# Got my Tahitian Moon Sand!



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

You may want to order that 3rd bag now Tim if you think its close allready. 
Over the next months you will see it settle into your flourite and you will also lose some do to inadvertant suction from a waterchange. I find myself adding a cup of sand here and there. Its nice to have on hand.

I figured it would be tuff stuff to work with , it looks like there is a lot of fine dust in it but I guess that is to be expected with such fine sand. 
Your bottomfeeders will love the sandy bottom, my Cory blows sand through his gills like a vaccum... its awesome to watch him feed now.
Aint that Moon Sand sweet bro ?!? 
It glistens in the bag...however its still sitting in the bag at my house, but its only a matter of days now.

Its funny you should mention that shipping story... I have been on the phone today with Fedex and Drsfostersmith... what you described is the exact same way my order started... They split my order too...I got Moon Sand in 4 days, then 1 bag of substrate 2 days later, then NOTHING ! My order date was Feb 5th ! 
They are shipping me my other 2 bags of substrate today to replace the ones that FedEx Lost !! :sad:
I guess I am jinxed when it comes to shipping !


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Flourite is sharp and moon sand is not? That's strange. Flourite may look like it has sharp edges but it is just clay. However the moon sand is lava, which is basically glass. It may not look sharp but it has the potential to be sharp. I have kept cories over Flourite for a long time and never had a problem with it.


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## SNPiccolo5 (Oct 6, 2002)

The moon sand sure doesn't feel sharp.... and the flourite definitely has some sharp edges here and there... This moon sand is as smooth as sand comes I think, maybe except for white sand, but this sand sure is smooth, and nice! 

I have a decent layer of the moon sand on top, and I think it looks pretty good with bits of flourite on top, in the little spots that some came up when I pulled the plants up and practically burying them! However, right now it doesn't look nearly as good as it should though, since some of the dust has settled on top of it and turns it a grey color! Oh well, that will go away soon.

Maybe next time I have to order something from foster and smith I will bick up an extra bag or two with my order!

-Tim


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Wow is this stuff dusty ! 
I finally got my tank filled today and rinsing that MoonSand is a bugger. 
This stuff makes playsand look like boulders... super , super , super fine granules. 
Tim if it has that gray look to it you did not rinse it well enough...that dust even stained my bucket walls its so fine !
I would be scared to disturb this stuff without some SERIOUS rinsing...

However it looks beautiful !


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## spihunter (Dec 22, 2002)

I found a bag of it at my LFS yesterday. I did the right corner of my 75 gallon tank with it. It looks fantastic!. My clown loaches and cory cat love it. I had to wash the hell out of it!. Like Buck said it stained my bucket black. I put it in my tank by lowering a bowl of it at a time very slowly. I was suprised that it didnt cloud my water.


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Yeh its very clean once rinsed but can you imagine the mess if it was not rinsed well ? 
Gawd that black film would be all over everything ! :aah:


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## Xcooper (Feb 27, 2003)

what size granules is this moon sand? I am considering using something similar but it is kind of fine (~1mm). I have read that these fine granules can prohibit oxygen to the plant roots. Correct? Do you use fluorite underneath?


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## SNPiccolo5 (Oct 6, 2002)

I have a flourite substrate under my sand, and it works great. The sand is very fine and make sure to rinse it well.

-Tim


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

I would not use ANY sand without a mix ...

It has "0" nutrients for the plants and would compact tightly over time. I have one tank with "playsand over flourite" and the Tahitan Moon Sand is even finer then that ! 
I am now using the moon sand over Eco-Complete Planted Substrate ( almost black itself) and it looks great. 

Using sand in a tank is fairly new to me and I gotta tell ya... 
It makes for a very "clean" tank and the cory's love it. Just another one of those things I wish I discovered years ago ! :lol: :lol: 

I really believe that a lot of algae blooms these days are coming from "substrate ferts" getting into the water column... when only flourite base is used there are gaps for fert's to escape...especially during maintenance.
I have zero algae in my tank and never any GW blooms and the water is always crystal clear...
Call me crazy but I think the sand is helping me do this... :roll: 




Yup.... he's crazy ! :lol:


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## GW (Feb 21, 2003)

Buck, I was just looking at your website on using sand as a substrate. I plan on doing something like that mainly because its cheap. Do you ever clean the sand with a vacuum or anything? i would think the dirt would show easily. In one of my tanks i have all flourite. just touching the subrate would cause a cloud of dust. Is it hard to keep the playsand clean?


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## Xcooper (Feb 27, 2003)

Buck, I also have looked at your website, nice job and good DIY tips (I think I will use a similar CO2 Diffuser..slightly modified for my tank) How thick/thin of layer should you use? If it is to thick will it prevent oxygen and other essentials from penetrating the roots? What about short plant like glossotigma? Do they spread out with sand?


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## Work In Progress (Mar 4, 2003)

I have playsand as a substrate. I mixed the bottom 2 inches with a box of laterite (50 oz) and then toped off with about another 2 inches of the sand. The I bought a small bag of natural looking small size brown aquarium gravel and just kind of sprinkled it in areas on top of the sand. I like the entire effect. I have corys who love it and also Dojo loaches that bury themselves in it, with only their heads poked up through it. It is really neat! I don't see any reason to clean up the sand, since most of the fish kepp it lookin clean.


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Sand bottom tanks are very easy to keep clean... when you do a water change all you need to do is "hover" over the sand about a half inch above it and it keeps it looking very nice. 
As far as rooting goes... even the finest of roots grab hold of the sand. 
When you do your substrate be sure to get a good 2" (or more) of flourite,eco-complete, kitty litter or whatever "nutrient" substrate you prefer then cover that with 1 " of sand and work it into bottom (mix it).

Then add whatever you need for looks over that... :wink: 

Be sure to keep some sand on hand to add here and there as needed when moving plants (if you do that like I do)  

granually yours,
*The Sand Man* :lol:

P.S. "tanks" for the site compliments , I will be releasing new pages on the 56G Angel Tank project soon... ( Tahitan Moon Sand/Eco-Complete Sub.)


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## jana1 (Mar 17, 2017)

...


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

jana1 said:


> ...


Why bring up a dead thread?

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk


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## jana1 (Mar 17, 2017)

*dead thread*

sorry, I got confused. i couldn't figure out how to delete it.


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