Opinions on Carib-Sea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand???

[STiTCH87]

Anyone have any opinions on it? Anyone here personally have it in their tank? I usually go with a finer sand (I currently have CaribSea Fiji Pink in my Pico) and I love the sand I already use, but I am seeing many articles talking about using this sand and I just wanted to know, does 1-2mm Special Grade sand have any Pros or Cons compared to my Fiji Pink sand?

 

[Reeferer]

I used the black live sand from them because it was the only black sand I could find. Still looks good after four years.

 

[STiTCH87]

Oh I am absolutely a loyal customer of CaribSea. I know their products are high-quality. I just meant specifically this exact Special Grade sand compared to the Fiji Pink or similar.

I am either getting this or more fiji pink.

 

[Mini4x]

Same here.. wanted something other than white/pink in my nano..

 

[STiTCH87]

I know it has a bit coarser of grain (1-2mm) compared to the fiji pink's 0.5-1mm grain, but I also know crushed coral sand beds have a lot of cons so i'm thinking even though this isn't as coarse as crushed coral, that perhaps fiji pink is still a better choice in comparison to special grade? Also, i'm going to have a goby or two and I wonder if this grain size would be difficult for them to sift?

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

I am also trying to decide between the two types of sand. I thought the fiji was .5-1.5 mm. which makes it seem a little closer in size to the special grade. What did you decide to do? At this point, I think I might just buy a couple bags of each and mix them together. lol

 

[delta]

I like the Aragamax select .5-1mm

It was a lot cheaper than the agra-live and no need to purchase the "Live" part anyway. Stays in place better than the Oolitic/southdown sand

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

I thought Aragamax was the same as the oolitic? I prefer the smaller grain, but I don't want sand storms. It doesn't have to be "live". I will seed it with sand from my exisiting tanks. Too bad I can't remember what I used in the past. I have two different grades of sand in two different tanks, but I'm not crazy about either of them. What would be the consequences of mixing grades? Wouldn't the finer stuff eventually just sink to the bottom? I'll have to look at the Aragamax, maybe that's the correct choice.

 

[STiTCH87]

Yeah no Oolite for me. I only use aragonite sand in my tanks. Didn't think of dry sand as opposed to live.

From MarineDepot.com: "Fiji Pink Reef Sand: 0.5-1.0 mm diameter grain size."

That's the info I was going by.

I have decided to just go with Fiji Pink after all, since I like the finer grain and after seeing special grade in person, I just don't like it. Looks too much like crushed coral to me and i'm not a fan. Plus I am going to have a few smaller sand sifting fish including a court jester goby so I need the sand as fine as possible for him.

 

[delta]

Aragamax "Select" .5-1mm is different than Aragamax sugar sized

 

[P-Nut]

I used the black live sand from them because it was the only black sand I could find. Still looks good after four years.

can you post a pic please? I am debating if I want black sand or white sand.

Sorry, dont mean to hijack the thread.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

Interesting. The Fiji at Fosters and Smith is larger. I am leaning towards that one myself. Where did you see the special grade? Was it local? It's so hard to tell the size from pictures. My FOWLR has larger grains of sand, but I bought it years ago from a fellow reefer so I don't know what it is. My softies tank is finer sand, and it blows around. There has to be something in the middle. lol

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

Aragamax "Select" .5-1mm is different than Aragamax sugar sized

Found the "select" variety. It is very different from the sugar sized, and seems to be a nice compromise. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[STiTCH87]

The fiji pink I previous bought was CaribSea Fiji Pink Arag-Alive and the grain size is small but definitely not sugar sized. I'd say it is indeed the .5-1mm mentioned by Marine Depot.

The CaribSea Special Grade I found at our local sponsor Underwater World. IDK I just really like fiji pink more than any other sand i've seen and after seeing the special grade in person, I wasn't a fan personally.

Plus the tank is going in the basement and the fiance "gets to" (has to) see it everyday so any excuse to put "pink" or "purple" things into the tank helps keep her mind preoccupied and not focusing on how much money I blow in this hobby. Lol.