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Substrate at Lowes or Home Depot?
- Thread starter 90galReefer
- Start date
90galReefer":xju0jrbl said:Does anyone know of a cheap substrate that I could pick up at Lowes or Home Depot? Maybe mix it with some LFS stuff. I got a 90 gal im trying to set up. and Im wondering how many pounds should i get? all advice would help. thanks
Years ago the dsb people would scour the country looking for Silia free tropical play sand usually old castle or yard right or something like that. But that is no longer available. It was actually aragonite sand just like the sand at the lfs.
Years ago people would mix play sand with crushed oyster shells but that is not popular today.
My 55g has had play sand with crushed coral on top.
my .02
It's becoming increasingly difficult to find decent sand. I've been looking specifically for silicate sand and have a hell of a time finding it reliably. What I do is bring a little container or vial of vinegar with me, a few drops on the sand will quickly tell you whether or not it's calcareous at the very least.
You can still get aragonite based sand at Lowes and HD if you know where to look.
Here is the magical, mythical, no longer available southdown sand, in stock at Lowes. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none
Here is the magical, mythical, no longer available southdown sand, in stock at Lowes. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none
One day I went down to Gulf Shores and on the beach was this giant pile of naturally deposited crushed
shells. It had not been PUT there, but had piled up through the nature of it's heavier grain size as the
smaller sand washed away around it. Must have been some kind of storm tide. Anyway, I drug about
five ice chests of it away and put it into a junk tank with a couple power heads. Within 6 months it
had been picked over by me and a few other hobbyists and the rest went to a LFS. But man, I remember
how I was looking for a cheap substrate, lol. That stuff with a few bags of aragonite on top was all I ever
needed. I had about a 5 inch bed. Ahhh, but now I am in another city with NO tank and a 60 lb box of
white live rock. I am chompin at the bit right now....
shells. It had not been PUT there, but had piled up through the nature of it's heavier grain size as the
smaller sand washed away around it. Must have been some kind of storm tide. Anyway, I drug about
five ice chests of it away and put it into a junk tank with a couple power heads. Within 6 months it
had been picked over by me and a few other hobbyists and the rest went to a LFS. But man, I remember
how I was looking for a cheap substrate, lol. That stuff with a few bags of aragonite on top was all I ever
needed. I had about a 5 inch bed. Ahhh, but now I am in another city with NO tank and a 60 lb box of
white live rock. I am chompin at the bit right now....
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