Fishbreath Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Most of the articles (and posts) I have read talk about using Live Sand as the preferred nano reef substrate. Does everybody use sand? I would like to use crushed coral. Does anyone else use this as their nano substrate, and how succesful have you been using it? Link to comment
T?@7 Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 I think one of the main reasons people dont use it is because it makes it harder for the HERMS and snails to move aroud on....but im sure there are more reasons why. I personally just like the look of Arag ALOT better than CC. Link to comment
fishbabies Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 it's easier for them(hermits, snails, stars) to sift and clean too....and the sand has more surface area for the bio-bacteria. it will give your tank a cleaner look...when i had CC it was constantly growing algae, but my sand stays bright and clean Link to comment
Jandree22 Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 I think CC would actually be harmful the the snails' foot, wouldn't it?! Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 CC acts like a nutrient sump....all the itty bitty pieces fall down in it and are not available to the clean up crew. Fishbabies is also right....you get much more surface area for denitifying bacteria with sand. Link to comment
MrNoahCount Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 I was led into using CC as a substrate by my LFS before I knew what I was doing. Now I wish I had the sand. I have brown algae all over the CC and the snails and hermits show no signs of cleaning it. If I could change it now I would but I'm a little afraid to try as i just now got the tank cycled. Hey guys, can it be changed out or is it a major headache? Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 How is aragonite? Is that a form of live sand ??? Hehe I'm another newbie tryin to work out the sand situation 2. ~Kayla Link to comment
T?@7 Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 You can buy bags of "Live Aragonite". Its the good isht.... Link to comment
fishbabies Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 MrNoahCount....no major headaches involved. i would just scoop or vacuum out one third of the cc from one side of the tank and replace with ls....next week do another third....and then another.....actually, if you have enough live rock you might be able to switch it out even faster.......might be better than letting the algae on the cc take over the progress of your coraline algae....how big is your tank, and what's in it now? and how deep is your cc? Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Now that was a biatch to switch out! I got talked into the UGF and CC by my LFS.............Glad I got hooked on Phonics and learned how to read! Link to comment
fishbabies Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 oh jeeeeeezz....not an undergravelfilter!!! may I recommend a good lawyer? Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 This guy was classic......just shy of the plaid suit/pinky ring wearing used car salesman.....He told me that the Reverse flow UGF with CC was Da' Bomb! It worked great as a biologic filter......too great! You should have seen my eyes as my Trates hit 100ppm! Link to comment
MrNoahCount Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 Tank is 29g with 10g sump. I actually have some of the "Live Arogonite" that comes in bags down in the sump. LR is right at 29lbs. now. I have 3 snails, 10 or 12 red leg and blue leg hermits(I lost count) and a clownfish. One other problem I forsee is the fact that the LR is sitting on top of the CC. I want to do this though, I regret not going with the LS and I know I won't be happy till I change it. The tank is doing well otherwise. BTW my best source of LS is going to be the bagged "Live Aragonite" Will this work? Sorry if I took over this thread but hopefully the original poster will learn from my mistakes. Thanks guys, Michael Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 With that much LR and a sump attached with LS in it, you should have to worry about a cycling issue. If you're worried about it, you could run a denitrificating resin during the process. Just start taking it out, you could even run it berlin style, until you get you LS. Link to comment
