I am setting up a 210 gallon reef tank. I am going to need about 400lbs of sand according to most recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of sand and how to obtain this huge amount without spending a boat load of cash? Thanks.
400lbs of sand....suggestions
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twilliard
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I would get half that and see how that covers. 400 pounds seems like quite a bit.
sytnom
Idaho Reef Adict
I just put sand in my 100 gal. two days ago. It took 200 lbs for 4"-5". THe dimensions of the bottom are 16"x72". If your dimensions are close to that 400 lbs is too much, unless you want a 6"-8" deep bed. To answer your question, I buy my sand at home depot and use a sand activator to seed it. I like GARF Grunge, myself.
Hope that gives you some idea of what you might want.
Monty
Hope that gives you some idea of what you might want.
Monty
shallowreef
Well-known member
I have about 80 in my 210 and that gives me aroun 1 1/2-2" of sand on the bottom. How deep do you want to go? Don't forget to rinse the sand if you buy it dry.
if you can find the Southdown brand sand at Home Depot, go for that people frequently recommend that as it's silicate free.
I read this long article in some older book, about different substrate's ph buffering abilities after 2 months in a tank.
the popular dolemite, that some people advocate using, only buffers 7.4-7.5 (again after 2 months sitting in the tank)
Aragonite-based sand only 7.7-7.8
Crushed Oyster Shell 7.9
I've got a new 50 gallon light-load FO im running right now(been set up about a month) with some finely crushed oyster shell in filter bags in the sump, and i'm sitting at about 7.9-8.0. I'm not adding chemicals or even doing water changes to see where it goes. I've talked to a friend of mine who does service work and he said a customer of his has a FO tank with just oyster shell as a substrate that's been running for years and it's near problem free.
I'm thinking of taking a whole ton of it, and just grinding it into a sand, to use as a substrate then switching to using that over the bagged live sand.
I read this long article in some older book, about different substrate's ph buffering abilities after 2 months in a tank.
the popular dolemite, that some people advocate using, only buffers 7.4-7.5 (again after 2 months sitting in the tank)
Aragonite-based sand only 7.7-7.8
Crushed Oyster Shell 7.9
I've got a new 50 gallon light-load FO im running right now(been set up about a month) with some finely crushed oyster shell in filter bags in the sump, and i'm sitting at about 7.9-8.0. I'm not adding chemicals or even doing water changes to see where it goes. I've talked to a friend of mine who does service work and he said a customer of his has a FO tank with just oyster shell as a substrate that's been running for years and it's near problem free.
I'm thinking of taking a whole ton of it, and just grinding it into a sand, to use as a substrate then switching to using that over the bagged live sand.
shallowreef
Well-known member
My 210 is 72x24x29 and like i said 80 gave me about 2" so i would imagine 160lbs would leave you at around 4". 400lbs would leave you with about 10" of sand so i think you might have miscalculated a little. Unless you want 10" of sand. You better make sure that you have a good stand and a sturdy floor because your tank is going to weigh as much as a small car.
sytnom
Idaho Reef Adict
Some people disagree with rinsing your sand. The finer particles are better for biological growth. Your water will cloud for a little longer, but then it'll settle and you'll have a great bio filter. That is how I do it, and I know others that do it that way. I have used the regular home depot play sand and I've also used the quartz sand. Both work fine. ($7 a bag for 100 lbs)
HTH, Monty
HTH, Monty
shallowreef
Well-known member
Thats just the way i was taught.
i may try to bring some back here to Louisiana... i am going home to Florida in a week or so... i may bring some sand back and try it out in one of my smaller tanks...nice, extremely bright white sand with no shells in it....i have netted fish before and brought them in, but i haven't tried the sand....if anyone would like some, and will pay shipping, i may bring some extra back.....i don't know if i should get dry sand or wet....the wet will be alot heavier
nano_reeflover
Reefer
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
- Messages
- 111
I got a 100lb bag of white silica sand for only $10 at Menards? I can't remember what the store's name was. It looks really nice in my tank.
Last edited:
burning2nd
Well-known member
yo, im going down to NC sometime in the next 7 months, i wanna see a 525g!,
Ill BUG OUT
not in your house tho.
