Kolorscape White Play Sand by Old Castle

[Steve 926]

Hello to all.

Anyone using this sand & for how long :rolleye1:
I would like to try it in a reef tank with a c/coral base (over a CPW plenum).

All coments are appreciated

Steve (@^ 926

:smokin:

 

[smithcreek]

Some people, including myself, have had it get a bit dingy even though I have virtually no algae in my tank. I also have no sand sifting creatures other than nassarius snails. Other people have said it works and looks great. It has very little calcium based sand in it and I would guess it's mainly quartz. I will spend a few more bucks on the tank I'm setting up now and get aragonite.

 

[dreaminmel]

I've been using it in my 125 sps dominated tank for one year now. Prior to that I had a fine sand/cc 6" deep mix for over 5 years. I will say that if I ever do a DSB again I will not use cc for the bottom as the nastiness that I found down in the bottom of the bed made me gag the whole time I was removing it. I only keep a 1" sand bed and I was replacing it here and there during water changes. I now have a diamond goby that has kept my sand bed white as white can be. I love this sand. If you're looking to go DSB, however, you may want to consider something else. The shape of this sand would probably allow too much detritus to get under the bed. I use sand purely for aesthetics so had no problem going with the cheap sand.

 

[Steve 926]

Thanks for the reply Smithcreek & dreaminmel

I was planing to use a Plenum with a crushed coral base & the Kolorscape fine sand on top. I have been following a thread about a plenum that you can drain ( CPW ~ controlled plenum waste)
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=289910&perpage=&pagenumber=1

Very interesting read. I like the fact that you can drain off some of the waste water, helping to keep the Hydrogen Sulfide level at a minimum. I would add about 20 lbs of LS to seed it , along with LR.

I like the texture of this sand & think it would be better for sand sifting critters
I am not shure that this would be best.

Whats Your Opinion

All Coments Are Welcome

Steve (@^ 926

:smokin:

 

[Steve 926]

^

 

[dreaminmel]

My diamond goby has no issues w/ this sand. Neither does my sand sifting cucumber. When I had a sandsifting star prior to my recent move, it was also fine with this sand.

 

[Steve 926]

If you're looking to go DSB, however, you may want to consider something else. The shape of this sand would probably allow too much detritus to get under the bed.


Thanks for the reply dreaminmel

Can you tell me what you mean by "Under the sand bed" ?
I thought that a finer sand would not allow the detritus to penetrate the bed as much as with a course grade sand.

Steve (@^ 926

:smokin:

 

[dreaminmel]

Prior to employing a diamond goby I siphoned my sand bed of Kolorscape on a regular basis and every time there was detritus accumulation under the bed. This Kolorscape sand is not nearly as fine as some of the other options out there. If you look at a grain of raw sugar and enlarge it, that is pretty much what this sand is like. It is not circular in shape, more like crystals... I have found that very fine circular sand shapes "seal" the bed better so detritus can't get down under it as well.

In my DSB where I had CC under very very fine sand I did not end up with detritus getting under the bed. It was a whole other breed of nastiness... If I was to do a DSB ever again I would use the same purely fine sand (not Kolorscape) and I would skip the CC. This is only due to my experience and with everyones' tanks being different this is not written in stone.

 

[dreaminmel]

btw, This is a link to the very very fine sand I used in the past.

Nature's Ocean -- 5th one down...

I found it at Petco when I bought it. It is so incredibly fine though that it would probably take me a minimum of 10 bags to have a one inch bed in my 125. Hence why I went w/ Kolorscape...

 

[stanlalee]

I agree with most everything said. I've been using it for about 5 months in a mixed reef and I would not want to use it for a deep sandbed simply because this sand does get dingy and needs manual turning over to keep looking good no matter how clean, algae free and spotless the rest of the tank is. Either manually turned over periodically (every 3 days or so for me) or you need to get a real sand sifter like a diamond goby (I have 4 fighting conch about 15 nassarius snails both small and super as well as cerith and they cant do what my hand and a paddle does in 2 minutes). If you go the goby route make sure its one more likely to eat prepared like a diamond instead of something like a gold head sleeper. Also because its so fine detritus does not settle underneath it at all which may be good or bad depending on your circulation and bioload ( I understand this has not been everybody's experience). I am not sure about the other options that are finer but to me kolorscape seemed to be darn fine grade.
All and all I've had no issues with it. Other than turning it over twice a week to keep from looking dingy/browning it has worked fine. It has no buffering action but I have no problems with instability and buffer as needed.
here's the tank with the $3 per 50lb stuff

 

[Steve 926]

Thanks for the reply dreaminmel & stanlalee.
I think I'll be looking at the nature's ocean that dreaminmel recommended.
After $pending a bucket & 1/2 of $$$ on equipment to just get it started right, I might as well go for the aragonite & get it over with

I had hoped to find the infamous (or similar) southdown play sand, But I think the winning lotto numbers would be easier
Funny thing is, there is an Old Castle plant not far from my house. When I called they said that it's not made anymore. remind's me of " the checks in the mail & I love you too" :lol:
So off I go with a heavy heart & some heavy $ to the LFS.

Do me a favor and wave as you drive by, I'll be the guy on the corner with the pencils in the cup for sale
:wave:

Thanks to all who replied to this thread
I do appreciate it :thumbsup:

stanlalee - Nice Tank !

Steve (@^ 926

:smokin:

 

[Steve 926]

In my DSB where I had CC under very very fine sand I did not end up with detritus getting under the bed. It was a whole other breed of nastiness... If I was to do a DSB ever again I would use the same purely fine sand (not Kolorscape) and I would skip the CC. This is only due to my experience and with everyone's tanks being different this is not written in stone.


Hi dreaminmel.
What would you use instead of the CC for the bottom layer( first plenum layer). I noticed a coral sand, (2~4 mm. gravel) that is aragonite.
Did you ever syphon the fine white sand (that you mention) to help clean it occasionally. Petco has it @$7.99 ~ 10 lbs. It is much finer than the Kolorscape, & very white. I was considering to add a bag of the Agra marine substrate ( small shells, ect.) to this for some diversity.

Thanks for a reply

Steve (@^ 926




:smokin:

 

[dreaminmel]

As I've never incorporated a plenum in any of my tanks I wouldn't want to suggest the wrong thing for the bottom layer... CC may be fine or even just a grade of sand larger than the fine white stuff. If you are using screening under the sand and have CC between that and the fine top layer you may find the fine sand working it's way under it all due to the large size of the CC. I did end up with a lot of fine sand under and mixed into my CC in my dsb. I definately think the substrate of small shells etc being mixed in will look nice and a little more au natural. =)

 

[Steve 926]

Thanks dreaminmel
I was planing to use a drainage fabric / landscape cloth between the lower layer & the fine top layer. The plenum is covered in a fiberglass window screen, & 1 layer of the cloth / fabric on top of that. The sand is too fine for just the screen between the layers and the cloth will stop it from mixing below. I have been following a thread where the fabric is used, & has not been a problem for an excess of 3 years +.

Steve )@^ 926

:smokin:

 

[Icefire]

I would forget CC and plenum. Get a very fine sand, do a DSB and add a bunch of nassarius snails and a goby, you'll be happy.

No maintenance, no CC mixing with sand, less trapped detritus.

 

[Steve 926]

^