Up and coming

Been researching and comparing and 3reef reminded me I had not posted recently, so here is my first post and concern. I am starting a 55g and am starting with a tank and stand. ;D Need one more 10g for my fuge and get my acrylic cut for sump. Question is sand. I am wanting to establish a coral/fish setup with live rock of course. I wanted to use play sand (non fizz test complete) and seed with LR but have now read that it is sharp and could affect the sandsifters (which I plan to have). Am also considering BTMS as well. Please give me your opinions on best (not cheapest:-/) sand to use for what I am attempting to achieve. Thanks to all.

 

"Play" sand isn't only bad b/c it's "sharp" but mainly because it's usually made of silica, or crushed rock. You need to find a limestone based sand. The silica will contribute to nuisance algae and diatoms. I also like fine grained sand. I would skip the "live" sand you can buy and just get a a fine grained sand from Petco, it's like $20 for 40lbs. Don't worry about "seeding' the sand either, I really need to write an article about cycling and the myths behind it. Just add the rock and sand and cycle the tank, the rock and sand will become live. You don't need to "seed" anything.

 

I know many people prefer fiji pink argonite sand, I have bahama argonite in my tank and love it.... check it out here

 

We used Fiji aragonite and seeded it with an equal amount of live sand it looks great.

 

I have the same sand and love it. Just dont point a power head towards it or it will sand storm on you.