[RHINO13]

Hello all,im about to purchase some sand for my newly reset up tank(46Gal bowfront.)Im wondering if 2 bags of CaribSea Aragamax Sand(30lbs each) would be ok for mysand bed? The grain size is .2-1.22mm
Are there any advantages or disadvantages to useing this sand?

And lastly I planned on trying to find about 7 pounds of live sand from established tanks from a couple different lfs to put on top of the CaribSea sand.Is this a bad idea?And how would I know if their sand is ok?

[Minh Nguyen]

I used crush limestone form Home Depo, in the garden section use to raise pH of soil, and have no problem with it. Munch less expensive.

[mhender]

So your saying that I can go purchase crushed lime stone from menards and it won't affect the tank in a bad way. I'm going to be setting up another large tank and would really like to save some $$ on the substrate.

/mh

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by RHINO13

Hello all,im about to purchase some sand for my newly reset up tank(46Gal bowfront.)Im wondering if 2 bags of CaribSea Aragamax Sand(30lbs each) would be ok for mysand bed? The grain size is .2-1.22mm

Yes, I think it would be OK for your sand bed. How deep do you want to make it? Two bags will probably give you about a 2.5" deep sand bed in your tank. Three bags would probably give you about a 3.5" deep sand bed.

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to useing this sand?

It's sugar size aragonite sand. I like aragonite sand. Sometimes you can find aragonite sand cheaper but not where you live.

And lastly I planned on trying to find about 7 pounds of live sand from established tanks from a couple different lfs to put on top of the CaribSea sand.Is this a bad idea?

It's an excellent idea! In fact, even a pint of live sand from an established tank will work wonders for your sand bed.

And how would I know if their sand is ok?

If you're a newbie, you probably won't. This is all a matter of trust. If possible, you would want to get a cup or two of good live sand from another hobbyist in your area if you can trust him to tell you the truth. You don't want sand with flatworms in it, for example. And you don't want sand from somebody who is constantly fighting ich or other problems.

Many LFS sand beds are rather sterile. Some places even stir and vacuum their sand beds regularly. What you really want is some sand from an established reef tank that is loaded with life: worms and microcrustaceans.

In any case, any live sand is better than no live sand as long as it doesn't harbor any nasty surprises.

[Minh Nguyen]

I did not have any problem with crushed limestone. If you do a search on reefcental, there are other reefers did the same. I need to stress that you need to rinse it because it have some very fine particles. One of the tank I did not rinse it, the animals are fine but when my pistol stir up the dusr it can take 15-30 minutes to clear. This will not be a problem if you rinse it.
I have also used southdown tropical sand without problem before. This is only available in the east coast/north cental US

[mhender]

Originally Posted by Minh Nguyen

I did not have any problem with crushed limestone. If you do a search on reefcental, there are other reefers did the same. I need to stress that you need to rinse it because it have some very fine particles. One of the tank I did not rinse it, the animals are fine but when my pistol stir up the dusr it can take 15-30 minutes to clear. This will not be a problem if you rinse it.
I have also used southdown tropical sand without problem before. This is only available in the east coast/north cental US

Good to know. I checked out your 400 and it looks really nice. I can't wait to get my tank established. I really wish I didn't get out of the hobby for all of those years. At least now I have the room for all of the tanks and equipment I want.

/mh