need some local help

S

steel3470

New member
im from cheektowaga ny and im startin a new tank but i was woundering were to get sand. I was told to go to homedeopt to get the sand but what kind is it around here. and any place to get some RO water Culigan water is chargeing 5.25 for 5 gallons is that good? and a good place to get LR and a couple pounds of LS. there is a place in tondawanda that i was told that is a realy good place to get LR but $10 a pound

any help would be great.
 
I've seen people at Salt Water Paradise buy RO water; I'm not sure how much is available and how much they charge for it though. You can get an RO unit on eBay for a fair price.
To save money on live rock you can use a combination of base rock and live rock. Another thing you could do is buy a little to get your tank started and watch the board for people selling there rock off. You can even make your own live rock, there are threads in the DIY forum for that, it does take a long time though.
For sand, I use a very shallow layer (about an inch) of crushed coral. There was a thread here and that seemed to be the method used by the majority of the people that use sand. A lot of people use starboard, which is essentially a piece of plastic like a cutting board to cover the bottom.

Anyway, welcome to URS and keep reading :)
 
What you want is usually sold as white carribean play sand.
Ideally sold under the brand name southdown, old castle or yard right

You can test it by putting a bit into vinegar, It should fiz & disolve.

The more completely it disolves the higher quality the sand in this context.

You don't need to worry about silica in the sand, your aquarium is silica after all. But it could have metals or phosphates if you aren't careful. The brands listed are known to be safe.

As for live rock, you need to start with some and you can usually find it for pretty cheap on ebay ($2-$3) a pound on ebay + shipping. You also don't need much as base rock is significantly cheaper and you can get quality base rock for as little as a dollar a pound after shipping. caribsea sells 50lb boxes of it in a couple of forms, there's also some quality rock from hawaii that's affordible
 
ok i think ill try and find some live rock i have a 50 gal so i will need about 60lbs of rock. so if i figure this out right i will need about 30lbs base rock and 30lbs good live rock. now as far as the sand i get the southdown sand and were do i find a couple of lbs of LS to seed the southdown or wont that work?? will the southdown become LS and same goes for the LR and Base rock?\

thanks your guys/
 
www.reeferrocks.com. I have heard really good things about their rock. After a few months it all looks the same. Watch the sale forums or here for live rock. You can save a lot of money. Some people sell their live rock for about $3 a pound.

As far as sand goes, it is pretty easy to find someone to give you a handful of live sand to get you started.

As for water, a RO/DI unit pays for itself very quicky. You can get them for a good price on eBay. I did the buying water for a while and it is a pain. Some Wal-Mart Supercenters have water for .25 a gallon, so at $1.25 a gallon it is a lot better than $5.25.

I see you are only about 65 miles from Rochester. There are 3 outstanding stores in Rochester. Lots of live rock and great advice! Of course you may have somewhere that is closer!

Good luck!

:fun4:
 
Howdy neighbor -

If you want actual sugar fine sand, I'm not sure where around here it is, aside from the actual LFS's. I personally use finely crushed coral as my substrate, with a layer or more coarse crushed coral at the very bottom. You can check out my gallery for pictures. I got both at The Fish Place in Tonawanda. There is a new local store down the street from the Buffalo Airport on Genesee Street in the back of the Airborne Business Park called Aqua-tec also that you might want to check out if you haven't been there yet. Randy is quite helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.

Good luck on your tank, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.
 
You are looking for Sand a little early. Wait another month or two and all the stores will have Sand. Last year I found that Both KMart and WalMart carried sand packaged by Old Castle that passed the vinegar test. Before buying check the manufacturers label as to who packaged it.
 
Try Walmart for RO water. Once you buy a 5gal jug its a bit cheaper than 5 something a gallon or it was a year ago when I started. It was back in the back of the food section where I went. Welcome to URS by the way
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6916582#post6916582 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrsnwk
Howdy neighbor -

If you want actual sugar fine sand, I'm not sure where around here it is, aside from the actual LFS's. I personally use finely crushed coral as my substrate, with a layer or more coarse crushed coral at the very bottom. You can check out my gallery for pictures. I got both at The Fish Place in Tonawanda. There is a new local store down the street from the Buffalo Airport on Genesee Street in the back of the Airborne Business Park called Aqua-tec also that you might want to check out if you haven't been there yet. Randy is quite helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.

Good luck on your tank, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.
Click to expand...

hey nice to see someone else form ckeektAvegas lol

I didnt know about that new store i was just looking online and there is a new one on transite next aldie's were the scumy guys store was its now called one fish two fish there salt water wont be set up till 3 to 4 weeks.
sounds some nice people.

im planing on geting everything soon. just need couple cups of LS once i have everything too.
 
I have a very active DSB and did not seed it. There is plenty of life in LR and it will find it's way into the sand. Just my .02.
 
If you wanted a handful or 2 of my substrate to kick start yours, I'd be more than willing to hook you up. Let me know. I do agree with chrisguy also though, the LR alone will get you up and running. LR + base rock + sand + time = Live sand and live rock
 
A little advice on buying Rock online. First, watch the shipping costs, inexpensive rock can get expensive if you have to ship it overnight from West Coast to NY. Second, look for others who have bought. I have read more than one thread on people buying LR online and getting some very poor pieces.

I bought most of my LR online from LiveRocks.com I called and talked to them fist to explain what I was looking for. They sent excellent pieces. Unfortunately due to Katrina they are temporarily out of business. I have then added select pieces from the LFS when I see a really nice piece.
 
acutaly this guys from pensivanya my spelling sucks...
so for 15lbs it cost $32.50 with shipping ground 4 for base rock.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6916582#post6916582 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrsnwk
Howdy neighbor -

There is a new local store down the street from the Buffalo Airport on Genesee Street in the back of the Airborne Business Park called Aqua-tec also that you might want to check out if you haven't been there yet. Randy is quite helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.

Click to expand...


The owner of Aqua Tech gives away RO water to customers. Usually just 5 gallons at a time. Just bring a bucket with a lid. And I know he just ordered a new membrane and pre-filters, so it should be good water.
 
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