Different Sand Tpyes Q

WhoDey · 09-17-2006, 11:37 PM

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know what is the best type of sand to use for a 4 inch sand bed? Should it be reef sand or the aragamax sand which is sugar-sized. or should I mix em both. I found a site online Aquarium Supplies, Pet Supplies, and Pond Supplies at Discount Prices that sells aragamax in 30 lb bags for $18 each. Plus I want to order live sand to mix with this to sead the base sand. The only live sand they have is reef sand for $26 for a 20 lb bag. I'm not sure how this would look mixed with the fine sand. The reason why I want to order it all from this site is because the shipping is only 11 or 12 dollars for the entire order!! Let me know what you think.

-nate

ahill3780 · 09-17-2006, 11:53 PM

Hey Nate,

The sugar-sized sand is what I have heard suggested from many experts and veterans of both FO and Reef systems. I myself use a mix of Crushed Coral and fine sand. I plan on eventually replacing the entire substrae to just fine reef sand since it is better for NBF.

CC has a better pH buffering capacity than sand does, but that is not a major concern for me since there are other ways to buffer this. The extra fitration capacity of the sand outweighs this buffering benefits of CC IMO.

HTH,
Aaron

WhoDey · 09-18-2006, 12:20 AM

would the seaflor special grade reef sand (carib sea) be considered fine reef sand... If not then where can i find this fine reef sand? I think I like the look of the finer sand better, so I wouldn't mind using it if there really isn't that big of a difference. Thanks for the quick reply!

WhoDey · 09-18-2006, 09:08 PM

I have been reading a lot online about sand trying to figure out what's best. I think you were correct Aaron when you said the best sand for a deep sand bed is very fine sand. Allthough I've read that if you don't have sand sifters then you may have some dangersous pockets in the sand which can be deadly to fish. Back to the sand I bought today. I got 100 lbs for $7.22. Go to your local hardware store and see what kind of "play sand" they carry. Then go home and type in that name into the internet and see if people have used that in their tank. It just so happened that the one they carried at Lowes and Home Depot was the same as the stuff you buy in LFS for $30 for 30 lbs.(calcium based) Now I can spend some more $$ on my live rock!! I talked to the guy at my LFS and he said that he actually used the same stuff I had just bought from Lowes in his tank and it worked fine. He has coral and other crazy things, so I feel pretty confident about my purchase. Let me know what you think though.

-Nate

ahill3780 · 09-19-2006, 05:36 PM

Spot-on Nate, the play sand is an excellent choice for substrate. You just need to make sure it is either an Aragonite or Silica sand. Play sand is not live and will have a longer cycle time. I would suggest using the play sand for most of the bed and only using one or two bags of live sand to seed it.

The sand bed problem that you mentioned is referring to the Anoxic and Anaerobic zones that develop in deep sand beds. This is where the nitrifying bacteria colonize that keep your tank clear of Nitrates. If you disturb these zones then it can have a large negative impact on your natural filtration. You could see a large rise in Ammonia, and definately a rise in Nitrates until the bacteria form new AAZs.

Good policy is to not dig in the bed once it has been established for 6 or more months.

HTH,
Aaron