i have a question

[gfoster1983]

I was going to do a live reef system but money is tight so i have decided to go with a fake coral insert and fish.....the question that i have is where can I get a fake insert and can i just use play ground sand since I'm not going with a live system???

 

[chickenofthesea]

Just to clarify, the word "LIVE" is referring to the presence of live bacteria that help filter out ammonia and nitrates that live on the surface area of the rock and sand. Technically the surface of anything can become "live". In fact, many people start there marine tanks with dry "dead" rock (meaning it has been rid of all living organisms) and clean "dead" sand and use many different methods to start the tank cycle to build that bacteria population. As far as the playground sand, I would think if you rinsed it out really well it would work. Although, I don't know if there are silicates and other contaminants in that playground sand that you don't want in your tank. I'm sure someone on here can shed some light on this better than I

 

[Peppie]

You can surely put anything you like in your fake reef tank. Will it be good for the things that live in your fake reef tank???
You can buy the fake corals on line or a pet store in Sumner.
The cost of the livestock that goes in a reeftank is a fraction of the cost of the building a functional saltwater aquarium.

 

[Ichthys]

The cost of the livestock that goes in a reeftank is a fraction of the cost of the building a functional saltwater aquarium.

11/32nds to be exact. Or if your dosing vodka, then it reduces down to 42

 

[janky]

I'm not nearly as experienced as most of the people on here, but when I set up my reef I used freshwater silica sand and was advised against it due to how likely it is to cause hair algae (which I was actually starting to see forming around the edges).
The live sand is fairly cheap as well... so might as well set it up right. Not knowing and having to switch to the other sand while I had livestock ended in the death of most of them. Better to just do it right the first time, IMO

 

[bradreef]

Look into fowlr. fish only with live rock. you could "cook your rock" find some rock from a tank breakdown or something. I would search craigslist or here to find cheap live rock.

 

[gfoster1983]

I'm not looking to do live rock I just want to get a fake coral insert......so since I'm not doing live coral is there really a need to do live sand.......that's why I am wondering if play ground sand is good enough as long as I rinse it out good

 

[Peppie]

I'm not looking to do live rock I just want to get a fake coral insert......so since I'm not doing live coral is there really a need to do live sand.......that's why I am wondering if play ground sand is good enough as long as I rinse it out good

Are you going to put saltwater in the tank? Are you going to add saltwater fish to the tank? Are you going to run filters on the tank??

 

[NC2WA]

I'm confused...if you are not going to put live rock and the entire system is fake this and that..what's the point?
<sorry for being honest>

 

[gfoster1983]

I am going to do saltwater fish I just don't have the money right now to do real coral yet but I will some day down the road.....I am going to have filters.....I want to do a fake insert because right now I have an empty tank in my front room and I'm tired of looking at it empty....so theirs is a point.....all I want to know is if playground sand will hurt the fish!!!

 

[Peppie]

It will not hurt the fish, Directly. It will cause other issues with your tank chemistry, that could possibly effect your fish.

 

[Jozee]

Apologies in advance if I sound negative as it isn't meant to be - but the live rock and the live sand are not just for decoration - they are a very integral part of the setup. You can start with standard and cycle it if you're a patient soul. It would help more if we knew what you have for a filter, etc. Would this be your first saltwater tank? If so - read on; if not, just ignore everything beyond this point because you already know.

If you want fish that you spend your hard-earned $ on to thrive - or live (and marine fish are not cheap, they can be quite an investment), you're might be better off getting things for your system together as you can and waiting to set it all up until you have everything you need, or saving up the $ to do it all at once. If you're looking for an inexpensive hobby, marine aquarium keeping may not be what you're looking for... Everything costs $ - the RO/DI setup, salt, test kits, chemicals and everything else that it takes to maintain it. Reef aquariums are even more expensive. I just want you to know it can be expensive before you get into it. If you ask the folks on the forum how expensive things are, I think you'd be surprised.

