sand bed

[bushie12]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if I needed to get the sand with the bacteria in it like i normally do? Or can I just use some dead stuff from home depo and clean it really well. And use that?


Thanks

[RyanP]

Thats what i used is premium play sand from home depot and just cleaned it really good. If your plannin on havin live rock, the sand eventually will become "live" from the rock

[bushie12]

oh ok thank you. i was thinking of useing pool filter sand? will that be ok? and i have trouble rinsing it. i rinse it as good as i can when i make sand tanks. and its always cloudy. is that normal?

[sweeTang21]

sand will commonly make your tank cloudy, no matter how well or long you rinse it for. Id advoid pool filter sand as most will be silicate based, and silicate can promote algae growth. Not commonly an issue but i have read several articles on this specific question. I would just get some dry argonite from petco, you get 20-30lb bags, somewhere in there, for around 20 bucks. Thats not bad at all and for a 55 gallon, 2 bags is plenty. Thats just what i would do. If you want to use play sand your going to get small grains and that can be a pain when it comes to cleaning, as well as running powerheads and filter pumps, as the fine sand particles can cause damage. Not a common occurance but still something to take into consideration during the addition of the sand, and after a good cleaning.

[RyanP]

ill have to disagree. The play sand they sell at home depot has never made my tank cloudy. Maybe for the first day it will be, but after that its crystal clear. I use it in my fresh and salt. Just couldnt see payin 60 bucks for sand instead of 5. Heres my salt with play sand. cloudy?
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm230/rphearn/FullTank2.jpg

[RyanP]

sorry sweet tang, i just reread your post. I thought you were sayin just play sand makes your tank cloudy

[bushie12]

i wish i would have read that there was argonite sand at petco for that cheap. i went out and bought some "washed playsand" rinsed it out really good and it looks pretty good. i was across the street from petco and i wish i would have went there. slipped my mind. but so far its not cloudy at all. just got some dirt in the tank from my reptiles that were in it before that i couldnt get out thats a pain grrrr. but thanks guys. i will keep you updated and mabey even post pics of it tomorrow.