some more question about aragocrete

[badmeowth]

after reading many articles on garf, google researching, and searches on this forum...i still have some questions about aragocrete. i need to make enough to seed a 65 gallon tank and plan to use fish boxes to mold the structures.

first question is if I can use silica based play sand for the molding material. i heard it washes off the aragrocrete structures later on and silicate leeching is overrated. Is it true that some have even used play sand instead of aragonite to make the aragocrete mixes?

some have just used rock/solar salt and cement in a certain proportion, but have mixed reviews. have anyone tried this? it seems like a good alternative or pasta shells. with the rock salt / cement combo, does 1:1 sound work? just wanted to see if any here have tried this combo

 

[bjohanson1234]

When I first got into this hobby, I used regular play sand for my sand bed. Had nothing but Diatoms all over the place. Since I have replaced it with aragonite, Those outbreaks are alot smaller and of shorter durations. I dont know anything about agrocrete, but I would stay away from using play sand in the tank. That is my :twocents:

Brian