Galveston sand (1 Viewer)

[hece]

has anyone used sand from the galveston beaches. and are there any concerns or pros or cons for it
I have a 135 gallon tank setup with a tank, stand, sump, lights. second hand for $300

I need a pump, not sure which brand or GPM to purchase. Aquarium world said 1000 to 1500 gpm.
Sak at BB fish and pet recommended the Rio 1700 which is about 700 gpm

I'm only doing fish right now, maybe later on I will do a reef
I will put up pics of my progress on the tank
first thing i have to do is, do a reseal job. and refinish the stand.
only thing holding me back is the weather ( cold and rainy)
gotta do it outside WAF, she does not like the VOCs

 

[dayton]

Please dont use sand from Galveston.......It's Galveston

 

[tthouston]

1- Don't use Galveston's sand
2- Aquarium world is best advice but you can buy DC-6000 or higher then adjust the flow rate as you want, it is cheap and quiet.
3- Buy good skimmer (New or Use depend your account) for one time only.

 

[ReefMaster32787]

I suggest reading up a bit more. This website has so much info on saltwater all it will make your head explode Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information. Find out for yourself if you want to use Galveston sand

or something a bit more

 

[reeftopia]

More simply put if you were building a new house would you use concrete or sand for the floor. The floor of your reef is your foundation, if you start with a bad polluted floor you will achieve a worthless tank

 

[wom001]

Thats a No go for Galveston sand, all the heavy metals and runoff from the refineries = not good.

 

[OceansX]

Also, Galveston sand is mostly silica and can easily scratch up your tank unless you are extremely careful. The sand mostly sold to us reefers is carbonate sand which is softer and will buffer your water naturally. (See the bag.)

I've had very, bad experiences with Rio pumps. I had at least 2 just burn out, and leak some sort of oil and solvent in my mixing container. They were under no pressure except the water depth they were in, a Brute trash barrel. When the first one burned out, I thought it was a fluke and replaced it, but again it fizzled out and made a mess operating under no strain. I can't believe they're still selling them. Three reviews on amazon and one exactly echos my experience:

Amazon.com : Rio Plus 1700 Pumppower Head (640gph) - Ul Listed : Inline Aquarium Water Pumps : Pet Supplies

I am sealing my new stand in the garage now too. I'm using water-based, low VOC's, but wow still lots of fumes. Glad I didn't try to do it inside.

 

[Cody]

Sharath, I have pretty much used Rio pumps exclusively since I've been in the hobby. I've never had one so much as even stop pumping. I have nothing but good things to say about them, but that's just been my experience.

 

[OceansX]

My experience was so bad, I won't buy anything TAAM, wouldn't use one if was given to me, or even if they paid me to use one. (Well, maybe more than 6 zeros. I can set-up a nano with some 'choice' anemones.)

I'm glad it's working out for you. But for me, given my experience and what's posted online, their failure rate is too high.

 

[hece]

thanks for all of the good advice,
I did not get galveston sand went to BB fish, bought proper sand. I did buy the rio 2500.
its been setup for about one month now.
I have 14 damsels, 2 small hermit crabs, 2 snails, 1 chocolate chip starfish.
just had water tested everything is good except for the nitrate which are very high.
and it seems that overnight the algae is exploding everywhere.
any advice

 

[sms357]

Are you using RO/DI water? I'm one of those people who resisted for years then wanted to punch myself for using tap water for so long. The algae is coming from the high Nitrate and likely phospate and tap water won't help with this. Other ideas are to set up a refugium with Chaeto and of course do more water changes. Also invest in a good skimmer - buy a used one to save some cash my recommendation is a reef octopus for price vs. quality but any good skimmer would work.