[gebrony]

Okay i read on another site that if you used somewhat like a 50/50 mix of live sand with plain quickrete sand it would be fine for a dsb, just wondering

[Ninong]

I suppose you could do that if you wanted. I just don't see any purpose in mixing quartz sand with calcareous sand, unless you are thinking of obtaining some live quartz sand from someone's tank??? When most people speak of "live sand," they are talking about calcareous sand collected below the tide line in the tropics.

One of the obvious risks involved in choosing quartz sand is that is could have impurities that could cause problems. Even if it has no impurities, it may not be 100% pure SiO2. It could very well contain a small amount of feldspar, which is a compound of silica that does dissolve gradually over time. This could explain why some people report problems with nuisance algae when using silica sand and others report no problems.

I just think that calcareous sand is more aesthetically pleasing in a reef aquarium than quartz sand. It just seems more appropriate to me. I started with all calcareous sand. About 90% of it was just plain Southdown sand and the other 10% was live sand from three or four different sources.

[gebrony]

ok i have 40lbs of arag alive already and i want to make my bed deeper and i have read they don't make southdown anymore, so what kind of sand would be good to use?

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by gebrony

ok i have 40lbs of arag alive already and i want to make my bed deeper and i have read they don't make southdown anymore, so what kind of sand would be good to use?

It is not that they don't "make" it anymore, it is just under a different name. I bought mine as "Oldcastle Tropical Playsand from the Carribean." If in doubt take a little vinegar with you, drop in a few grains and look for it to fizzle, if it does, you are all set! If not, keep looking!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by gebrony

ok i have 40lbs of arag alive already and i want to make my bed deeper and i have read they don't make southdown anymore, so what kind of sand would be good to use?

What you have now is not considered live sand. There is nothing wrong with it, it's just not live sand. It's Aragamax with an infusion of semi-dormant bacteria. You could purchase some more Carib-Sea sand or you could try to find some Southdown (now called Oldcastle). It's not usually available in Kentucky. It's usually available only on the east coast. It might be easier to just pay extra for more Carib-Sea stuff. I would choose their sugar sized sand such as Aragamax but that's up to you.

It's always a good idea to add a little real live sand unless your tank already has a very active live sand bed. When I started my tank, I purchased 12 lbs. of live sand from a vendor in South Carolina and two or three pounds of live sand from vendors in Hawaii, Indiana and Maryland. I also added about 30 lbs. of Florida Keys live sand but the particle size is a bit on the large size, probably 1.5 - 2 mm.

There are so many different opinions now on what is the ideal particle size mixture for a deep sand bed that you can find someone to agree with you no matter what approach you take.

[Reefland]

It's been a long time but the Home Depot on Preston Hwy used to have the Yardright. If not you might try a member of the Louisville Marine Aquarium Society as they were the ones working with HD to get it in.

[gebrony]

okay im bidding on some live sand now on ebay and the rest of my sand i should go tomy local home depot or lowes with some vinegar and if it fizzles i'm good to go right

sorry for all the questions, just wanna get it right before adding livestock

[Poseidon]

Yup! Just look for "from the carribbean" (sp? ) and the FIZZ!

[gebrony]

thanks you guys have been so much help