Best place to order sand and rock ????

B-ROMBERG

Inactive Since Crash
INACTIVE
Joined
Jan 6, 2013
Looking to order a 100lbs of sand and 200lbs of Marco base rock or similar any one have any recommendation ? And what's the best sand to use ?
 

MrHermit85

Active Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
Marco rock from incredible aquarium. I think it's $2.99 a pound and from what they say they can pick out some nice pieces according to what you want. With regards to sand I guess it depends on what your keeping. I have sugar fine aragonite and a little crushed coral mixed for the high flow areas us I wanted some fine sand for my goby and nasarius snails to dig around in. There's also the seafloor special grade which I have heard great things a obout :) I am a new is though so those are just my opinions.
 

spyd

Super Active Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2011
Location
Kitchener, Ontario
All depends on what type of sand bed you want to run. Deep Sand Bed (DSB) or Shallow Sand Bed (SSB).

For a DSB - You should use sugar sized sand at a height of 4 - 6". A DSB is good in the fact that you don't really need to stir it up as it is suppose to promote breaking down any dietrus that collects on the bottom of your tank. The problem with a DSB though is it can be more prone to cyano as dietrus builds up and doesn't get broken down quick enough. Also, with sugar sized sand, if you have too much flow it can kick up easily and create a sand storm in your tank. Also, over time gases can build up in the sand bed and if something were to burrow and open one of these pockets, it can cause some serious tank issues.

For a SSB - You can use Seaflor Special Grade or larger particle argonite if you wish at a height of no more than 2". For a SSB, you need to either vacuum it or stir it up once every week or two. This just allows the dietrus that collects to be sent up through the water column and collected by your skimmer. The nice thing about the Seaflor Special grade is that it is heavy enough that it doesn't produce sandstorms but is small enoough that you can handle wrasses and other fish that like to burrow into the sand bed. This is the direction I went and I find it the best option as you can clean it if you have a cyano breakout and no sand storms. if you don't maintain the sand bed though and stir it up once in a while, it will cause you some nitrate issues.

As for Marco rock, Sealife Central has the biggest selection in-stock I believe. They also have shelf pieces which are very nice to aquascape with and provide lots of surface area for coral placement.
 

Reef Hero

Super Active Member
Joined
May 27, 2012
Location
Lucan
I would advise against suger sized sand if you plan on having a lot of flow which i would suggest if you are going to grow  acros or even most other sps. I used suger sized sand and its a pita becausr my sand stirs up a lot from just the powerheads..... also makes it more difficult to stir your sand bed. I would also suggest a shallow sand bed so you can stir it without worries of disturbing deep down into it.
 

AdamS

Active Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2012
Location
London, Ontario
Reef Hero link said:
I would advise against suger sized sand if you plan on having a lot of flow which i would suggest if you are going to grow  acros or even most other sps. I used suger sized sand and its a pita becausr my sand stirs up a lot from just the powerheads..... also makes it more difficult to stir your sand bed. I would also suggest a shallow sand bed so you can stir it without worries of disturbing deep down into it.

+1, i removed all mine and replaced with seaflor special grade.
 

theyangman

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
I use seaflor special grade. I sold two bags of extras to Glen not too long ago.

I got my Marco rock from bill as well as my live rock. I went with a 60/40 blend (marco/live)
 

B-ROMBERG

Inactive Since Crash
INACTIVE
Joined
Jan 6, 2013
Thanks for the help I'm thinking I'm just going to order from marcorocks.com for $2.09 lb and have it shipped to Detroit and just bring it over its free shipping. Should I have any problems at the border ? With dry rock ? I'm shutting down my 220 planted to go reef long over due
 

theyangman

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Location
London, Ontario
Salty Cracker link said:
I'm a rebel, I did a DSB with seaflor aragonite.  However, I do have a fair bit of flow (wavemaker).

That wasn't aragonite I sold you. It was crushed bones from all the cats and dogs I eat.
 

Reef Hero

Super Active Member
Joined
May 27, 2012
Location
Lucan
Salty Cracker link said:
I'm a rebel, I did a DSB with seaflor aragonite.  However, I do have a fair bit of flow (wavemaker).

DSB, LEDs for sps, where does the insanity end glen!?!
:)
 

Salty Cracker

Administrator
Staff member
Website Admin
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Location
Rocky Mountains BC
BIGSHOW link said:
[quote author=Salty Cracker link=topic=6094.msg58873#msg58873 date=1377272288]
I'm a rebel, I did a DSB with seaflor aragonite.  However, I do have a fair bit of flow (wavemaker).

Your such a bada**, go try posting that crap on AP



;)
[/quote]

I posted "so I have this yellow tang in my bio cube" and was booted out before I got a response...
 

Jewel

Guest
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Location
Wingham Ontario
I had a post deleted and I thought WTF i'm gonna confront this bas----, So I did, thinking go ahead boot me off and he didn't, Go figure
 
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