Ill BUG OUT
not in your house tho.
Theres a sand calculator on another reefing website
3" would be 270 pounds
4" would be 360 pounds
5" would be 450 pounds
I have found this calculator to be very acurate but it is basing it off of 90 pounds per cubic foot of sand. This is usualy right on but sometimes it varies so you should give yourself 50 pounds of lee-way.
For cheap calcium carbonate (aragonite) sand you can use South Down from Home Depot but I could never find this or Kolorscape from the garden section in Walmart. The bag is 1.76 a piece. Each bag is .4 cubic feet (1 cubic foot is about 90 pounds)
I am assuming you want to use aragonite and not silica sand. Aragonite sand is the sand that they sell at fish stores or online suppliers. Sillica sand is rumored (but not proved) to cuase various problems so even if you get a good deal I would saty away from it. I doubt you can get anything much cheaper then Kolorscape sand anyways.
3" would be 270 pounds
4" would be 360 pounds
5" would be 450 pounds
I have found this calculator to be very acurate but it is basing it off of 90 pounds per cubic foot of sand. This is usualy right on but sometimes it varies so you should give yourself 50 pounds of lee-way.
For cheap calcium carbonate (aragonite) sand you can use South Down from Home Depot but I could never find this or Kolorscape from the garden section in Walmart. The bag is 1.76 a piece. Each bag is .4 cubic feet (1 cubic foot is about 90 pounds)
I am assuming you want to use aragonite and not silica sand. Aragonite sand is the sand that they sell at fish stores or online suppliers. Sillica sand is rumored (but not proved) to cuase various problems so even if you get a good deal I would saty away from it. I doubt you can get anything much cheaper then Kolorscape sand anyways.
Krish
RF STAFF
Welcome to RF "Banshee"!
If I lived in the US and didn't have access to the beach and needed that much sand, I'd probably buy the stuff like most people reccommend from Home Depot as well as some Caribsea sand to seed it with.
If I lived in the US and didn't have access to the beach and needed that much sand, I'd probably buy the stuff like most people reccommend from Home Depot as well as some Caribsea sand to seed it with. 
Agreed, skip the live sand.
Also, just a thought/suggestion here....I had a DSB for 5 years, and if I was to do one again (which I probably will just for fun one of these days) I would go with a coarser grade of sand, like 2-4mm, rather than an oolitic aragonite like southdown. The reasoning is this...the coarser sand will help water diffusion in and out of the sandbed, reduce channeling and reduce your dependance on worms and such to get the water in and out of your sandbed. In additon, with a coarser grade of sand, you can run more aggressive flow across the surface of the sand itself, without creating a sandstorm. This will increase diffusion in and out of the DSB, as well (and more importantly, IMO) help keep solids susupended a bit longer to be used by corals, scavengers, or removed by mechanical means, rather than settleing into the sandbed. The less nutrient input the sandbed has, the longer lived and more effective it will be...
If you do decide to use southdown or another type of oolitic sand, I highly recommend rinsing it prior to use...removing the fines will give you a more porous DSB....
Just something for you to think about...
MikeS
Also, just a thought/suggestion here....I had a DSB for 5 years, and if I was to do one again (which I probably will just for fun one of these days) I would go with a coarser grade of sand, like 2-4mm, rather than an oolitic aragonite like southdown. The reasoning is this...the coarser sand will help water diffusion in and out of the sandbed, reduce channeling and reduce your dependance on worms and such to get the water in and out of your sandbed. In additon, with a coarser grade of sand, you can run more aggressive flow across the surface of the sand itself, without creating a sandstorm. This will increase diffusion in and out of the DSB, as well (and more importantly, IMO) help keep solids susupended a bit longer to be used by corals, scavengers, or removed by mechanical means, rather than settleing into the sandbed. The less nutrient input the sandbed has, the longer lived and more effective it will be...
If you do decide to use southdown or another type of oolitic sand, I highly recommend rinsing it prior to use...removing the fines will give you a more porous DSB....
Just something for you to think about...
MikeS
