Wrong information

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by ChaoticDamsel
http:///forum/post/2934087
Every girl loves a guy with a sense of humor, so cracking a woman up is a good thing.
Seriously though, it is a cool avatar.
Tell that to Sir Q she thinks I am nothing but a wise A-S
 

xlr8

Member
When I was in college, the professor ,at the begining, told us he was going to teach facts. But then told us that we would soon find out that what he taught would be different than what we learned out in the field. He told us to take both and use it. That hold true to this board. I have learned good and bad stuff from both books I've read and what i've read on this board.
just my $.02. Thanks!
 

gooch

Member
so uh, while you guys are reminiscing about how all the wrong information is given to new people could you perhaps help this new person with the question he posted in here?
 

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2934092
All Bristle worms are GOOD

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2934093
All Bristle worms are BAD
now that is funny right there!
Originally Posted by florida joe

http:///forum/post/2934069
Randy my friend do you think some people did not realize it was a joke? Wow that would be scary
Joe, my very old and experienced friend, I think some people on these boards take everything they read waaaaay to seriously.
 

mgatdog

Member
You have too have halides for claims to live. Not true,mine is 2 years + living under compact lighting.
 

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gooch
http:///forum/post/2934115
so uh, while you guys are reminiscing about how all the wrong information is given to new people could you perhaps help this new person with the question he posted in here?
Gooch, sand, especially play sand and sand content is an often debated subject - just hit the search button in the new hobbiest forum and type in sand and see what you get. Some will argue that it is bad - others that they had it for years without problems
. Me personally, I figure why take a chance when I can buy a bag of dry aragonite sand for so little at my not so local *****? Take it for what its worth.
 

gooch

Member
Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2934139
Gooch, sand, especially play sand and sand content is an often debated subject - just hit the search button in the new hobbiest forum and type in sand and see what you get. Some will argue that it is bad - others that they had it for years without problems
. Me personally, I figure why take a chance when I can buy a bag of dry aragonite sand for so little at my not so local *****? Take it for what its worth.
well, for so little is a very subjective term... 90 dollars of ***** sand vs 10-12 dollars of calcium based sand is a significant savings.
I have a post in this forum about southdown-oldcastle (new) playsand which is screened limestone, and on it was mentioned pavestone desert white playsand which is also from limestone. Both of which disolve in vinegar which apparently was the rule of thumb.
So to see one of the more experienced members here saying that using the playsand I mentioned is one of the biggest mistakes that beginners take from these forums you can see why I would be quick to question it.
So basically is it a mistake or not? What is wrong with using calcium based (limestone) sand in my tank and what are the pro's of using the super expensive aragonite pet sand?
Another part of this is I am highly hesitant to spend money on sand that was enormously marked up simply because aquarists desired it. When researching this stuff about how southdown tropical playsand came from the exact same place as the carib sea sand came from but was a small fraction of the price. Now it seems like the non aquarium sand companies were bought out or something so companies like carib sea maintain a monopoly on a commodity that simply shouldnt cost what it does. I really don't like the idea of supporting and perpetuating that.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
gooch, Certain types of sand are bad, certain types of sand are good. If it passes a vinegar test, it should be good. Why try to save $50 on sand for a 75g tank when one fish often costs just as much? Take your time, do it right and buy sand that is already deemed usable for the aquarium trade.
 

gooch

Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2934168
gooch, Certain types of sand are bad, certain types of sand are good. If it passes a vinegar test, it should be good. Why try to save $50 on sand for a 75g tank when one fish often costs just as much? Take your time, do it right and buy sand that is already deemed usable for the aquarium trade.
We arent really talking about nickels and dimes here, that is significant money. I'd rather use that money saved and buy more live rock with it.
Why spend more on something when sand that is substantially less will do the very same thing?
I mean if the aquarium sand was even remotely close in price I certainly would probably opt to just go the aragonite sand direction but when you're talking about 25+ for 30lb bag vs 5 dollars for 50lb bag... that isnt chump change.
And as mentioned above, it has been shown to pass the vinegar test which just shows it's made of calcium as well. From what I am gathering is that there are potentials for jagged edges which can be resolved by soaking in rodi water prior to putting in the tank.. To me this seems like one of the most direct ways to save a decent amount of cash.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Gooch
http:///forum/post/2934175
We arent really talking about nickels and dimes here, that is significant money. I'd rather use that money saved and buy more live rock with it.
Why spend more on something when sand that is substantially less will do the very same thing?
I mean if the aquarium sand was even remotely close in price I certainly would probably opt to just go the aragonite sand direction but when you're talking about 25+ for 30lb bag vs 5 dollars for 50lb bag... that isnt chump change.
And as mentioned above, it has been shown to pass the vinegar test which just shows it's made of calcium as well. From what I am gathering is that there are potentials for jagged edges which can be resolved by soaking in rodi water prior to putting in the tank.. To me this seems like one of the most direct ways to save a decent amount of cash.

Look, if you want to nickle and dime it, the saltwater hobby is NOT for you. You should GET OUT NOW. Go ahead and get your sand, you seem to be so convinced about it already. Go ahead and do it, you don't need us to give you permission.
 

gooch

Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2934185
Look, if you want to nickle and dime it, the saltwater hobby is NOT for you. You should GET OUT NOW. Go ahead and get your sand, you seem to be so convinced about it already. Go ahead and do it, you don't need us to give you permission.
70-80 dollars isnt nickel and diming things...
The only reason I am convinced is that nobody has offered any reasonable reasons as to why not to use the calcium based playsand. All I have seen have been comments like "why chance it" or "just spend the extra and get the aquarium sand" instead of saying something along the lines as well the calcium based play sand will not work well because of x and x...
I like to have a reason before I just throw away money at something that there appears to be a completely viable cheaper solution...
I would certainly be open to hearing reasons why I shouldnt go with the calcium based play sand that arent based on speculation as I have not purchased it yet and am going at this slow. But I do not appreciate people trying to convince me to leave this hobby simply because I want more concrete answers on things before I open up the wallet.
 

nigerbang

Active Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2934185
Look, if you want to nickle and dime it, the saltwater hobby is NOT for you. You should GET OUT NOW. Go ahead and get your sand, you seem to be so convinced about it already. Go ahead and do it, you don't need us to give you permission.
I save well over $200 by not buying "Live Sand". Its not really LS in those bags anyways...More like wet sand..If you only have a little sand to buy, then yeah buy the Caribsea.. If you need alot of sand it wont hurt to mix it with play sand... In my big tank I had around 250lbs of PS and another 100 of LS...
 

scopus tang

Active Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2934185
Look, if you want to nickle and dime it, the saltwater hobby is NOT for you. You should GET OUT NOW. Go ahead and get your sand, you seem to be so convinced about it already. Go ahead and do it, you don't need us to give you permission.
Easy SnakeBlitz - from his perspective, he's asking a valid question.
 

gooch

Member
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
http:///forum/post/2934208
Play sand will work fine for FOWLR. But why would you want to risk it in a big reef?
what is the risk though? I am still trying to figure that out because I havent seen anything yet that says what could be harmful about calcium based playsand.
 

nigerbang

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gooch
http:///forum/post/2934220
what is the risk though? I am still trying to figure that out because I havent seen anything yet that says what could be harmful about calcium based playsand.
Even though I used it before I will try and help with this..
Sometimes it wont be able to buffer the water as "LS" will(neither does the Black LS though)
It can contain high ammounts of Silica which can help algae grow in tremendous ammounts.
If you have burrowing fish, when it gets wet it can compact down and be hard as a rock making it harder for them to dig down into it... and can be rather dusty compared to other types of sands
 
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