thevulcaner Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hello all. I am working on building my AC70 fuge and was wondering what your opinions were - sand or no sand? I have it baffled to where the flow of the water is a good 2 to 3 inches off the bottom. I was just wondering if it was a good idea to add sand in this set up or if I am better off with no sand. Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hello all. I am working on building my AC70 fuge and was wondering what your opinions were - sand or no sand? I have it baffled to where the flow of the water is a good 2 to 3 inches off the bottom. I was just wondering if it was a good idea to add sand in this set up or if I am better off with no sand. Are you putting mangroves in it, or just chaeto? Link to comment
vinhle00 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have a AC 110 and sand in my 20 long with no problem. I use intank Media basket in my AC 110. Are you asking if the sand will messed up the filter? Give us more info about your tank. Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have a AC 110 and sand in my 20 long with no problem. I use intank Media basket in my AC 110. Are you asking if the sand will messed up the filter? Give us more info about your tank. Are we talking sand in the display, or the fuge? Link to comment
vinhle00 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Ooo he ment sand in the fuge lol hmm. Link to comment
thevulcaner Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Sorry, I didnt think to specify. I meant sand in the fuge. Im planning on chaeto, but mangroves arent out of the question (they seem like they would be cool to do, but ive never really heard much about them) Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Sorry, I didnt think to specify. I meant sand in the fuge. Im planning on chaeto, but mangroves arent out of the question (they seem like they would be cool to do, but ive never really heard much about them) If chaeto, don't bother. If mangroves, use miracle mud. That'd be my "best" advice. Link to comment
vinhle00 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I'm not too sure about sand in the fuge. Seems like it's gonna be hard to clean and the sand might mess with the impeller. Link to comment
ReefGazer Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hello all. I am working on building my AC70 fuge and was wondering what your opinions were - sand or no sand? I have it baffled to where the flow of the water is a good 2 to 3 inches off the bottom. I was just wondering if it was a good idea to add sand in this set up or if I am better off with no sand. Do you have a sandbed in your display tank? I am a believer in sandbeds...3" to 4" is good or deeper (e.g. 6") if you choose. There are great biological filtration benefits from a sandbed. If you put one in your fuge, do not worry about cleaning it. This, of course, is my opinion. Some suggest that if you want to utilize a sandbed, you must keep it clean or it will foul a tank. I do not subscribe to that opinion. Others suggest that a sandbed should be left alone to do its biological filtration job. A fuge should be a place where things to do get disturbed, so if you put sand in your fuge, just leave it alone. I run an AC110 as a fuge on my 24 gallon nano with a 4" sandbed, some live rock rubble and cheato. It seems to be doing a good job because my testing results show low phosphate and low nitrate. Of course our test kits will only give us an approximation, and it is the best measure I have. I do feed regularly, at least once per day. In sum, it is my humble opinion that the benefits of a sandbed are outweighed by any negative benefits some suggest. As we all know, there are many ways to run a successful reef tank. I say go with sand in your fuge. Good luck! Link to comment
thevulcaner Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Very solid point about " there are many ways to run a successful reef tank." I know people who have kept successful reefs both with sand in their fuges, and without. I was wanting to hear everyone here's opinion on the matter. Trying to weigh the options in hopes to make up my mind on which route to take. I am going to have a sandbed in my display, but the tank is only 12 inches deep, so I am limited on how deep I can make it. I guess I need to finish the baffle and run the filter with water to see if the baffle keeps the bottom undisturbed enough to consider sand. Link to comment
dling Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I'm not sure you can keep sand in the ac filter with out it being pushed out into the tank. Link to comment
ReefGazer Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 I'm not sure you can keep sand in the ac filter with out it being pushed out into the tank. My 4" sandbed stays where it is supposed to, and I use a mixture of fine sand (.5 to 1.7 grain size). Link to comment
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