zamboni200000 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Hey all, I'm starting up a 10 gallon IM nuvo fusion. Going to use dry rock instead of live to avoid pests... and was wondering if there's such thing as dry sand or NOT live sand. Anybody heard of that? I was going to go for black sand too i possible. Cheers and thanks in advance. Link to comment
k4ndyk1ng Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Yeah, it is just normal freshwater sand Link to comment
zamboni200000 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 and that is safe to use in a reef tank? Should it be "washed" first? Link to comment
hey Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 aragonite based sand comes in dry or live form dry is cheaper and most people from what I gather agree that "live" sand does nothing to help a tank cycle. Sand should be aragonite based or you will forever have diatoms blooming if it is silica based. Also, rinse the sand thoroughly to get dust particles out. Link to comment
zamboni200000 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Ever heard of black dry argonite sand? Did a little googling and couldn't seem to find a black one. Also, how do you go about rinsing sand... just in a bucket with some RODI water? Please excuse my ignorance lol. My only tank I've ever had is a 50g with all live rock and all live sand and i've had a decent amount of pests and algae. Trying to control it better with the nano I'm starting =) Thanks again Link to comment
Deleted User 8 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Why not ditch the sand and go bare bottom? It is not for everyone, but something to consider. I had a 55g reef tank back in the day with live rock and sand and dealing with all the bad crap that came in and on both was a bit silly. Not to mention the disadvantages I had with a Deep Sand Bed. I am starting a new 34g and going dry rock (ReefCleaners dry rock) and no sand. I like the look of a Zoa covered bottom. Put the sand in a bucket and hit it with the garden hose. Let the dirty water flow out an over the top of the bucket. Use the hose end to stri the bottom of the sand. When you have done this for an inordinate period of time, drain the hose water and rinse again with RO/DI. As others have said, make sure the is not any silicate in your sand. What are you going to be keeping in that 10g drop of water? Buzz Link to comment
zamboni200000 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Thanks Buzz. I like the look of sand. Black backround and black sand should make the corals pop nicely. Plan is to stock with a helfrichi firefish for sure and possibly a fancy clown too. As for corals, as colorful as possible. mushrooms and zoas for sure. Maybe acans if I can keep them happy. Thanks for your input. Just gotta figure out of black dry aragonite sand exists lol Also trying to figure out a nice yet affordable light. Wanted to go with orbit marine LED, but the smallest one is 18 inches so too long for this drop of water =) Love all the features on that thing. You know of anything similar that will fit properly over this thing and that is affordable? Link to comment
Deleted User 8 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 The glass bottom of mine is black (there is black felt undeneath). My plan is to cover the bottom with corals, zoas, shrooms, etc. anyway. The bacteria seeded "live" sand that comes in a bag would be OK to use. Wash, rinse, repeat. As for lighting, I don't cheap out here. Affordable is relative. Something like a Nano Box Mini would be great. If you can find one used, even better. Buzz Link to comment
Toybuddha Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I have cheap Chinese LEDs. Everything grows great under them. Link to comment
Eckozulu Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I prefer tropic eden sand but it doesn't come in black. The best dry black sand I used before was this: http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/caribsea-tropical-isle-tahitian-moon-sand-20-lbs It says it's prewashed, but I still had to rinse it for a while. As for lights nanobox mini tide. If you don't plan on SPS you could get away with the new AI prime. Link to comment
Deleted User 8 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I have cheap Chinese LEDs. Everything grows great under them. Two things I won't buy from China: Condoms and Light fixtures. Failure of either can prove disasterous! Buzz Link to comment
Deleted User 8 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Eckozulu what about this?: "While these can be used for marine aquariums, keep in mind you will have to use our aragaMilk, or aragaMight to keep your alkalinity and pH up where they need to be." Buzz Link to comment
zamboni200000 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 I have a chinese evergrow fixture over my 50g and it's amazing. Corals love it, fully programmable, and powerful. 2-300 less than the same exact fixture with a us name on it. Thanks for the tip Eckozulu! Link to comment
Toybuddha Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 I have a chinese evergrow fixture over my 50g and it's amazing. Corals love it, fully programmable, and powerful. 2-300 less than the same exact fixture with a us name on it. This^ Thanks for the tip Eckozulu! Link to comment
Eckozulu Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Eckozulu what about this?: "While these can be used for marine aquariums, keep in mind you will have to use our aragaMilk, or aragaMight to keep your alkalinity and pH up where they need to be." Buzz They put that on some of the other sands too. Didn't really have to dose anymore than usual for me. PH was fine also. Link to comment
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