[pyromaniac398]

not to say that I am wise by any means in this hobby... quite the opposite I still have tons to learn, but I just wanted to give everyone who is just starting out a little tidbit of information that I found out the hard way. I live in florida about 5 minutes away from the beach. I decided that instead of spending loads of money on live rock I would walk myself down to the ocean and get my own ( some of you reading this may remember me posting about it). Well shortly after I did this I found the rocks to be dismal at best. Things went out of control and I was forced to take all the rock out and start my tank anew. I bit the bullet saved up the money and now have a tank full of figi and tonga LR. Basically what im trying to say in all this ranting an raving is in this hobby there are no shortcuts. Its expensive and you need to know that getting into it or your livestock will suffer. I hope that my hard earned lesson helps anyone who needs it Good Luck and dont be afraid to ask questions!

[glampka]

Cudos - It takes a BIG person to admit they've made a mistake. Hope everything goes smotthly from here!

[Krazy]

Well Spoken Logan

Alot of us learned the hard way in this hobby, We do LEARN from it though

[phunkie99]

This may be a stupid question but what about sand from the beach? I would assume that it is loaded with all kinds of toxins and would kill livestock just like shore water.

[jvharding]

The best substrate you can use is a fine aragonite sand. At the local fish stores (LFS) you can find brand names such as ESV, Aragamax, and CaribSea. These are all pretty decent choices, but can be expensive. For a less expensive route, check out your nearest Home Depot. Look for Southdown Play Sand. It is a very good aragonite sand and has fine particle size. It will cost about $4 for 50lbs. as opposed to the stuff sold in the pet stores for $30 for 30lb bags.

[glampka]

Phunkie you are correct - DON'T use sand from the beach. It is loaded with pollution = toxins.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I read on another site that southdown has been sold out. Sorry I dont remeber the new name. But there is a statement on the new package that it is "not suitable for aquarium use". I will be lowes today or tommorrow to see for myself.

[pogodzib]

Glad I've never made any mistakes in this hobby. I'd hate to have to admit to that.

Southdown sand packaging got changed to Old Castle Sand, but they stopped selling the aragonite sand that used to sell. The new Old Castle Sand that people find periodically usually is not the calcium based sand that fizzes. Once in a while someone will find some at a store that had an old pallet tucked away in the back of the store.

BTW - I think anyone that has been in this hobby has made a bunch of mistakes, esp. while to save money, even me. THe key is to learn from both your own mistakes and others.

[orestes19832003]

in my little tank i used quickcrete play sand not the red stuff but the kind that is washed and is for kids play boxes its an off white kinda brownish tint to it it works fine i got it at home depot. IF YOU PLAN TO USE THIS WASH IT A HUNDRED TIMES OVER BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE TANK, but in the little tank i've used it with no bad effects. its like 3 or 4 dollars for 50lbs. of course my little tank is fish only so i'm not sure the effects of it on a reef tank i used live sand for it.