Substrate decision/questions

kosarfan

kosarfan

Member
Have my 75 gallon full of R/O saltwater, am going to get substrate today. I have heard some swear by crushed coral and others live sand. I want gobies and some interesting creatures (brittle stars, etc.) Which one?
Also, if I go live sand route (leaning towards), how much do I need, and should I buy some aragonite (dry) and some live sand to cultivate the aragonite? Is adding some crushed coral to live sand recommended?
Lastly, how much (lbs) of substrate do I need for 75 gal tank.
Thanks a million,
Brandon
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
Avoid crushed coral, go with a deep sand bed. Mixing live sand and aragonite is just fine, the LFS does it in their 75G display reef tank. I think that a deep sand bed should be about 4-6 inches deep.
 
mbrands

mbrands

Member
Are you planning to have any live rock? If so, you don't necessarily need any live sand. What most others seem to do is use mostly aragonite (sp?) sand with a thin layer of live sand on top.
There is a formula for calculating the number of pounds you'll need based on your tank size, but I can't seem to find it. It is something like this:
desired sand depth * tank length * tank depth * 0.0527(?) = number of pounds needed
I'm using 100 pounds in my 55 for about a 3" sand bed, if that gives you a general idea.
Good luck!
 
arkey.d

arkey.d

Member
For my 55 gallon, I used 40lbs of PlaySand and 30lbs of LiveSand on top. Gave me about 2 and half inches...
 
mbrands

mbrands

Member
Good luck finding it, but you'd like to get Southdown or Yardright (apparently the same product under different names). Both are aragonite (sp?) based sands. Apparently, there is a chance for silicone in a silicone based sand to be absorbed into your tank water.
I wasn't ever able to find Southdown or Yardright and had to buy some aragonite based sand (not live) from my LFS. I paid just under $1/pound.
Here is a thread I started a while ago that might give you some more help . . .
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ight=southdown
 
salty cheese

salty cheese

Active Member
An equation to find out how much sand you need.
length (in inches) x width(in inches) x desired depth(in inches) x .0579 = lbs sand
 
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