Petco CaribSea live sand, why so cheap?

[Sebastiancrab]

I recently bought two bags of the Fiji Pink from Petco for the reduced price. My only disappointment with it is that it does not look like what they picture on their website. It looks like regular beach sand with a very little bit of pink thrown in. My LFS said it wasn't any different from their regular product so they dropped it.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Petco runs crazy deals on stuff all the time, it just never makes it to the ad or on the sticker in the store. Whenever I need misc stuff I do a search for it on their website to see if it’s on sale. The registers don’t reflect the online sale price, so you’ll have to pull it up on your phone so they can price match it in the store. I just moved my tank and used the regular caribsea arragonite sand because they had it on sale for like $4/bag on the website.

Since covid, there’s no sale at all!

 

[Fishingandreefing]

This one looks good too not sure if that’s what i or most people have. I spent several hours cleaned up half bucket of old and see I can use them to save a few bucks.

 

[Marten]

I just use CaribSea Aragonite, it's super cheap and works well as a base layer for my micromussa lordehowensis substrate.

 

[mattzang]

i bought a bunch of sand from petco recently and they cancelled the live sand part of the purchase

but still, 40lbs of special grade sand from petco was way cheaper than equivalent at BRS

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Since covid, there’s no sale at all!

They have had the Fiji Pink for $16/bag and I bought two recently. I had to set up the in stock alert to catch it.

 

[Anchor]

Just looked at 40 pound bag of special grade and is only about 8 bucks less than BRS.. and the one posted above is a 25 pound bag.. did not look for a difference there.. but looks like only 20% from my viewpoint

 

[Anchor]

Aragonite Fiji Pink Dry Sand 40lbs

Transform Your Reef Tank with Fiji Pink Ideal for both new setups and additions to existing tanks, this 40lb bag offers a cost-effective alternative to live sand. The dry nature of CaribSea's sand allows for pre-rinsing to remove dust, ensuring a clear view in your aquarium from the start...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Aragonite Special Grade Dry Sand 40lbs

Natural Perfection with CaribSea's Special Grade Reef Sand Ideal for both new setups and additions to existing tanks, this 40lb bag offers a cost-effective alternative to live sand. The dry nature of CaribSea's sand allows for pre-rinsing to remove dust, ensuring a clear view in your aquarium...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[lilgrounchuck]

Since covid, there’s no sale at all!

There’s still plenty on sale. In fact, the sand I bought is on sale again: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-aragonite-aquarium-sand
They still have a print ad too, but none of this type of stuff is ever in the sale ad, you have to check on the website.

 

[Squidward]

Be smart save. It's the same stuff. Don't get ripped off just cause one is a specialty SW store lol

 

[Squidward]

Just looked at 40 pound bag of special grade and is only about 8 bucks less than BRS.. and the one posted above is a 25 pound bag.. did not look for a difference there.. but looks like only 20% from my viewpoint

$8 less is pretty good savings for sand. Not sure how it's not lol

 

[Squidward]

I had over 10 bags of fiji pink that were on backorder on petco so I went on chewy site and ordered the special grade there. Great prices there too. Sand is one item I would not order from BRS, marinedepot, or any other place. Their prices can't beat petco and chewy.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

I had over 10 bags of fiji pink that were on backorder on petco so I went on chewy site and ordered the special grade there. Great prices there too. Sand is one item I would not order from BRS, marinedepot, or any other place. Their prices can't beat petco and chewy.

Especially when you can just go pick it up right away

 

[Squidward]

Especially when you can just go pick it up right away

I was at work and my wife had the poor UPS guy bring in 14 boxes of sand I ordered from chewy lol

 

[Anchor]

I was at work and my wife had the poor UPS guy bring in 14 boxes of sand I ordered from chewy lol

That's just cruel.. but funny

 

[JJ Ligs]

Be careful, I got that stuff, corals started closing. ICP came back with High metals. Ran a magnet over my sand bed and there was a rusty screwDriver bit and some other metal flakes!

I always dump my sand in a bucket first to go through it and I found black chips of something in mine. i rinsed it and found wood and all kinds of chunks of paint in it. I called the store To see if I can exchange it and they said yeah no we will refund you because it will all be like that if one was. I asked why would that be the manager said “Yeah so we get a deal on C stock sometimes. So the whole batch will be crap!”

 

[Fishingandreefing]

There’s still plenty on sale. In fact, the sand I bought is on sale again: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-aragonite-aquarium-sand
They still have a print ad too, but none of this type of stuff is ever in the sale ad, you have to check on the website.

I meant the $30 off deal.

 

[Malifry97]

I always dump my sand in a bucket first to go through it and I found black chips of something in mine. i rinsed it and found wood and all kinds of chunks of paint in it. I called the store To see if I can exchange it and they said yeah no we will refund you because it will all be like that if one was. I asked why would that be the manager said “Yeah so we get a deal on C stock sometimes. So the whole batch will be crap!”

Yeah, its pretty ridiculous the amount of people that have found junk in their sand

 

[lpsouth1978]

Yeah, its pretty ridiculous the amount of people that have found junk in their sand

I have found this to be especially true with dry sand. It has not been an issue for me at this point. I thoroughly rinse all sand that I get. This removes all dust, wood, and other organics, as well as allows me to inspect the sand for other things and remove them before going in the tank.

 

[NS Mike D]

if you rinse live sand. pour off the water and save it.


I will never go small grain sand again (like oolite). It looks great day one, but sand traps detritus and larger grains are easier to siphon clean and that oolite makes its way into the rock pores (bad). I replaced my sand with the carib sea live natural reef. I can target a section of the sand to siphon without it all going into the bucket and I can keep more flow with kicking it up.