Economic rock and sand?

[03864reefer]

I have actually had very good luck getting base rock on amazon.. I get 40 plus pounds shipped (prime) for 54 bucks.. Rock needs to be blasted with a high pressure hose to really open all the pores and it is excellent.. Larger Pieces, average 3 rocks for 40 lbs,. "natures ocean"

 

[Russ265]

I have actually had very good luck getting base rock on amazon.. I get 40 plus pounds shipped (prime) for 54 bucks.. Rock needs to be blasted with a high pressure hose to really open all the pores and it is excellent.. Larger Pieces, average 3 rocks for 40 lbs,. "natures ocean"

I purchased an immitation "marco rock" by accident. I think it was KBB rock. Anyway, the photos were nothing like what i received and I had to do the same.
I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and was left with some portland cemend boulder that was already really heavy.

needless to say, it is still in my garage after i ordered the real deal from marcorocks.com

 

[The Flying Turkey]

Marco rocks sells dry sand as well. Just don't buy their super fine sand, it is so fine it's like baby powder, and I'm not kidding. The slightest water movement causes a cloud of sand that eventually settles on your rocks and even ends up in your sump.

Good news is they sell a coarse sand that is much better.

I actually ended up removing all the sand after two years and now I'm bare bottom.

 

[DurocShark]

On my new acrylic, I'm thinking about putting mirror window tint on the bottom and going bare. I worry about my yellow line wrasse though. He loves playing in the sand.

 

[Flybill]

Besides the beneficial calcium in the aragonite sand it's also softer and won't scratch the glass. A friend used regular beach sand and ended up with so many scratches he had to get a new tank.

 

[JonPhillips]

I searched forums and kijiji for my rock. The nice thing about using dry rock, is being able to do all your aquascaping outside of the tank and then droping it in... My chunk of shtimp has been in for two weeks now... average time would be around 6 to 8 weeks to cycle. Cant wait!

Stupendous!

 

[JonPhillips]

some good info here... https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/when-is-the-right-time-to-add-coral.243777/

Fantastic resource here. Will be using this! Thank you!

 

[JonPhillips]

You don't even have to use sand if you don't want to. If you paint the underside of the tank white, it looks just like sand from the other side. Also, welcome! There is never a stupid question here. R2R is awesome and everyone wants to help. Ask away!

Dude, I like that idea! I think part of my stocking list and the name escapes me right now, is that fish that scoters around eating all the good stuff that collects in the sand. That species just fascinates me for some reason...

 

[JonPhillips]

Besides the beneficial calcium in the aragonite sand it's also softer and won't scratch the glass. A friend used regular beach sand and ended up with so many scratches he had to get a new tank.

Not cool. definitely a freak when it comes to how things look.

 

[glb]

Dude, I like that idea! I think part of my stocking list and the name escapes me right now, is that fish that scoters around eating all the good stuff that collects in the sand. That species just fascinates me for some reason...

I'm glad I could help. But I'm a chick. If it will make you feel any better, I get mistaken for a dude all the time.

 

[JonPhillips]

I'm glad I could help. But I'm a chick. If it will make you feel any better, I get mistaken for a dude all the time.

my bad my bad...

 

[glb]

my bad my bad...

No worries. I think it's hilarious. I must write like a dude.

 

[glb]

Here's my build thread if you'd like some more info. It's been going since August and has a lot of good info from a lot of people.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/glbs-40g-upgrade.208789/

 

[AlanM]

Some bare bottom folks put starboard on the bottom. You can get it in lots of different colors including off-white sand colored.

 

[Luna]

Live near Lake Michigan - so can't I just go to my nearest beach and get sand and rocks for free, then make it Live?

 

[glb]

Live near Lake Michigan - so can't I just go to my nearest beach and get sand and rocks for free, then make it Live?

I wouldn't. There's probably pollutants in the rocks and sand which could cause endless problems. I don't think it's worth the savings considering the risk. Just my 0.02.

 

[Kershaw]

If you go dry rock you can drill and use dowls to make a solid reef scape.