L/F aquarium sand

[poolkeeper1]

As in everything else in this Hobby! You get what you pay for. I do believe that all the Old Timers that used Southdown were OK in their choice but I do not think what they sell today is the best choice for a Reef Today. JMHO
Bill
PS Was the Sand I gave you today no Good or something???
Bill

 

[rcmike]

There is more of a possibility of having some contaminates in it since it isn't really intended for use in aquariums. I haven't really heard of any problems with it but there is always that risk. I do agree it is much more cost affective.

 

[nightfire]

As in everything else in this Hobby! You get what you pay for. I do believe that all the Old Timers that used Southdown were OK in their choice but I do not think what they sell today is the best choice for a Reef Today. JMHO
Bill
PS Was the Sand I gave you today no Good or something???
Bill

lol no bill that sand looks good and im sure it is fine,but it doesnt look like it would cover very much....im afraid with my luck when i take everything out of my tank minus the sand that when we move it onto the new stand which will also just be right in front of the current one and then i'lll slide the stand and tank into place that it will move the sand too much and cause me problems lol

 

[greg0385]

it might be more cost effective, but when planning on a nice tank worth hundreds and hundreds is it really worth the saving to chance loosing a tank or at the min. the headache of fixing a flair up of something. 40lbs for 50 dollars of dry aragonite then a cup of live sand or some live rubble rock from another reef tank will seed the tank. unless you plan on doing deep sand bed, then your only savign 20-30 dollars. in my opinion its not worth the risk. just my thoughts on the topic good luck

 

[nightfire]

yea i wont take the risk of play sand....but here is another good question.....using the sand bill gave me and if it isnt near enough....how bout i just bleach the sand i already have?

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

Do you have some kind of bugs or something Mario?

 

[nightfire]

no as far as i can tell my tanks is perfectly fine....thing is i think i might be paranoid that when i go and move the tank it will disturd the sand bed which is only like 2 1/2 inches....not moving it far...it's just lifting it up, moving it like 2 feet, setting it down onto the new stand and i will then slide it into place which will be bout 3 feet over from where it is now and up against the wall

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

I wouldn't think you'd need to bleach it then... if you're going to re-use it (or even just part of it), wouldn't simply rinsing it well & thoroughly work? Then get a small 5LB bag of "live" sand to seed the rinsed sand.

 

[nightfire]

true....though doing it that way i suppose i'd have to do it over and over and test the water til it reads 0 of anything til i put it back into the aquarium?

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

I could be wrong, but I think the idea is to rinse it until you've got no sediment and the rinse water is clear.

 

[undertcontrolj]

If you are going to be moving the sand, water and rocks into a new tank i would not worry about washing the sand. Just use about 50% new water and be done with it. The main worry is going to be a spike in junk because of disturbing the sand bed. So you do a water change and leave it alone.

 

[nightfire]

well im not moving it to a new tank im just moving the current tank is all.....so basically what i can do is move the tank when nothing is in it but the sand......fill it with my water and rock and maybe test the water before i add my fish and coral back in?

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

Mario - if you have a large glass salad bowel or mixing bowl, place it on the bottom of the tank on the sand bed and as you poor the water back in (or pump it in), aim the water stream at the bottom of the bowl. This should help to not stir things up in your sand bed so drastically.

 

[nightfire]

yea im probably worring for nothing, if i drain all the water out and just leave the sand it should stay compacted in there til i pour in the water back