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Two new questions

A

Amyh24

I have two questions I was hoping you could answer for the newbie.....

1. I read that coarser sand is better for filtration. Can I go to the beach at LBI and get sand there and mix it with Live Sand bought online or at a store?

2. I forget what 2 was but check back, I am sure I will remember.
 
A

aeroblnde

Amy, taking sand from the beach is a bad idea the sand could be contaminated with god know's what plus it is illegal. A Refugium is a type of filter that you can grow beneficial algae in. If you do a search on a Refugium you will get better info on them and there use. :)
 
M

MCWarhammer

a refugium is kind of like a second tank.. generally not a display tank.. you use it to house things that are beneficial to the tank, but you don't want to see, and you want to grow unaffected by predators. Most refugiums house sand, live rock and macro algae

I would not take from the beach, it is illegal and like aeroblnde said, who knows whats in it.

I buy sand from the local shops (or if you can find southdown or whatever the latest play sand is) and then just use a small cup of "live" sand from an established tank. the rest will become live in no time
 
S

sinkingbeach

Like others have said previously sand from the beach is not a good idea, many have used southdown it's under a new name now it can be purchased at Home Depot. Maybe someone can chime in on the vinegar test when using playsand. When you add LR to the system it will also seed the sand but using sand from anothers tank is also very helpful.

Here's a page on sump's and refugiums http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html
 
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