Next on the list- LIVE SAND

Ok I'm a super Newb with this live sand thing. I dont what to buy theres so many different brands, sizes, colors and what not.

I have a 75 Gal. brand new. I have a nova extreme Pro 6x54 light in the mail as I type this. So sand do you recomend, size, brand color what ever you think is important. I just want to do it right the first time so I don't waste money in the long run.

Thanks again, this forum as been a huge help of me understanding the salt water thing.

 

Carib Sea Argonite live sand is what I use (although it's not really live sand, that's just what the package name is). One pound per gallon gives me about 1 1/4 inches of depth. Purchased it from DrsFosterSmith.com for $34.99 per 40lb bag.

 

i use the white sand from petco its like 8 dollars a back i think its called natural ocean its just plain white sand 1 to 2mm grain size but i use "true" live sand from a lfs to seed it i just make a 1/4 skim coat on the bottom of my tank and then cover it with the store bought sand i used a pound and half per gallon it gave me a 3 inch bed but that what works for me

 

If there is a local fish store (LFS) or petsmart near you they will more than likely carry some type of bagged live sand, typically the caribsea stuff. It works well. I like sugar fine grain size myself but depending on the flow of your tank you'll want to be careful with it, some people get major sandstorms with that stuff because they have so much water movement.

 

i do some what of the same thing as mtips18 but i use a small layer of argo sand before the white sand i fill just up to the bottom rim so i don't see it and a skim coat of live sand from a lfs to seed the tank

 

I also use the caribsea. One thing to watch out for though, caribsea makes a sand called Tahiti something, (one of the black sands) and you cant use that sand if you ever want to have snail's (cuts/scrapes snail's foot).

 

I'v tried some other substrate trying to get a good mix of shapes and sizes and stuff but so far Carabsea Aragamax is my favorite. It's just clean and doesn't shift around or pack as much as some of the other stuff. Someone said someting about getting mini sandstorms when using sugarfine and having a lot of flow... That's for darn sure. My Koralia 3 used to dig nice trenches down to the sublayers in just one night.

When I started this tank I kept a cup of the old crap aragonite to seed the tank and about 7 cups for the refugium. I believe it was Aragalive.

Also if you do get live sand then look for a sell by or Manufactured on date. I hear that stuff can go bad (become ineffective) if left on the shelf too long.

 

google granular size depending on its uses in a reef system, different granular sizes have different uses. then you can purchase a kit to liven up your sand.

 

Great thanks alot. I will look in to it more deeper now that i have a understanding.

 

Hi, In my refuium [when it was up and running ] I had 1in of 4/5mm gravel, 2inch 1/2mm live arroganite sand, and 1inch of miracle mud on top of that, and it was buzzing with life almost from the start. I aim to do the same with my next tank when I decide what size to get. Regards Plankton.