Sand Suggestions for new tank?

[d2mini]

I need to figure out what substrate to use and how much for a reef tank.
What size grain and what depth sand bed should I be shooting for, and what type of sand?
Any idea how many lbs per 1" for a 46g bow front?

Thanks!

 

[stagofdoom]

to get a 2 inch sand bed you will need 61 lbs of sand.

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

I get my sand from my LFS

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7326&pcatid=7326

and a 20lb bag of live sand should be good for you.
and I wouldnt go anything over 2 inches for a sand bed, but thats my personal opinion

 

[d2mini]

Awesome, thanks!

What about grain size? Should I do fine oolitic sand, coarser stuff like the one you linked to, or maybe mix it up....?

 

[Rcpilot]

The fine grain size is really only necessary if you're going to have a sand sifting goby or other sand sifting animals. Mostly for the goby so it doesn't damage his gills.

Smaller grain size will also have more surface area. More surface area = more aerobic bacteria = good for the tank.

DON'T use crushed coral.

.5mm -- 2mm is fine for grain size.

And you don't need live sand. You can put 50lbs of dry sand in the tank and just a handful of live sand from any established tank. It will all seed over time and become live. I'd buy the dry sand because it's cheaper. Then I'd get a local reefer to part with 1/2 lb of live sand from his/her tank.

 

[daugherty]

dont buy the dry live sand it is a waste of money. just get a cup of sand from the lfs out of one of their liverock tanks

 

[d2mini]

I was looking at prices at the Doc's and it seems like a 40lb bag of dry sand is around $30 and a 40lb bag of live sand is around $35. Or there abouts. Not much difference it seems.

 

[daugherty]

no but you dont need the dry live sand it really is not all its cracked up to be its really not live it has tons of dead bacteria in it. it says that there is lots of anorobic bacteria in it for getting rid of nitrates but that bacteria can not be exposed to air or it dies so in my opinion it is not worth the extra money for bacteria that will inhabit the sand in a few weeks as apposed to paying 5 bucks extra a bag for what ends up being just like the regular sand anyway. that 5 bucks adds up fast. i have 4 bags of sand in my tank so 120 dollars or 140 dollars for the same sand.