
www.acrotropic.com
Kyle
offshore80
Member
Thanks for all your input... I emailed to get a total cost with shipping of the Pure Oolitic Aragonite... That looks pretty good. I need 250 lbs for a 3 inch dsb then another 150 lbs of live sand for a total of a 5" dsb. Would y'all suggest a 5" sand bed?
Mike
Mike
