beachpig Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Hey, I was just wondering what is the best widley used substrate for a sand bed these days? Thx Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 anything made of aragonite (or calcite) is good. Avoid crushed coral because the grains are too big (not really grains). Link to comment
chazde3 Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I like the larger grade of aragonite sand. I have used that and the sugar sized sand and prefer the larger grade. Link to comment
beachpig Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 I like the larger grade of aragonite sand. I have used that and the sugar sized sand and prefer the larger grade. Hey, I just looked at some Sugar size Aragonite and almost bought it but I thought I would wait for feedback. Why do you prefer the larger size? I have noticed that the larger size is very simular to the crushed coral size. Thanks for the input! Link to comment
funkyfish77 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I like the larger size cause it does not blow around as bad as the sugar fine sand. jmo Link to comment
AZDesertRat Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 I like the sugar sized sand myself. Once the sand is coated with bacteria it does not blow around so much if at all. I have about 2" in a 16G bowfront with a modified AC500 fuge, Koralia #1 and a small Rio powerhead so lots of flow and the sand stays put. Link to comment
peewee1467 Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 i just added the oceans nature sand. its the super fine one and i dumped it in my tank without rinsing, waited an hour and turned on my filters and the tank is literally 90 percent clear. idk why the reviews say this stuff makes your tank super cloudy for days, maybe its your fish that's stirring up the sand. beachpig, as of right now, i would recommend it but i do not know how it looks after a few months because i just added it but it looks amazing!!! i hope it doesnt get dirty fast and ugly lol. Link to comment
lkc Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 The sugar size is ideal for bio-filteration. You can then put a layer of larger over the top to keep the fine grain layer from flying around. You will have to also consider the fish you will house. Jawfish will need a much larger size substrate so they can build their hidey holes and the fine grain will cave easily. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 You don't have to get sugar sized. Larger sand doesn't have lesser surface area because larger grains are not perfectly spherical. Link to comment
beachpig Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 You don't have to get sugar sized. Larger sand doesn't have lesser surface area because larger grains are not perfectly spherical. All, Here is a picture of the crushed coral I currently have in my 55. When I say crushed coral the pieces are about the size of a sesame seed. Should I still rid it? coral.bmp Link to comment
Nanoized Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 See attached which gives a good idea and uses of the different particle sizes. http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/dry_aragonite.html I went with Select Seaflor™Special Grade Reef Sand. This stuff doesn't blow around and vacuums easily. Its great for our shallow Nano tanks I do prefer the look of the smaller grain particles and may go with Fiji Pink Reef Sand next time around. Link to comment
daydreamer Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I went with Fiji Pink Reef Sand. I didn't want to deal with sugar size sand blowing around, but didn't like the look of large grain so went with one size up. Fiji pink ended up being the perfect size grain for me - doesn't blow around but still looks nice and has the smallish grains i prefer. Link to comment
beachpig Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 I went with Fiji Pink Reef Sand. I didn't want to deal with sugar size sand blowing around, but didn't like the look of large grain so went with one size up. Fiji pink ended up being the perfect size grain for me - doesn't blow around but still looks nice and has the smallish grains i prefer. Would the substrate in the pic above be sufficent? I have looked at numerous types of Aragonite at the store and found that the stuff I have in the pic above looks finer then what I saw. Man, am I making a big deal out of this or what Thanks for all the comments Link to comment
Mr. Green Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 The stuff your using looks fine. I've heard from more than one source that optimal sand size in a nano reef tank is 4-5mm grain size and no deeper than 2in. These are the reasons: Easy to suck out poo doesn't stir up in to a storm allows oxygen to penetrate (preventing anoxic regions and H2S from forming) Link to comment
SK8URDEAD Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 i use aragmax sugar size but i have a 62g. if the pumps are directly at it yeah it blows away easy but other then that i love the look. what i love most about it is you can always find where my critters go in the sand and it has a natral look imo. but thats just me. i was goign to go secondly with the pink fiji. Link to comment
daydreamer Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Someone asked a similar question about the size here too - http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=196236 So it's fine as long as it's small I guess. The fiji pink is just slightly smaller than the crushed coral I had before. I replaced it all because I was moving everything into a bigger tank and needed more sand anyways. Link to comment
MGDMIRAGE Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I have some coral sand in my 5.5 and sugar sized aragonite sand in my 20. I love the sugar sized but it does blow around like crazy but i also have a koralia 2 running and it causes sand dunes. I actually have two k2s in the 20 but can't run them both because of the sand blowing around. Link to comment
krourke85 Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 It looks like CaribSea Arag-Alive is a good bet for best substrate, would anyone disagree? I'm looking for the substrate that is best for biological filtration (my nano doesn't have a skimmer or reactor), but in Australia I can only get the Arag-Alive in Bahamas Oolite. It is their smallest grain size, being 0.25mm-1mm. What is smaller grain size good for? Is it good for biological filtration or anaerobic N2 production or what?? What is the best substrate for N2 gas production? *Sorry for bumping an old post Link to comment
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