b_artman Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 hello everyone, im just in the process of setting up my tank. i picked up some live rock this week and have it sitting in a bucket just waiting to go in the tank. the thing im missing right now is the substrate. at first i was going to use crushed coral but it seems as though people are advising against it which now leaves sand as an option. at the lfs they sell Carib sea Aragonite-Alive sand. they also sell the following: Caribsea Aragamax Sand Aragamax Sand is ideal for shallower beds, allowing for denitrification in as little as 1" depth. The fine grain size can also pass easily through the gills of gobies and other sand sifting organisms. The smooth round grains are gentle to soft bellied sharks and rays. they also have the aragamax select which costs another 15 bucks more. then they also have caribsea reef sand: 1-1.7 mm diameter grain size. A revolution in reef keeping! This is the one you've been reading about in all the hobbyist publications. This grade of aragonite is specifically engineered for plenum-type nitrate reducing beds. The pore water space created by precision grading also allows maximum Ph support and dissolution of calcium carbonate. im not sure which one to go with for a brand new tank. im thinking of doing about 1.5 inch sand bed. i know someone will suggest getting sand from an established tank, unfortunetly this is not an option. so any suggestions, please help! Link to comment
Orange Crush Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 buy dead sand. not sand in a bag with water. IMO that's the biggest scam since...well...some other big scam. Totally not worth it. As far as which sand, that's more personal preference than anything in a nano. Just pick one with a grain size that appeals to you. Since you can't get sand from a local reefer, see if your LFS will give/sell you just a cup out of one of their established systems (assuming you trust them). Talk to an owner, not just some high school kid, and make sure they've never used copper in the tanks. Your best bet is to get it from their coral tank. Link to comment
b_artman Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 yeah that alive sand they sell is not in a bucket or nothing. its the caribsea alive sand. i think its coated in a mineral solution or something. i saw the packaging a little while ago, and its basically just what i can easily describe as slimy sand. but its a caribsea branded package, not some home made stuff. so basically the consesus is to buy the sand that appeals to me and try to somehow get a hold of a cup of establisehed live sand to seed the new sand? makes sense to me! Link to comment
mattie Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 live sand is a scam buy some nice arganite sand the select size and when you cycle your tank you sand bed will become live sand Link to comment
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