Dark Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Can anyone suggest a medium for substrate that looks like white sand when under water, has a texture not unlike that of beach sand, will function long term for plant growth and won't dissolve into the water? i tried beach sand - the yellow-cream coloured stuff - but when wet it looked like the rest of the beach - dull grey. any ideas on this -or other colours/textures for that matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 In my experience white sand goes green (promotes algae growth) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 There's a sand you can use for "Sand Blasting".. which is like tiny glass or silica (sp) sand beads of some sort, and it comes in various sizes from very fine to coarse. The stuff I used to use was pure white, but I never used it in my tanks, although I would think it would be pretty good for the job. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoandWilly Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Up here in hollywoods they have arogonite sand which is white marble chips, is about 3-4mm i think. Its the stuff that some salt water tanks have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi_man Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 but...........aragonite alters the pH and kH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Hey Dark.. ..Up here in the winterless north We have several white sand beaches (well i can think of at least one thats close by) so if you want i can scoup you up a whole lot and bring it down to welly when i return (mid jan). It won't be a problem at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 We also have some Golden sand beaches, not wellington yellow but a really vibrant gold color. I can always go take some photos of the different beaches and you can just pick your sand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 you can also use glacier pebbles if you like... get it in 2-4mm sizes.... quite nice but not sand... unfortunately a little pricey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 In my experience white sand goes green (promotes algae growth) in this particular instance that shouldn't be a problem as the tank is not going to have much light at all, but that information is going to be ULTrA useful in the long run! cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Steal some sand from the man made beach in wellington, forget wat its called, but its all imported sand, really nice stuff. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Steal some sand from the man made beach in wellington, forget wat its called, but its all imported sand, really nice stuff. Shae Its really not that nice... Relative to other welly beaches it is but in the grand sheme of things its rather ... yuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Actually in some tanks ive seen it in it looks pretty dam....cool. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 does anyone know the legalities of removing sand from beaches (just curious). I sure there is a law but it seems silly to me cause it soesn't induce erosion and sand is generated faster than we can remove it! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: (sorry i just love throwing thoes bounce guys in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cath Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 um, hate to stick an oar in here, but wouldn't beach sand have too much salt in it for fresh water plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 I think it is ilegal to remove sand from the beach like most things that are fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 It is illegal to remove sand from beaches but nobody complains if you are just taking a small amount. If you drove up with a massive truck and a front end loader there might be problems :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 It is illegal to remove sand from beaches but nobody complains if you are just taking a small amount. If you drove up with a massive truck and a front end loader there might be problems :lol: "yes officer its just for my 50,000 Litre aquarium, Honest!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 um, hate to stick an oar in here, but wouldn't beach sand have too much salt in it for fresh water plants? No, it won't. And anyway, salt dissolves in water and the slight harmless trace of it you'll get will be gone after a few water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrshanepaul Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 No, it won't. And anyway, salt dissolves in water and the slight harmless trace of it you'll get will be gone after a few water changes. Or you could boil and rinse it until the water is clear like I do and have no problems at all! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted December 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 I think it is ilegal to remove sand from the beach like most things that are fun. which is a real shame though i understand the thinking behind it the thing that bugs me is that people who front up loads of cash for resource consents are often allowed to take more from the beaches than would ever go missing by individuals with a couple of buckets... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrshanepaul Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 which is a real shame though i understand the thinking behind it the thing that bugs me is that people who front up loads of cash for resource consents are often allowed to take more from the beaches than would ever go missing by individuals with a couple of buckets... Sand mining is not consented on populated beaches AFAIK. All Sand mining our way is done far from the actual beach. Buckets turn into trailers...many of them. Simple fact: People cannot be trusted. Once you understand that, a great many things become clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 I went and "stole" some sand from the beach to make the base rock for my marine tank a few weeks ago. I actually looked around trying to buy some but noone had any. For once it was nice to find something in the aquarium trade that was cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted December 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 i make regular trips to different beaches to get substrate - the occasional car boot load punctuated by buckets here and there. same goes for rocks and driftwood. now here's the fun bit - because i haven't collected my own personal quarry i can remember where it all comes from, so when it turns out to be no use to me or i don't need all i took, i take it back this gets some rather wierd looks i can tell you - people are reasonably and on the whole comfortable with some people nicking rocks and sand, but when you are adding to the beach? :lol: the stuff that i have used, depending on what i have used it for will go back, but because substrate has an interesting habit of turning itself into a bio-hazard over time it often ends up in a landfill because taking it back to the beach would be, well, less responsible. talking to one of the staff at Phoenix landscaping supplies about rocks and gravel - they don't charge a whole lot for the material but because the shipping costs for moving tonnes of the stuff around are somewhat high. the rocks end up costing a few dollars a kilo, and when you consider that a lump of rock is a good way to conceal a couple of kilos you can start paying upwards of $250 for a nice looking display in a larger tank. Not being one to condone the strip-mining of our beaches and natural waterways I do look for options - other fish people who have stuff to spare, alternate mediums from plant stores (i can at least tell you a couple NOT to use ) - stuff from pet supply places etc. Quarries, landscapers and garden centers tend to have some nice looking stuff, but it is often not appropriate for fish tanks just due to its size or mineral composition, and when you take that into account the range of colours and grades of gravel gets narrowed down rapidly. Pet stores are obviously another place to look, but the expense is often prohibitive. it is one thing to pay $12 dollars for 5 litres of gravel, it is another thing to realise you need 50 litres before your tank is starting to look right, and although you could back-fill with something else and put the expensive stuff on top you have then mixed the expensive stuff with something else, and you probably had to get the back-filler from a beach anyway! after thinking about it this much i for one will be thinking twice before taking stuff from a beach (note i didn't say 'before not taking stuff...') perhaps someone should talk to the national body for quarries and see if we can get FNZAS discounts on gravel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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