substrate?

[sktadood13]

hey..i am in the process of converting my 55g fresh into a salt water tank....
im on a bit of a budget and was curious to weather or not pool filiter sand well be harmful to my salt water tank or not?

Thanks

[rageybug]

Pool filter sand (silica sand) is a fantastic choice for your tank. I just put 100lbs of it in my 70g reef tank. It cost me about $35 for the sand, way cheaper than buying live sand from the LFS. It is heavy enough to not get sucked into any filter, but light enough for your CUC to dig around in. I use silica sand in all of my tanks, SW and FW.

*** PLEASE READ THIS ***

Silica sand can be very dangerous. You do not want to breath in the dust from it. The best way to add it to your tank is to put half of your water in the tank, put the entire bag under water then cut it open. Lift the bag out, leaving the sand under the water. This will prevent any dust from escaping. The sand is perfectly safe for all of your tank inhabitants, it is just the dust that you need to worry about.

The best part about this sand is you don't need to wash it. Just put it in and go! You may get a slight film on the surface of the water that you can get rid of with your net. Hope this helps.

[rageybug]

Korith gave me this link last week

http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html

Use is to see how much sand you will need... it was perfect for me!

[sktadood13]

ok thanks! that was my only concern t this point. Thanks for the help

[rageybug]

This is the silica after being in water for aout 24 hours..it clears pretty fast

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010003-1.jpg