Buying sand from ebay

Birchell · 12-01-2006, 06:12 PM

Hey guys,

Has anyone bought and sand from the Reef Sand Man?? He has a great deal on cultured sand, 30 lbs for 18.95 + 7.95 shipping per box. I know this is to go to be, but I would like to get my tank going, and dont want to get the wrong sand. He is a link: eBay: 30lb NATURAL WHITE LIVE SAND *FREE REFUGIUM STARTER KIT (item 150064257458 end time Dec-06-06 13:33:46 PST)

Tell me what you think.

Michael

JustPhish · 12-01-2006, 08:06 PM

Looks like BS to me on so many levels I won't even bother. Just keep in mind, you almost said it, it it's too good to be true. And....you get what you pay for.

Freaking ridiculous. 5lbs per gallon? My 180 would have 6 inches of water if I did that. Bah, I'm not getting into it.

What's the problem with getting your own package of sand and then seeding it with a couple cups from local reffers or your local store? Shoot even a decent liverock would do it.

A 30lb package of sugar sized sand could easily be had for $19.

Good luck.

JustPhish · 12-01-2006, 08:08 PM

LOL was just thinking. By that dudes claims you'd be getting only enough sand for a 6 gallon tank. ROFL. Sounds more like a mud puddle to me.

Birchell · 12-01-2006, 09:06 PM

LOL, I was kinda thinking the samething. My only problem is that I have to order everything I get. I dont have a LFS anymore. I have a pet store that can get some of the stuff I need, but they charge 38 bucks for a 20 bag of sand!! I was thinking I will need around 100 lbs for a deep sand bed. I guess I will just go out of town and see what I can find. If I could find atleast 50 lbs I could get the tank cycling, and buy more sand as I go. Thanks for making me feel like this is to go to be true. 5 lbs per gallon would make a shallow water bed, lol.

Michael

coral reefer · 12-02-2006, 07:15 PM

If I were you I would get a bag or so, depending on how much you need to have a benthic area (substrate) of 3-6 inches deep, of dry aragonite at your local pet shop and see if you can get a few handfulls of some (live)sand from an established mature tank to help seed your substrate.
It will end up saving you some money as that didn't seem to be much of a deal, especially since you are paying so much to have it shipped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Go pick it up at the store and save $8.00 a bag and spend it on something else for your tank!...

OoNickoC · 12-05-2006, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coral reefer

If I were you I would get a bag or so, depending on how much you need to have a benthic area (substrate) of 3-6 inches deep, of dry aragonite at your local pet shop and see if you can get a few handfulls of some (live)sand from an established mature tank to help seed your substrate.
It will end up saving you some money as that didn't seem to be much of a deal, especially since you are paying so much to have it shipped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Go pick it up at the store and save $8.00 a bag and spend it on something else for your tank!...

Took to words right out of my mouth. Unless you have a LFS with a NICE LS setup...donot buy offline. If you cannot see the sand first hand dont buy it. That is the cornerstone of your investment for who knows how lonng, its not worth the risk regaurdell of any claims or reputation. Problems with your sand take longer (if cureable) than any other reef problem. If the sand has anything other than a salty, slight seashore odor....its dying/dead. Just buy some quality arag. sand and seed it in a 15% ratio.
EG;
If you have want 100lbs of sand in your system, then use 15-30lbs of LS from an etablished system....like coral reefer mentoned. I would go with 3-4" in the bottom.