how do add the sand bed?

[Mscott203]

Hi, just a set-up question.
I have everything set up and ready to go at last in my 125g restart. Plumbing is all working, electricity is all a go, tank is filled with salted ro water, 100 pounds of dead rock are already placed in the tank atop pvc piping along the bottom of the tank and I am ready to add the dead sand. I have 200 pounds of the Kolorscape white playsand that I am ready to add. so....
2 questions - do I need to wash the sand in anyway before I put it into the tank? - if so should I wash it in ro water
Should I wait for the sand to dry before I put it into the tank?

Or should I just dump it all in, let it settle, then turn on the skimmer then maybe a water change or something?

anyone have any tips on this process?

[WaterKeeper]

Washing sand is not needed as the fines help in bed development. Since you are adding dead sand into a tank of dead rock I'd just dump it in. I'd wait a couple of days for things to settle then run a canister with polishing filter to clear up the real fine stuff. Without LS or LR you will probably have sandstorms for quite some time; until bacteria colonize the sand grains.

[Mscott203]

Yeah, I figured as much.
We plan to purchase 20-40 pounds of live rock, and some live sand to lay on top of the dead sand bed once the dead bed is laid down. We're not in any hurry at all, so I figured I'd give the live rock and sand a while to take hold and colonize the rest of the tank. I didn't figure on running the closed loop or any of the powerheads until we start adding some coral, just something to keep the surface tension on the top of the water churned up a bit.

[rbursek]

just learning, does play sand have silica in it?
Bob

[Mscott203]

the bag sais that it does have some and even sais "not for Aquarium use" However upon reading post after post on what sand works best for cheap. I have learned that Southdown sand used to be the standard as it was all aragonite, but it then became unavailable a few years ago, then Yardright became the sand mostly made up of aragonite, then Old castle and now Kolorscape. This is as I understand the progression. I found Kolorscape White Play Sand at my local Walmart but havnt seen it in any other place. I hope it works out well for me.
Anyone else know the history better or know of a better, cheaper way to build a deep sand bed?

[WaterKeeper]

After Southdown/Old Castle became popular with reeferkeepers it also carried the warning "Not For Aquarium Use" on the label. It was more of a cover your rear warning by some lawyers to make sure they didn't end up being sued by disgruntled reefers who had fish or inverts die.

This Kolorscape, I know it is made by Old Castle, doesn't seem to be aragonite as from reports it doesn't pass muster in the "vinegar test". However, if you are happy with it I'd ignore that warning.

[Dubbin1]

You should have put the sand in before the water.

[sjm817]

Since it is play sand, I would at a minimum run a test. I bought a bag of nice white play sand from HD to check out. I put a bunch is a large jar, added water and stirred it up. Almost immediately a black film formed on the surface of the water. Yuk. needless to say, I didnt use it.

[jon99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10280502#post10280502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mscott203
the bag sais that it does have some and even sais "not for Aquarium use" However upon reading post after post on what sand works best for cheap. I have learned that Southdown sand used to be the standard as it was all aragonite, but it then became unavailable a few years ago, then Yardright became the sand mostly made up of aragonite, then Old castle and now Kolorscape. This is as I understand the progression. I found Kolorscape White Play Sand at my local Walmart but havnt seen it in any other place. I hope it works out well for me.
Anyone else know the history better or know of a better, cheaper way to build a deep sand bed?

Don't expect the Kolorscape to be the same as the Southdown. I bought a bag from a walmart near my place in GA and it is most definetly silica sand not aragonite or anything remotely CaCO3 based. Pour some vinigar on a pinch of sand. If it doesn bubble and dissolve, it's silica. Not that this is a huge problem, it just won't buffer your water. I have also heard but cannot confirm that the silica sand has sharper jagged edges that might bother some soft coral and sand sifting gobies that pass the sand through their gills. I have no idea if there is any truth to this or not.

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10292202#post10292202 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jon99
If it doesn bubble and dissolve, it's silica. Not that this is a huge problem, it just won't buffer your water.

If your PH gets low enough that you need your sand to buffer your water then everything will already be dead. We do not need to use aragonite sand in our tanks.

[WaterKeeper]

Only up in Findlay Dubbin do they avoid Southdown/Old Castle sand. :D

No, aragonite is not all that necessarily for proper tank pH control but it can't hurt. Unfortunately, it is easier to find Kentucky moonshine in SW Ohio than true aragonite. ;)

See Randy's articles, stickied at the top of the chemistry forum, for homemade pH additives and the amounts to use.

[Dubbin1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10296553#post10296553 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Only up in Findlay Dubbin do they avoid Southdown/Old Castle sand. :D

Not true at all. I bought out all they had in the Findlay and Bowling Green Home Depot's, put it in my tank and then made a killing on the rest :D

[WaterKeeper]

:lol: Holy Toledo!

Sometimes when I visit other reefkeepers homes I can easily find them as they have the whole front porch stacked with bags of Southdown.

;)