kdd Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Hey the guy from my lfs said i shudn't start with sand...i believe him cuz if he was lying he would have said i do ta make me buy it...is he telling the truth, and why? Link to comment
Physh1 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Did he give you any facts behind this information? There is no harm in it at all. In fact, adding it to start is easier than trying to add it with rock or other stuff in there. Get the sand.... Your LFS guy seems to either not know anything at all about basics or is really poorly informed. Cameron Link to comment
Pinchy Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 start with sand? i dont understand... Link to comment
Pinchy Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 whats the advantage? i would imagine it would reduce the bio-load quite a bit.... Link to comment
Angel Higuera Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Do what we say here at nano reef. You will be fine. Dont listen to any thing the lfs has to say. I wanna get a Viper fish like Pinchy has. Where can I buy one ? LOL! -Angel Link to comment
Pinchy Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 meet me unda da bridge at midnight- you bring da cash, ill bring da fish... : Link to comment
bikinibottom Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 kdd... don't listen to what your lfs tells you, and don't necessarily listen to the people on this site. Half of the people are barely 6 months into the hobby and probably on the verge of a major tank crash. Read as much as you can about setting up your system, and about cycling the tank. Read, read, read. Everyone is just waiting to bash you in a post if you don't. Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 bikini speaks wisdom, kdd. semi noob or not, that is good advice. when i started in this hobby i read about 5 different reefkeeping/saltwater tank books. with the knowledge in the books and the experience of many of the members here and at other forums you will turn out just fine. =) Link to comment
DHodges34 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 maybe he was suggesting a barebottom tank? Link to comment
thebrian Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 That's what I was thinking... Link to comment
yoshiod9 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 to a newbie interested in starting a nano? not too many people would try a BB with a nano i would assume. to put that much trust in the minimal amount of lr a nano can fit would be a bit preposterous. yet another reason lfs employee's should not be entirely trusted until proven trustworthy. just cuz they work there doesn't mean they know a lot. Link to comment
Pinchy Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 haha- yeah, i think store clerk was just tryin to mess with ya- i think they get a kick out of it.... :woot: Link to comment
10" Red Devil Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Totally agree with Yoshiod9!! I have noticed, that the lfs advice is very old school ie they want you to use undergravel filters, and outdated crap like that. Having worked at a local fishstore for almost 2 years, I saw a fair nice cross section of outright liers, know-nothings try to act authoritative and totally mislead customers, because they were to insecure and not humble enough to admit they might not know something!! This one guy (nathan cassell), doesnt work there anymore, but he strait up lied to people all the time! He told people he had a huge reef tank at home, he owned many tanks (20 to be precise, in a trailer lol), but he never owned a reef tank and would tell people all sorts of BS!! So be careful and take what they say with a grain of salt, a good way to tell wheather or not they are telling the truth is to read some accredited authored reef books by authors such as Julian Sprung, Eric Borneman, John Tullock, etc. Course it is really your responsibility to research and read up on how to take car of your inhabitents, if you rely on any fish store, trustworthy or not, your going to get taken for a bit of a ride. Link to comment
kdd Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 he did suggest a bb tank..i told him i wanted sand for aesthetic purposes but he reccommended me not to....he knows his ###### n is very informed about his profession, he must have some reason...but **** his reason i'm gonna get sand. It doesn't have to be LS does it? Link to comment
kdd Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 Thanks red devil..during my 12 months of setting up my brackish tank i found a lfs who was "the most honest" so he must jus have a dif reason...lol i have been researching this for 8 months so i have no mistakes Link to comment
Steve973 Posted February 4, 2005 Share Posted February 4, 2005 Yes, start with sand. I'd recommend finding dry stuff in a bag that you like. Live sand is a bit of a scam, and your rock will make your sand "live" in time. Save yourself some cash and get a sand that is pleasing to your eye. Steve Link to comment
kdd Posted February 4, 2005 Author Share Posted February 4, 2005 thanks steve n others big help Link to comment
MillerLite Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 I also agree to go with the sand . You can order it relatively cheap at DrsFostersandSmith. I purchased the 30 lbs bag od sugar size aragomax for $12 on sale. Paid $4 extra for shipping. Still alot cheaper then getting at at the LFS. I also think having the sand in with the rock while the tank is cycling helps the benthic organisms to move from your rock onto your live sand. Might as well cycle your tank with both. That way when your cycle is complete the sand will be ready as well. BTW, wonderful comment bikinibottom So true, so true! Keep in mind however, just because someone registered later rather than sooner, they still could have bountiful information to share from previous reef experience. Good advice however. Link to comment
vyger Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 MillerLite is right...just because someone just registered doesn't mean they are new to the hobby. I registered last year but have been reefkeeping for 20 yrs. First tank was a 10 gal AGA in 1985with no bio filter and was told I was nuts by every LFS and it couldn't be done..But mine did fine with a 1 gal water change every week. Had it for 5 yrs before going bigger, and then smaller again...heh..heh I have only been running live sand in my 2 nano tanks for little over a year but I think it stablizes the tank very well. I've never had any algae problem unlike my 30 gal and 20 gal reef which I battled algae all the time and wound up selling everything and starting a smaller tank and trying the live sand. But like everything in these forums some people swear by it and some people hate it. IMO and from doing some researh ,it's not the live sand that is the problem but the water quality of the tank that gives the problems . Link to comment
ReefMonkeee Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 the dude at the LFS probably just speaking from his personal opinion. He probably prefer not to have sand that's why he presuave his costumer to go sand less. Link to comment
Withers Posted February 5, 2005 Share Posted February 5, 2005 By going barebottom it is much easier to maintain. You just vacuum up all the junk that accumulates on the bottom with your weekly water changes. With sand, you probably wouldn't do that. His comments had merit, but most people stay away from bare bottomed tanks because they look unnatural. I've run both, and although I really enjoy having a clean tank, when I set up a larger tank it will probably have a thin layer of sand, because I think we're all trying to make our tanks look as natural as possible, and having sand falls under that category. Link to comment
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