You'll want to use oolitic aragonite sand. It's expensive, but it's what you want. You may be able to find a good deal online, but it's heavy, so shipping might offset whatever savings you can find over the LFS. I believe Dick (Amphibious) was trying to work out a way to ship some pretty cheap aragonite. Might want to check with him.
i would recommend an Aragonite based sand. it does not really need to be the "LIVE" sand that most LFS's sell (it will all be live soon enough). if you get a few pieces of cured live rock to sit on the sand, it will seed it with everything that you need. or you can find a reef club in your area and get a cup or two of sand from one of the local reefers to seed it with.
check with Amphibious (Dick) here ... he is a TR sponsor and i think he has found boxes that are sturdy enough to ship bags of sand in. he can probably give you the best deal on the net for it.
Pearson ... i gotta learn to type faster !!
__________________ Bobby
"I FORMERLY glued animals to rocks" NO TANK RIGHT NOW, but you never know when I might throw one together !! I have everything I need but the time!!
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Ok well is the sand the stuff that dr foster and smith carries to or am i looking at the wrong thing? Also what does seeding mean and can i do it right in the tank?
I am sure the Drs must carry sand. I would not waste my money on a product labeled live if it comes in a sealed plastic bag. Just buy aragonite non-live sand. I echo what has been said about The Cultured Reef. Seeding is what will happen to the sand once you either put it in a tank with LR or add a cup of sand from an established tank.
Ok well what exactly does seeding mean and how much do i need to put in of the live sand like to i have to put a certain amount of cups per so many pounds? Would this be what im looking for? Aragamax Aquarium Sand
it means that the sand that you get from someone else will add enough bacteria to your sand to get it started with colonizing the bacteria that happens during the cycle.
__________________ Bobby
"I FORMERLY glued animals to rocks" NO TANK RIGHT NOW, but you never know when I might throw one together !! I have everything I need but the time!!
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As long as you use plain old dead sand, you will not have a new cycle. If you use the bagged "live" sand then you likely will, because it's typically "dead, rotten" sand.
In an established tank, it's not necessary to seed the sand bed, the desirable critters and bacteria will migrate into the sand from your rock. Adding a cup or two of sand from someone elses tank just speeds up the process. Literally a cup (like a plastic Solo cup) is plenty.
Ok awsome thank you so much for all the advice I really really appreciate it you guys were the biggest help I have found yet!!!!!!!! Well I'm outty for the night so thank you very much that tank looks great after a long day of work.
I also wanted to tell you that when i went to my LFS today to get some salt because i ran out that i told them what you were telling me and how you have been telling me along with other people on here how to go about eliminating things and putting sand and things in the tank. I also told him how i really cleaned the CC and he almost had a heart attack saying he never heard of that and he would never do something like that in his tank because that what someone did to his tank and he went through a big nitrate spike. But then he turns around and says well if what they are telling you is right and works then let me know so I can do it for himself after he just said to me that he had his planned figured out so that just showed me right there that he didnt know WTH he was talking about.
Good night Jenn. You will read this in the AM, I guess.
You just learned a great lesson from "Reefing 101", most LFS employees don't know WTH they are talking about! That's great. Don't ever forget that lesson. Forums like TR are made up of reefers that come from all walks of life. One thing we have in common is a thirst for knowledge. We help each other. There isn't a better forum than TR. I know because I'm a member on 22 reef forums.
I do have Aragonite sand. The problem is boxing and shipping. I can't find the proper size box and shipping is costly. I'm looking into 2 gal plastic pails but the cost is prohibitive, $2.65 per pail with cover.
I echo all the fore given advice on buying dry Aragonite sand not the live stuff in a bag. Buying live sand from a collector that gets it fresh from the ocean is different. We're talking about CaribSea's live aragonite sand.
You're going to want to rinse the sand several times before putting it into the tank to get rid of the super-fine particles. The water will turn the color of skim milk. Swirl it around cautiously dump out the "milk" and do it again and again till the water is nearly clear. Then use Carmie's trick of sealing it in a zip lock baggie and lowering it into the tank, turn the bag upside-down and slowly unzip the baggie and let the sand pour out. Seal the bag back up and most of the remaining "milk" can be taken out with the baggie.
Hope this helps.
Dick
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
Yes, Jenn, that's what you want. It's what I have (right from the Bahamas) but can't ship at this time.
Dick
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
Wow Phurst, you and I are so eager to help Jenn, we're both sitting at our keyboard at her disposal.
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
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