Cheap sand bed alternative

[Chihuahua6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11534315#post11534315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jennmac415
thanks for your nice comments .....In person, it really does have more color than it looks...I have been fiddling with the settings on the camera since that photo to show the colors more...

What do you mean more color? Is it more tan in color? It looks so nice and white in the picture.

 

[jadeguppy]

Just a guess, but he probably means that the white sand cast a glare on the rock making some of the purple hard to see. Same type of thing happens when I take pictues at the beach. The sand is so white that extra light is reflected up. At least it use to be before Ivan came through.

 

[jennmac415]

Jadeguppy... thanks for the help... that is exactly what I mean, the lights are so bright and the sand so white, that the great colors of my rock and corals are hard for me to capture... am still don't get the white balance thing...i have actually fiddled around with some of my bulbs and I am liking the color of the tank more now...sand still very white and lights still very bright, just a little more blue to the overall color of the tank...

Oh and jadeguppy... i am actually a "she" LOL

 

[jennmac415]

Amanda... I was reading your signature...you really must have your hands full... but I bet it is great! what are sun tubes? also, I would love to see pics of all your tanks....an anemone cube sounds really cool...

 

[jadeguppy]

jen, guess I should have looked at the name, not to mention the occupation. Sorry 'bout that. I get the same thing.

 

[jennmac415]

LOL.... thats ok...

 

[Hefner413]

Anybody here find this for sale yet? I'm sure hoping that it will be available soon at HD.

 

[psteeleb]

I'm using Pavestone pulverised limestone, pretty inexpensive, found it at my local Home Depot. You have to rinse it a lot but it's worth the effort.

just read more of the post, I still have some, I'll check if the bag still has the sku.

 

[psteeleb]

here you go

 

[Hefner413]

did you happen to find it recently at HD? Last I checked, it wasn't available yet.

 

[Hefner413]

Well, according to my HD - they won't ever get in the Pavestone pulverized limestone, but they'll get an equivilent - around late March, early April. They said that their's will come from a more local supplier.

 

[shane 1111]

i found some but it was not Pavestone pulverized limestone. it was another brand. but it was made out of calcite.
is calcite ok for a reef tank?

 

[psteeleb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11963745#post11963745 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hefner413
did you happen to find it recently at HD? Last I checked, it wasn't available yet.

Sorry, no, I bought this bag last summer.

 

[BZOFIQ]

FYI

I haven't read all the pages but Southdown Play sand was the same exact stuff carib-sea was selling at million times the cost. Too bad it's no longer available.

 

[Hefner413]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11970394#post11970394 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shane 1111
i found some but it was not Pavestone pulverized limestone. it was another brand. but it was made out of calcite.
is calcite ok for a reef tank?

I'm pretty sure calcite = aragonite = calcium carbonate = CaCO3.

They're all the same. Now there are differing degrees of purity and what not, but essentially they are all the same compound from what I understand.

 

[flyline]

i did a quick search for southdown on google and it had some stuff for sale under southdown/oldcastle. is this the same stuff everyone eles used to use? if so that is a great deal 3.61 for a 40# bag

 

[Hefner413]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11971477#post11971477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flyline
i did a quick search for southdown on google and it had some stuff for sale under southdown/oldcastle. is this the same stuff everyone eles used to use? if so that is a great deal 3.61 for a 40# bag

I'm not sure if it's the exact same stuff. The drawback is that all the places that I found it for sale online had terrible charges for shipping. Once I was paying for shipping for 3 or 4 bags, it was not worth it...

 

[flyline]

is see what you mean but it think it was listed under a couple of stores like true value and a few other i have never heard of. i was just thinking that if that was the right stuff i might be able to try and hunt it down from around here or at least know that it is still possible to get the stuff.

 

[Hefner413]

yeah, for sure. If you find it at a retail store, let us know! That would be awesome.

 

[Hefner413]

I'm not sure if the old Southdown/Old Castle had this warning on it, but these bags say: "Do not use for hardscape projects, aquariums, or traction." Don't know why....