Plus - this hobby is so gd addictive that it borders on the ridiculous... Every weekend I get ready to go shopping and hubby asks, "Going to the crack store?" That's what he calls the LFS.

 

[user 26995]

In my opinion playground sand is just going to cause problems.
You dont really know what is in it. Most playground sand has silicates in it.

 

[gfoster1983]

Thank-you that is the answer I was looking for I didn't need all the other BS that people have been posting on my thread....I have everything else figured out I just needed to know if my sand idea was a good one or not and i see why playground sand is not a good idea and I thank you for your easy answer i don't need a full reef system to enjoy it and i don't want to go broke doing it and i have it all figured out so if you want a full reef...... Fine do it but don't look down on me because I am doing this my way!!!!!!

 

[Krish]

Thank-you that is the answer I was looking for I didn't need all the other BS that people have been posting on my thread....I have everything else figured out I just needed to know if my sand idea was a good one or not and i see why playground sand is not a good idea and I thank you for your easy answer i don't need a full reef system to enjoy it and i don't want to go broke doing it and i have it all figured out so if you want a full reef...... Fine do it but don't look down on me because I am doing this my way!!!!!!

People are just trying to help and cover every angle to make sure you know what you are up against. Obviously you are new to keeping a saltwater aquarium and these guys have been in the hobby for some time and pretty much know what to expect in terms of the "in's'" and "out's" of the hobby so personally I wouldn't insult them like that. As mentioned, they are all only trying to help and understand exactly what it is you are trying to do. This hobby is more advanced than freshwater fish tanks so getting all the info you can get would be very important.

JMHO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[leena2674]

Live sand/rock is an integral part of the biological filtration necessary for a healthy saltwater aquarium, whether you are keeping corals or not. I'm not sure where the idea that you don't need biological filtration if you aren't keeping corals comes from. There are other ways to do biological filtration, but live rock and water movement are by far the most economical and effective.

 

[bradreef]

If you are patient you will fine sand from a saltwater tank for really cheap or free.

Again search craigslist and maybe on here.

I don't use sand . but most want the look. Reason I thought live rock is because you mentioned in the future you might want a reef.

there are types of playground sand that work but you don't want silicates as they can get into your water a fuel diatom algae.
There used to be stuff called "southdown" but CAribsea bought them and I think they are called oldcastle now. I don't remember seeing it in the Northwest though.

 

[user 26995]

How deep of a sand bed are you looking to have? Will you be using any dead rock for decor besides the fake coral? Can you explain a little more about what you plan for your tank is. I would like to follow along with your build and see what your doing.

 

[janky]

Yes the freshwater sand will hurt the fish. If not from algae blooms, then the anoxia that is the result of them, if not from that - from having to inevitably change out the freshwater sand for live sand (someday when you have money) and then letting the fish sit in an uncycled QT for days while the sand settles.
Yes. Playground sand is a bad idea.

I tell you this as someone who made this mistake and lost $40 in fish while I'm a broke student working part time.

I hate staring at empty tanks too - so depending on how big your tank is, put it in another room or garage so you don't have to look at it. Pony up a whopping $12 and buy ONE good sized live rock. It's essential to the "filtration" system of a SW tank. You'll buy it eventually anyway. Leave that in there for a month or so while you test your parameters and cycle.

If you want fake inserts, cool... some of them are tight looking... and you don't have to wait for the tank to cycle.

No matter how you slice it, building a SW tank is EXPENSIVE - especially if you go reef and look into lighting - but it can be done on a budget. Trust me on this, I'm broke as hell and building a reef right now.

All people are trying to do is help you get off on the right foot so you don't WASTE money, kill livestock, and regret it later.

 

[gfoster1983]

I understand that but i don't think people understand that i am not doing what they are. They are dealing with real vitals and live reefs but i am not. I am doing live fish but that is it. I do thank everyone for the help!!!