swampy Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Does the CC have to be removed or can the LS be put right on top? I am in the same boat, I went with CC before I knew better and I have been thinking about adding LS right on top of the CC. Thanks, Swampy Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Sorry swamy; I can't help you out with that question--I'm a newbie tryin to figure out this sand deal too. But I do have one of my own.... does everyone here have a DSB? I'm not trying to diss them because I have no experience at all, but I've read that eventually they don't work, and most people end up removing them. What substrate would you use if you didn't have a DSB (I guess then it's more shallow)?? Would the sand be finer-grained? Thanks, and sorry for stealing someone's post ~Kayla Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Swampy - I'd say you want to remove most of the CC, it just acts like a nutient sink! I still have a couple piece come to the surface of my LS even now and again Flip - I would say some peeps have DSB's, and most don't. I've had one for 5 years in my 45ga, and never had so much as a inkling of trouble from it! I've read some info saying that they can go "bad" after 2-3 years, but I'm not so sure I believe this. If you have the proper sand sifters and water chemistry.....it should be a self sustaining micro environment. As for substrates, aragonite and silica are the most used. Oolic sand is best because of its small grain size it can denitrify (act as a DSB) with half as much as "regular" sand size. If you were to run a true DSB or Plenum, you'd run the bigger stuff. Aragonite is CaCO3 and has a slight buffering capacity, where as silica doesn't. HTH Link to comment
MrNoahCount Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 I was told by someone, I cant remember where, that adding the sand on top of the CC was a no no because the sand would just eventually sift down to the bottom below the CC. I'm going to throw caution to the wind that I don't mess things up too bad and change mine. I now have 40lbs. of CaribSea AragAlive! reef sand sitting right behind me. I t may not be LS in the truest sense but having LS shipped from Tampa Bay Saltwater was cost prohibitive. If I had things to do over I would order one of the so called "starter packages" from them. It's the LR, LS and an assortment of crabs and snails geared to the size of your tank. They ship half the stuff to get you started and then ship you your critters and such after you have cycled your tank. Again though, its expensive. Hey Kayla...are you going to join the Atlanta Reef Club? I've been thinking about it myself. Michael Link to comment
seabass Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Here is my take on DSBs. They work, but they can generate toxic substances that might be released back into your tank. DSBs reduce your tank’s Nitrate levels; however, this can also be done with water changes. In addition, water changes help to replenish your water’s trace elements and buffers. If you can safely reduce Nitrates with something beneficial, why take the risk? I suggest that DSBs are not for beginners and should be left to more experienced aquarists. I think a 1” to 1.5” sand bed is about right. I personnaly went with Nature's Ocean Live Reef Sand. Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Ahh, I like the sound of a 1 inch sandbed seabass... less money Does anyone have an estimate of how many lbs of sand would make 1 inch in a 28 gallon bowfront tank. Sorry, I'm probably being unresonable-- I'm just not quite sure of how much to buy. ~Kayla Link to comment
MrNoahCount Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Ummm, Looks like it's going to take about 40 lbs. to do an inch and a half bed in my 29g standard rectangular tank. The bowfront may not have as big a "footprint" as mine. I t may be a taller tank. You could always use part live sand and part dead sand. That should save you some money. From what I understand the live will seed the dead. I'll let the rest of the guys comment but that's my two cents from one newbie to another. Michael Link to comment
Flipturn88 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Thanks MrNoahCount. Couldn't I just buy dead aragonite and have my LR seed all of it?? Oh and by the way, I'm going to the atlantareefclub meeting on the 27th in Norcross (it's right down the street from my house). It sounds like lots of fun, and us newbies could probably learn & see some pretty good stuff ~Kayla Link to comment
MrNoahCount Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 From what I understand it's possible to have LR seed your sand. It just takes awhile. I went the route I did with buying the bagged LS because I'm trying to change out an already established(I hope!) tank. In your case when you get ready to get going you just might be able to get one of the reef club members to give you a cup of LS to seed yours with. This is supposed to be faster. Again, I'm getting all this from reading the same board you are so the other guys can correct me if I'm wrong. Just please keep us informed on how you're doing. I want you to succeed as much as I want to succeed myself! lol :-) Michael Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Ug! I don't think there's a hard and fast rule..... If your just setting up your tank and since your in Hotlanta! Just go down to home depot and get a bag of "Southdown Tropical play sand" AKA "Yardright tropical play sand". Since it's aragonite, it will work great and much cheaper that buying bag-o-live sand (which I don't believe is that alive anyway!). My guess, 25-30lbs!!! Also, if you use aragonite (southdown) you'll have the same amount of denitrification that would occur in a DSB twice as deep! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.