[WillLovesFish]

I am looking to get rid of my crushed coral substrate and go to live sand. I have looked around on swf.com and some other websites. I am just curious where everyone is getting their live sand from? What things should I look for and lookout for? Any brand or type better then another? So far I like the swf.com live sand the best, but it seems kinda pricey...is there anywhere I could get something as good as quality for cheaper...? I want something with a fine-medium grain and white color, I hate the sand that looks like it's just ground up crushed coral. Oh, is it better if the sand comes in a wet bag with saltwater in it or does this not matter at all? I have a 22 gallon cube shaped tank, about how much sand should I need to make a nice sand bed?

Here is some stuff I found on Petco.com, it also seems kinda pricey though, any opinions on this stuff...

Live Sand- South Pacific at PETCO

Thanks for the help everyone!

[tomc1980]

Let me put it to you like this i work at Petco myself and get 20% off everything and i was still able to find it cheaper. Check your local fish stores alot of times theyll cut you a discount if only to get a repeat customer outta the deal.

[WillLovesFish]

Thanks for the tip, will for sure check out my local LFS. Petco does seem expensive, but I want something good quality at the same time so I know I might have to pay a little more. I have seen the brand named Caribsea A LOT on websites and in some stores. Anyone know if it's good or have any opinions on it? The only thing I kinda don't like about it is how big the grain of sand it is, I like the finer stuff, also I worry it's just ground up crushed coral, any truth to this and is this even a problem? I thought the point of live sand is just that, sand, not crushed up coral to look like sand? Also, again, should it be in a wet bag or does it matter?

Thanks,
Will

[tomc1980]

The wetsand your talking about sounds like live sand its supposed to have bacteria present in the sand that will help speed up your cycling process. Just make sure you get it from a good pet store cuz if the sand gets too hot or too cold in shipping it can kill your bacteria. Just had to fight my manager tooth and nail to keep from putting out some live sand that came in frozen solid to my store. Ended up having to cut the bags so she wouldnt put em out. But i refuse to sell something to a customer that i know isnt any good. I used the caribsea myself the grain size is a little large but it doesnt seem to be hurting anything. Took about a day and a half to get the milky look out of the water after that settled everything has been crystal clear. The price on it didnt seem to be too high compared to others either.

[WillLovesFish]

Thanks again for the info and tips. I see the CaribSea brand a lot, seems to be very popular and reasonably priced as well. Even though the grain is a little big I will probably end up going with it.

Out of curiosity I noticed Petco also sells a brand called Nature's Ocean and it does come in a wetbag. Does anyone have any info on this brand good or bad?

[reefnoob1991]

CaribSea is great

[WillLovesFish]

Originally Posted by reefnoob1991

CaribSea is great

Thanks for your input, much appreciated, nice to finally see an opinion on this brand. After doing more research it does seem like the best stuff to go with after all. I found a really nice grain size I like too

I will let u all know what I decide, post some pics too

[tomc1980]

Natures Ocean was the brand we carried taht came in frozen last week lol. Was kinda funny. Seems to be a finer grain sand and a bit more expensive than the Caribsea but its all abou the look your going for with your tank and what grain size you want.

[WillLovesFish]

Originally Posted by tomc1980

Natures Ocean was the brand we carried taht came in frozen last week lol. Was kinda funny. Seems to be a finer grain sand and a bit more expensive than the Caribsea but its all abou the look your going for with your tank and what grain size you want.

Lol, ya I think I will take your advice and stay away from Petco's sand as I am worried about their shipping methods. I was able to find a nice grain size etc. from Caribsea I really like, so probably going to use them.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Tom,I went to a petco grand opening two weeks ago(in hopes of scoring a doorprize lol) and saw the bags of sand they carry.They didnt look like they were much over 5 pounds and while I dont remember the price expensive comes to mind.

[tomc1980]

Ours are 15 lbs at $35 dollars a pop. Got my 50 lbs bag of Caribsea from my lfs for 35.

[WillLovesFish]

Well the verdict is I ended up getting my live sand from my LFS. They actually only carry Nature's Ocean (same as Petco), and they also personally use it in all of their tanks. I really like the grain size etc. so I went ahead and bought it, it came in bags of 20lb and was only $23 per bag, way cheaper then Petco, lol, sorry Tom

I made sure to ask questions about how the product is shipped to them, they assured me it's properly shipped to them to stay alive and preserve it.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this project, I will post up pics tomorrow hopefully

[WillLovesFish]

Before and after pics with the new sand, also a new layout with the live rock, and I now have a powerhead, enjoy It's kinda hard to tell how my live rock is layed out, may not look like it but it's really not bunched up at all like it looks in the pic, it has lots of holes and spaces for the fish to swim in.

Before



After