South Down/ Old Castle

[seaham358]

Just picked up 2 bags to have on hand.... They have around 25 more bags in the outside area at the HD on Rt. 9 in Poughkeepsie.

[dynamixone]

if i use this as my base what prepartion do i need once the sand is added?

do i add the mixed water into the tank let it run through for a bit, than add the sand?

[seaham358]

I would add sand first then water.
Cover all sand with a plastic bag, place glass bowl in the center. Pour all water into the bowl. As the tank fills the bag will raise, keep filling into the bowl. When done remove bag/bowl you should have little to no sand storm.
Some people rinse the sand before they add it to the tank some don't, I have done it both ways and seen no difference.

[dynamixone]

great that sounds like the way to go

[masterswimmer]

Worked fantastic for me

Russ

[dynamixone]

just have to find some, went to lowes in orangeburg today they just seemed to have quikcrete play sand. Will try HD in west nyack as in another thread someone stated they had a pallet of it.

[seaham358]

There was osme last week in HD in Poughkeepsie.... I got 2 bags.... Lowes dose not sell it..

[Dz99ls]

wish the HD down here would get it

[dynamixone]

shoudl a 50# bag be ok for a 55g. I am not looking for a thick sand bed. maybe an inch or two

[dynamixone]

woudl 50# pounds of base rock and 30# of live rock be too high if layed accross from left to right bending towards the center.

I woudl like the rock to be half the height of the tank.

can slate be used in SW tanks? to make ledges

[masterswimmer]

Slate is not an indigenous rock to coral reefs. It's not porous and wouldn't support a good bacteria colony.

Lots of Fiji, Tonga & Marshall Island rock are suitable ledge rock.

50 base & 30 LR would work. However, the more LR you use the better. Although over time even the base rock will 'liven up'.

HTH,
Russ

[masterswimmer]

Originally posted by dynamixone
shoudl a 50# bag be ok for a 55g. I am not looking for a thick sand bed. maybe an inch or two

Here's a sand bed calculator for you to use:

http://reefcentral.com/calc/SandBed.php

Russ

[dynamixone]

ok i had a bunch of PVC elbows from my cichlids coudl this be used in any way for the tank. is there any issues with PVC?

[seaham358]

No isues with PVC. Not sure why you would want it in the tank. IMO it would take away from the natural look unless you hide it good.
Just remember that using that much rock will take away water volume and reduce swimming room for the fish. So if your going for a FO set up I would use less rock. I have 60 lbs in my 55 and I used pieces that were larger to make tunnels for the fish to swim throught.