Fake sand bed

[Mike Latimer]

Just in the process of setting up a nano tank., 15 gallons. I am keen to go with a epoxy sand mix, I have read some good threads and have made a sample, which turned out quite well.

My question is, the sample I made I can blow through, should the sand be fully encapsulated?

Or some porosity okay

[Matteo]

I have no idea.

 

I am all for natural as I feel like our reefs do better with everything naturally as possible but that's just my style!

 

I would assume if you are going for a fake sand bed it;s basically the same as a bare bottom tank so idk if you would want it to be porous. Then again if it has porosity it could act like live rock? 

 

NO IDEA MATE I am just spoutin off haha 

[Cencalfishguy56]

5 hours ago, Matteo said:

I have no idea.

 

I am all for natural as I feel like our reefs do better with everything naturally as possible but that's just my style!

 

I would assume if you are going for a fake sand bed it;s basically the same as a bare bottom tank so idk if you would want it to be porous. Then again if it has porosity it could act like live rock? 

 

NO IDEA MATE I am just spoutin off haha 

+1 to this, I try to keep it natural as possible, only problem I can see with porosity is detritus getting caught causing potential ammonia bubbles or some other form of nutrient spike, I’m eager to research this more now lol

[NanoSean]

After a lot of consideration, I decided to do a shallow sand bed for my new tank but had looked into several options including one that might appeal to you.  I was considering getting a sand colored custom cut piece of Starboard (hdpe) and maybe using an epoxy and gluing a thin layer of sand to the surface.  You'd somewhat get the look of sand but have the benefits of a bb tank.

[Thrassian Atoll]

I would make sure it’s completely sealed or it sounds like it would become a detritus trap to me. 

[farkwar]

On 7/6/2020 at 1:11 AM, Thrassian Atoll said:

I would make sure it’s completely sealed or it sounds like it would become a detritus trap to me. 

More than an actual sandbed?

 

Much doubt

[farkwar]

On 7/5/2020 at 11:40 PM, NanoSean said:

After a lot of consideration, I decided to do a shallow sand bed for my new tank but had looked into several options including one that might appeal to you.  I was considering getting a sand colored custom cut piece of Starboard (hdpe) and maybe using an epoxy and gluing a thin layer of sand to the surface.  You'd somewhat get the look of sand but have the benefits of a bb tank.

Thought of that myself

 

Except had the idea of CA gluing(not epoxy) rhe sand to the Starboard

 

Starboard comes in a color called Sea Foam. Which is almost sand color

[RedTheReefer]

I'm pretty sure coralline algae will end up covering it in the future.

[farkwar]

7 hours ago, RedTheReefer said:

I'm pretty sure coralline algae will end up covering it in the future.

Or GSP

 

Or montipora

 

Or zoanthids

 

Or cephastrea

[RedTheReefer]

8 hours ago, farkwar said:

Or GSP

 

Or montipora

 

Or zoanthids

 

Or cephastrea

Then what's the purpose of sand if it's completely covered in coral? Might as well go barebottom if you want to completely cover the bottom. GSP and Zoa's are detritus traps though.

[farkwar]

.

[RedTheReefer]

12 hours ago, farkwar said:

Huh?

Very good addition to the discussion. Let me explain so you can understand.

 

Gluing sand does not work. It's effectively a bare bottom tank at that point because coralline algae will eventually encrust over the glued sand. This is because the sand particles are stationary. They do not move with the water current or tumble from critters which gives the algae to take hold and grow. Thus, losing the aesthetic of any sand bed because it will all be purple of given enough time.

 

There is no shortcut to it's maintenance. If you want sand, you'll have to do it's required maintenance.

 

A fake sand bed does not work.

20 hours ago, farkwar said:

Or GSP

 

Or montipora

 

Or zoanthids

 

Or cephastrea

These corals won't grow on sand but they will on glued sand aka barebottom. Because of there growth patterns, GSP and Zoa's are detritus traps which OP does not seem to want in his tank based on his comments.

[farkwar]

The OP

 

Made only one post

 

The day that he joined

 

And hasn't come back to this board since July 22

 

And you are now ignored

[Tired]

In case anyone wondering the same thing comes to this thread: a very thin sandbed, 1/4" to 1/2", would be easy to maintain and would look like a sandbed. Throw in a handful of dwarf ceriths (which are good to have anyway), maybe stir it around a bit during water changes, and there ya go. Shouldn't trap much detritus, if any, and there's potentially some benefit from having places for sand-burrowing critters (and extra beneficial bacteria) to live. Plus, the bottom isn't reflective to bother your fish with.