Any recommendations on sand?

ThatNewFishGuy

ThatNewFishGuy

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May 4, 2010
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Im restarting my 90 gal corner tank. We have this strange white gravel like substrate in the tank right now and I pretty much despise it. Much prefer the look of sand since its more natural looking.

Is there a specific type of sand substrate I should look for? If it matters, the tank will be a reef tank some day.
 
aragonite sand? Play sand (from Home Depot)? Not crushed coral sand, that's just unhealthy from what I've heard.
 
Aragonite sand is best. Play sands you get and HD/Lowes vary in content and there is good change most of it will contain a large amount of silicates which will cause a prolonged diatom bloom at a minimum.

Caribsea sands are popular and can be found at LFS and places like Petsmart. There are many grades of agaonite sands from ooilites all the way to large grain crushed coral. Somewhere in between is typically best. The oolite and sugar sands are pretty but very fine and take a long time to settle down. Also not good if you have a lot of flow. The crushed coral can be problematic also if you don't vac it often and by doing so you can also deplete your bed of the good things (bit of an argued concept in the hobby though). Grades like the Aragamax Select, Special Seafloor Grade and Figi Pink look good and have a nice mix of smaller and larger grains.
 
Pool filter sand grain #20 great stuff and easy to plant in. Stays down and is pretty much self-leveling. I use HTH Tan colored and don't notice the fish waste like white will. Easy to vacuum as well.
 
Biggest piece of advice that Greech said and bares repeating, make sure it is calcium (aragonite) based sand. If the bag doesn't say, or says silica based sand, stay far far away. Sand is so cheap I see no reason to risk "cheap" sand when around my neck of the woods it is $40 for a 50lb bag of dry caribsea aragonite. This is the bulk packaging/plain white bags instead of clear bags with print on them, those are usually 20lb bags and cost between $20-$30.
 
I started with Pavestone brand pool filter sand from Home Depot but didn't like how bright/light it was, so I recently switched to Red Flint PFS which is much more natural looking. (Their "Aquarium Sand" is impossible to find, and is the exact same product as their PFS, anyway.) Bought a 50lb. bag online from Wolf Pools & Spas. The shipping was surprisingly cheap, considering, and fast. Red Flint is a slightly larger, heavier grain than the usual PFS so it behaves beautifully when disturbed ... and it has all sorts of colors in it. Looks really good in the tank, which you'll see if I ever finish my new 'scaping and post pics. :rolleyes: In the meantime:

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I'm pretty sure that argonite sand will significantly raise hardness/ph. Using it would probably depend on what fish you're keeping now ... and when that "some day" reef tank is going to happen.

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H2Ogal said:
I'm pretty sure that argonite sand will significantly raise hardness/ph. Using it would probably depend on what fish you're keeping now ... and when that "some day" reef tank is going to happen.
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Well, ya, but in a SW tank, that is exactly what you want. Aragonite offers tons of buffering capabilities, silicate sand offers none AND leaches silicates into the water, feeding bad things like hair algae and cyanobacteria. Aragonite would not be good in a FW tank.

BTW, that Red Flint sand is silica based and would be terrible in a SW tank.
Red Flint Sand and Gravel water filtration media is a naturally clean filtration media found in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the land of clear water. Our filter media is useful for applications such as pool sand and filter sand. Red Flint specializes in custom grades of sand and gravel to meet your stringent specifications. The glacial deposit media has an increased surface area that provides better particulate holding capacity, thereby: * Improving particle removal while still providing maximum water flow. * Allowing for deeper particle bed penetration. * Increasing filter run time. General Properties of Red Flint Water Sand and Gravel Filtration Media * Sub-angular shape provides for maximum turbidity entrapment. * Less than 1% acid soluble impurities prevents mineral leaching deterioration. * Washed, kiln dried, and screened to meet exacting specifications. * High quality silica sand and consistent uniformity.
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Ace25 said:
Biggest piece of advice that Greech said and bares repeating, make sure it is calcium (aragonite) based sand. If the bag doesn't say, or says silica based sand, stay far far away. Sand is so cheap I see no reason to risk "cheap" sand when around my neck of the woods it is $40 for a 50lb bag of dry caribsea aragonite. This is the bulk packaging/plain white bags instead of clear bags with print on them, those are usually 20lb bags and cost between $20-$30.
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Where do you get the big white bags? All I ever see is the 20lb bags for $30 around here.
 
So argonite sand is what im looking for! Another question answered by the aquaria central community. I love these forums! Thanks guys!
 
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