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Unread 09/14/2007, 12:40 PM   #1
latazyo
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any place to buy sand locally or do I need to buy LS?

do you guys use any sort of regular sand bought at HD or Lowe's or do you all buy bags of the $30 live sand?

I need another bag of sand for this new tank and since I already bought 1 bag of live sand, I was hoping to not have to buy another


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Unread 09/14/2007, 12:42 PM   #2
Im Lon 2
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IMO Bags of LS is not really live sand.


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Unread 09/14/2007, 12:43 PM   #3
latazyo
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thanks lonnie

regardless, I still need some sand

so what do you use?


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Unread 09/14/2007, 01:30 PM   #4
Im Lon 2
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I like special Grade the 40lb bag for like $40


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Unread 09/14/2007, 01:31 PM   #5
fazgood
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Lowes

Is this for a DSB or for the bottom of the tank?

I went in the back of Lowes and bought 50 # bags of white pool filter sand for the bottom of my tank. I rinsed it in trash cans but it was quite clean already. I think it was about 5 bucks a bag. Its not as bright white as the store bought stuff but I mixed in some aragonite and it looks fine.

It also came alive pretty quickly when I added the live rock. This is just my theory but I figured if I bought live sand, and even if it was really alive, I would be killing off a lot of life by redistributing it in the tank. I figured that starting with clean/dead sand would allow the right things to develop in the right layers of sand and that would reduce the amount of nitrates and phosphates in the long run. I did ask around and get goo from the bottom of different tanks to get a good mix of critters.

No matter which way you go, it will take time for nature to do it's think.

I'm not an expert so its just my .02 c.
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Unread 09/14/2007, 01:35 PM   #6
latazyo
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yeah I'll be adding the sand I currently have to this

its not a DSB, but just sand for the bottom of the tank


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Unread 09/14/2007, 01:39 PM   #7
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Ya there are cheaper ways of buying sand. I just like the fat of knowing that what I am buying is somewhat guaranteed for what I will be using it for. Don't want to worry about what you might be introducing into your tank good or bad. Personally my next setup I will be purchasing a mix of CaribSea Aragamax SugarSized Sand and Seaflor Special Grade which both you can get from most LFS or have them order it. There are a lot of ways to save a buck in this hobby this one you can usually shop around for a good price.

Before it was hard to find a sugar sized sand base you had to look for the right playsand. Now CaribSea carries it don't believe they always have.


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Last edited by rams; 09/14/2007 at 01:45 PM.
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Unread 09/14/2007, 03:06 PM   #8
DrBDC
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Here's some live sand from a tank:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1186993


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Unread 09/14/2007, 03:13 PM   #9
latazyo
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Quote:
Originally posted by rottielover
Sorry all the sand is spoken for.

pwn3d


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Unread 09/14/2007, 05:27 PM   #10
latazyo
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ok, so everyone around here buys $30 bags of sand from LFS?

highly unlikely

come on guys, if its a secret, I"ll pay premium


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Unread 09/14/2007, 05:45 PM   #11
rams
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No
1) does anyone have any they want to get rid of?
2) does anyone know anyone who has some they want to get rid of?
3) post a thread "looking for southdown"
4) call around for the lowest price "pricematch"
5) look up the subject on RC to find out how people have gotten deals on sand for example a company use to not care about the weight when they had free shipping or discounted shipping
6) figure out who knows who can get a good deal on sand if they want to help you out
7)research the brands of play sand you can buy and the method for determining the right play sand for reef tanks
8) wait for a sale or good deal
9) pay full price for sand $1 a pound is the norm
does that help no secret


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Unread 09/14/2007, 05:51 PM   #12
JxMetal
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How much do you really need?

10 pounds?


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Unread 09/14/2007, 07:09 PM   #13
latazyo
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looking for another 20-30 pounds

thanks Dennis, but as if I could search on RC...Im never awake after 3am....jk

I'll probably just rock out with the $5 pool filter sand from lowes

unless I see some available that's not already spoken for


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Unread 09/14/2007, 07:50 PM   #14
rams
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http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...threadid=26193




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Unread 09/14/2007, 08:49 PM   #15
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I think I will pay more and not try and read that giant thread. lol J/k .

Interesting link tho whoa thunk that many posts over sand!

PS. I buy fresh clean carrib sea (sp)and add a cup of primordial goo(the funk from the bottom of a tank) for good measure


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Unread 09/14/2007, 09:06 PM   #16
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I bought sand from a local landscaping place. Just simple white silica sand. I had the tank setup for about 3 years and never had a problem with the sand. I used about 300 pounds and it was about $50.00 total.

Tom

Here is an old picture of it after the 1st year:



I miss this tank.


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Unread 09/14/2007, 09:23 PM   #17
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got a big bag of play sand from walmart you can have if you like not using it, some kind of landscape sand they sell for sandboxes. might be a 30lbs or 40 lbs bag.


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Current Tank Info: 93 gallon cube, ecotech LED, swc 160 cone skimmer, lots of softies
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Unread 09/14/2007, 09:27 PM   #18
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you can buy dry sand and stop by a couple buddies house and get a cup of live sand to throw across the sand in tank to seed your tank. I would glady give you a cup of live sand to seed your sandbed once its set up and going i got tons of pods, spaghetti worms, bristle worms, and all kinds of weird live crap in my tanks. Thats the best way to do it, by dry cheap sand setup up tank and and a little live sand from everyone elses tank and your all set. I'll like adding dry rock to established tanks to seed for people with new setups for those who can't afford live rock since dry rock is cheaper.


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24 gallon nano cube, LED lights, zoanthids, shrooms

Current Tank Info: 93 gallon cube, ecotech LED, swc 160 cone skimmer, lots of softies
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Unread 09/14/2007, 09:32 PM   #19
latazyo
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thanks darrick

I already have 30# of live sand in my tank right now...its only 10 months old so im going to reuse it


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Unread 09/15/2007, 01:26 PM   #20
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I have 40Lb in my 100 Gal. I got about 1 inch all across. U think you need more in the 40? Unless ur going for 4" i think you have pleanty...

BK


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Unread 09/15/2007, 03:22 PM   #21
fazgood
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Math.. yuck

The sand I bought came in 1/2 cu foot bags. If I do the math... thats 1 inch by 4 sq foot of bottom. You can figure it out from there.

Faz


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Unread 09/15/2007, 04:33 PM   #22
DrBDC
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Here you go:

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/SandBed.php


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Current Tank Info: 180g sps+75 softy/lps on one system tunze's, seio's, mjmods, aquacontroller w/add ons, 2X400 XM10000 and 3X160 vho actinic, 110g sump, 110 frag tank, Geo Beckett and other stuff
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Unread 09/16/2007, 12:38 AM   #23
latazyo
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I just wanted to know where you all get your sand

I dint care how much I buy...I have two tanks if I have extra I can dump some in the other


sorry about ty[ing its my birthday and I got bombed and cut my finger


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Unread 09/16/2007, 09:03 AM   #24
DrBDC
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If anyone is needing a cup of sand/rubble for diversity, this evening we'll have Glenns tank switched over. We have it switched now but his old 75 is pulled out of the way and still running about 1/3 full with the fish in there until this eve. Then it's in the trash can with the existing substrate (minus our own cup for seeding).


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Current Tank Info: 180g sps+75 softy/lps on one system tunze's, seio's, mjmods, aquacontroller w/add ons, 2X400 XM10000 and 3X160 vho actinic, 110g sump, 110 frag tank, Geo Beckett and other stuff
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