Sand substrate.

[tb.hansson]

I am new to salt water, and wonder if it is possible to use sandblasting sand (works for fresh water) as a substrate for saltwatten? Or will there be lots of algae? What are the disadvantages?



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[fish&corals]

i wouldnt .. IMO dont go cheap .. you will be sorry if you do ..

 

[tb.hansson]

Thanks for the reply. just wondered if it would work with "regular" sand. Intend to use live sand in the aquarium.

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[SeahorseKeeper]

Thanks for the reply. just wondered if it would work with "regular" sand. Intend to use live sand in the aquarium.

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The sand you get does not have to be labeled live sand. You can use aragonite dry sand, which will eventually become live. The live sand you see in the bag is nothing more than wet sand.

 

[Loki]

Yup. I wouldn't. Also the sand we use will slowly release calcium into the tank. get the good stuff.

 

[wysiwyg]

agreed sand blasting sand alot of the times is silicate. just use aragonite

 

[Rockadile]

Dont buy "live sand" Get a bag of non live sand and create your own life.

 

[MaxCanada]

do you have to use aragonite for sand? i bought some black caribsea sand, it said was safe for saltwater, but does argonite provide the best benefit to a reef tank?

 

[BarbH]

Hello and welcome to r2r, as was already said I would not use the sandblasting sand. Regular dry aragonite sand will work and eventually the dry sand will become live sand.

 

[Saltwatertaylor]

Looks like the experts have covered this one lol.

 

[Electrobes]

Sand blasting sand is most likely Quartz sand (Or silica sand). While not proven to actually harm the tank, many people stay away from it because of it's purported myth. A real world problem with using it, is that it is not easily obtained pure. The brown in that sand is about 2% dirt or "other". Quartz sand is pretty white.. or at least it should be in a more purer form.

The benefit to using aragonite sand, aside from it being natural to sea critters in most places (Especially a reef!) is the same as rocks... it's minor role in buffering the tank.

I would recommend using aragonite, as a product it's usually intended for a reef tank unlike Quartz sand... which is made for many other uses.

 

[tb.hansson]

Thanks for all the answers. Will use ls or aragonite.

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