What kind of sand should I use?

[vckums]

I'm not the only crabber who has used the sand. I've recommended it to other crabbers here in California. I got the info to use the sand from Julia Crab. She was crabbing longer then I was when she passed on the information.

I don't have a camera to take a picture with that type of resolution.

I've seen the Quikrete sand. I've used it in the beginning but then switched to the Monterey sand. I don't remember there being any issues with using it. When I saw Julia Crabs tank I liked the look of the sand better and started using the Monterey Beach sand. I looked up calcium buffers. It's used for coral growth and to balance out PH's in a reef tank. We supplement our crabs foods with calcium.

Cost does play into it with everything from substrate to food. Each crabber has something that works for them that may not work for others. You like EE CrabbyJo and I can't seem to get that to work for me. So I stick to what works.

Kids can't afford $80 for sand. Most kids can't afford to buy stuff online. So we have to tell them of other things that work that are cheaper. If their parents will buy them a $4 bag of playsand, we need to tell them the right kinds to get and what ones to stay away from.

[Wai]

From my point of view, I would recommend oolitic aragonite sand to everyone, but it does not mean that there are no other alternatives. Vicki is right: most people aren't going to spend $80 on a small bag of sand. People on this forum may simply lie that they will get oolitic sand just to shut us up, when they plan to get beach sand instead.

I am using coconut fibre with beach sand mixed into it; a ratio of approximately three parts coconut fibre and two parts beach sand. All seven moults that I have had so far have been successful, but I only commenced crabbing again in November 2008, so I guess I have less experience than the other Crab Crew members.

If hermit crabs had to rely on oolitic sand to live, they would have been extinct hundreds of years ago. Oolitic sand is superior to beach sand, but that doesn't mean that beach sand should be blacklisted. I have not been able to find any oolitic sand for sale in aquarium stores and I only know of one store that sells coconut fibre of questionable purity. I ended up getting my coconut fibre from Tracey (tgirl73), who bought it online.

Also, I read that the fine aragonite sand can freely pass through the gills of fish. Can it pass through those of hermit crabs?

[CrabbyJo]

The aragonite sand that has been recommended, sugar grain and select grain, are .5mm to 1mm in size, so are not small enough to pass through gills.

I agree, we all have to do what works for us. Me, I have no other choice. It's EE or playsand, and I won't use playsand. I am not crazy about EE myself, I really do prefer sand, but I notice my crabs like to dig in the EE and also it helps keep the tank humidity up, so I put a couple containers into the main 'tat.

$80 isnt really a small bag, it's 40 pounds, which is more the size of a bag of playsand. It's not quite enough for a 55 gallon tank, that's why I'm going to be using EE as well in the tank, so I can make the sand deep enough for healthy molts.

And Vicki, at this point, if I had access to Monterey beach sand, I'd sure be checking into it at this juncture!
(prays the Reef store can get the aragonite sand in).

[ladybug15057]

"$80 isnt really a small bag, it's 40 pounds,"

And this is only due to you being from Alaska I believe. Because I buy the 30# bag of CaribSea for anywhere from $19-$21 plus sales tax.

[emmac350]

Yeah, I think my CaribSea around here is like $25 for a 30 pound bag.

[Wai]

From an Australian online store, the cheapest I found, excluding shipping, was $74.50 AUD ($58.44 USD) for a 13.6 kg (30 lb) bag.

[CrabbyJo]

Buying sand from an online store is prohibitive, considering the weight and shipping costs.
Wai, that is an amazingly high amount for the sand, especially without shipping!
Try nagging your pet stores to begin carrying it. Any pet stores that specialize in Reef tanks there? I'm painfully clueless about Australia.

I just bought some select grain, a 30# bag, for $44.00, which, I suppose, isn't too bad, considering it was going to be more like $60 I think from the Reef store! I'm so jazzed.

[ladybug15057]

Select grain?
From reading postings through the years Australia prices are much higher than ours here in the immediate U.S. (sorry CJ, you're not quite 'immediate', even though the state is part of U.S.) Seems everything is higher including rent and such. But from a couple years ago and conversing with an Aussie crabber quite frequently seemed then everything was higher there as well including their minimum wage. (almost double ours here in the U.S.)

[Wai]

Glass tanks here are very expensive too in stores, so I bought my two from the market. Sadly, we don't get those $1 USD per gallon deals.

[CrabbyJo]

Oops Typed Select grain when I meant Sugar grain.