Substrate Question

[LizB]

What, you're mom won't give you up? I need one more teenager around here. I'm already about half crazy may as well go on over the edge.

should I go into hiding? [/quote]

[Jase]

will I get allowence?

[LizB]

will I get allowence?

Maybe if you help with the fish tanks.

[groovitudedude]

Opposite of front
One Plus One
Main Idea

[Jase]

I'll have to think it over.
are you a good cook?

substrate is good. (on topic)

[GSP]

This is the stuff I use in my 55 gal http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2753224. It works well and looks really nice. It cost a bit more but not to much. I recomend it.

[sparks42]

wow, how did i miss this question?
We've been using play sand for the bottom of our tank for about a year now. It costs us like... $5 for a 20 pound bag.
if you're going to do that, make sure you thoroughly wash it out. cleaning the sand is a big pain in the butt.

we put *some* sand in a big bucket, and put it under lots of water in the bathtub and wash it with our hands... for a long time !
after lots of time and washing, water put into the bucket will be clear. then we put it in the tank !

we rewash it once (again... BIG pain in the butt) and then use new sand next time normally.

there might be some pics on my site of the sand.... ?

I love the sand though personally I think it looks great Much better than the little blue pebble things we were using before.... lol

[LizB]

Isn't live sand only for marine tanks? Harry is still a baby and in low brackish 1.010. I just raised it from .008 to .010 this past weekend. Seemed no matter what I did I was stuck on 1.008.

I'll bet your tank is gorgeous though.

Love the picture, too cute!

This is the stuff I use in my 55 gal http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2753224. It works well and looks really nice. It cost a bit more but not to much. I recomend it.

[LizB]

Yes I'm a good cook and I'm a cool mom.

I love the sand so far. I can't wait to get it all done.

I'll have to think it over.
are you a good cook?

substrate is good. (on topic)

[LizB]

I love your Chomper pics! He? She? is so cute! I also like your story about how Chomper yawns and bumps into things when first awaking. I haven't seen that sleepy behavior yet but it's very good to know. I have seen the yawns though. And BTW, how is Chomper?

I have play sand in the garage and I've read that a lot of people use it and really like it. Then I read things about clay being in the sand, which I guess can be rinsed out and also how play sand often comes wet and that's a breeding ground for mold. I know my Walmart keeps the sand out in this Texas humidity and when I've bought it for other reasons it was very wet when I opened it. So trying to be real careful I went to Lowes and bought the all purpose sand that was kept in airconditioning. Of course so was the play sand but I liked the color of the APS better. To me it looks much like the sand in your pictures. I cleaned it for an hour.
I'm glad I finally made the decision to switch over. I'm thinking about doing the same thing in my 10gal. After all of these years of gravel I like the sand better.

Hugs To You, Beth

wow, how did i miss this question?
We've been using play sand for the bottom of our tank for about a year now. It costs us like... $5 for a 20 pound bag.
if you're going to do that, make sure you thoroughly wash it out. cleaning the sand is a big pain in the butt.

we put *some* sand in a big bucket, and put it under lots of water in the bathtub and wash it with our hands... for a long time !
after lots of time and washing, water put into the bucket will be clear. then we put it in the tank !

we rewash it once (again... BIG pain in the butt) and then use new sand next time normally.

there might be some pics on my site of the sand.... ?

I love the sand though personally I think it looks great Much better than the little blue pebble things we were using before.... lol

[Nick]

Pool filter sand is MUCH cleaner than play sand, looks about the same, and is generally 15$ or less for a 50 pound bag.

[groovitudedude]

Oh, great. NOW you tell me!

JK

[LizB]

Nick, for me it wouldn't matter where I bought it and how clean it's supposed to be, I would still go overboard on
cleaning. I let the bucket sit with water running in it while I did other things and my little boy enjoyed stirring it up. I even used a net to skim things off the top. My husband then took it outside and ran the water hose. He kinda likes Harry. I got the APS at $3 for 50lbs. The sand is really pretty and Harry seems to be ok. I had never seen him lay on the gravel. I got such a kick out of him doing the slow landing hellicopter thing when he saw the sand. He did it a number of times. I've never seen a fish do anything like that before. I've definitely seen different behavior. It's really cute. I think he's really going to love it when the sand is under the coral that he loves to hide in. When I look for him under there all I can see is his little "wings."

Pool filter sand is MUCH cleaner than play sand, looks about the same, and is generally 15$ or less for a 50 pound bag.

[CoreyK]

Isn't live sand only for marine tanks?

That "live sand" is synonymous with most "instant cycle" products - complete crap. (And yes, it's marine).
Just grab a cup of sand from an established tank and add it to a new sandbed, and in a short time, voila - "live sand".
Or just wait; new sand with LR will be "live sand" in no time.

[elizabeth0321]

Pool filter sand is MUCH cleaner than play sand, looks about the same, and is generally 15$ or less for a 50 pound bag.

FYI - Pool filter sand is also called #20 silica sand, if you have a local sand and gravel business it is even cheaper there, look in the phone book under "Sand"!!! I got 100 lbs for about $10.50. I found out because my Pool supply place was out so they told me where they get it.