Sand

jrvelie · 06/18/2016, 07:23 PM

I was starting a new tank and I used Ocean Direct Live sand I am not sure if it was the original or OOLIITE but I have not been happy with it because of the amount of dust in it. If anything touches the sand bed the tank get all cloudy. Before adding the sand I did not rinse it because I did not want to wash away any of the bacteria. I have bought some of the CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink and I am not sure what direction I should go now. The tank does not have any coral or livestock in it yet.

The options I see are:

1-Drain the water out and remove the current sand and put the new stuff in.
2-Try to add the new sand over the sand already in the tank.
3-Tank the sand out rinse it and put it back in.

I am working on a 29 gallon tank and have 40 pounds of sand in the tank, so that is just about 2 inches. I did get 20 pounds of new sand and that would be about 1 inch of sand.

Thanks

Dogshowgrl · 06/18/2016, 08:14 PM

Ocean direct is very cloudy at first BUT when something come in and turns it up (I.e. sandsifting star, conch, Nassarius snails) it is much better. I love that sand in the long run. We set up tanks all the time (work at a LFS) and you can't go wrong with the look of fiji-pink but the ocean direct is special.

If you are not going to have sand dwellers to turn up the sand enough to improve current conditions, I would pull it out and rinse it because I just love that sand. Option one and three are the viable ones. I have seen them mixed (option 2) they don't go well and long term they will eventually mix and the dust will kick back up.

I would go three if you LOVE the sand, if not, it is not worth the work of rinsing.

Good luck!

Gaxmode · 06/18/2016, 08:29 PM

Also the more the sand matures the "heavier" it will become. I used Unrinsed live sand that took about a month to really settle.

bmitchell138 · 06/19/2016, 11:26 AM

Are there any issues adding more sand to an existing sand bed?

Mine is not as deep as I would like. I was thinking about getting a small bag of dry sand. Rinsing it really good to remove the dust and adding it to the areas that need it in my tank.

Leyth · 06/19/2016, 02:04 PM

I had the same issue with Nature's Ocean Samoan pink. It was very dusty at first everytime I had to do something in the tank. A week later it seems to have improved a lot more.

Bl4ckDr4g0n · 06/19/2016, 05:27 PM

If you add more sand don't be surprised when the diatoms bloom, and you should definitely rinse it if the tank is stocked

jrvelie · 06/21/2016, 07:26 PM

Well I ended up draining the tank and removing the sand. Put in the new sand and what a huge difference. It was cloudy for about 4 hours and now it looks great. Thanks for the help guys.

While I did not have that great of an experience with the Ocean Direct Live sand, I will say that it did have a lot of nice shells of all sizes in it. I actually did manage to save some of these and added them to the top of the sand I added.

06/18/2016, 07:23 PM	#1
jrvelie Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 54	Sand I was starting a new tank and I used Ocean Direct Live sand I am not sure if it was the original or OOLIITE but I have not been happy with it because of the amount of dust in it. If anything touches the sand bed the tank get all cloudy. Before adding the sand I did not rinse it because I did not want to wash away any of the bacteria. I have bought some of the CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink and I am not sure what direction I should go now. The tank does not have any coral or livestock in it yet. The options I see are: 1-Drain the water out and remove the current sand and put the new stuff in. 2-Try to add the new sand over the sand already in the tank. 3-Tank the sand out rinse it and put it back in. I am working on a 29 gallon tank and have 40 pounds of sand in the tank, so that is just about 2 inches. I did get 20 pounds of new sand and that would be about 1 inch of sand. Thanks

06/18/2016, 08:29 PM	#3
Gaxmode Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 89	Also the more the sand matures the "heavier" it will become. I used Unrinsed live sand that took about a month to really settle. __________________ 90g dt, 40g sump. Mp40,tunze osmolator,reef octopus 152,gfo and carbon reactors, 2 radion xr15w pro, 500 watt titanium heater. Larrys reef frenzy and pe mysis.

06/19/2016, 05:27 PM	#6
Bl4ckDr4g0n Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Colorado Posts: 124	If you add more sand don't be surprised when the diatoms bloom, and you should definitely rinse it if the tank is stocked __________________ Aqueon 65 Reef Ready, 29 Gallon Sump 1 VorTech MP40W, 2 VorTech MP10Ws, Vertex Omega 130 Radeon xr30 pro gen 3 Current Tank Info: 65 Gallon

06/18/2016, 08:14 PM	#2
Dogshowgrl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: North Central Florida Posts: 298	Ocean direct is very cloudy at first BUT when something come in and turns it up (I.e. sandsifting star, conch, Nassarius snails) it is much better. I love that sand in the long run. We set up tanks all the time (work at a LFS) and you can't go wrong with the look of fiji-pink but the ocean direct is special. If you are not going to have sand dwellers to turn up the sand enough to improve current conditions, I would pull it out and rinse it because I just love that sand. Option one and three are the viable ones. I have seen them mixed (option 2) they don't go well and long term they will eventually mix and the dust will kick back up. I would go three if you LOVE the sand, if not, it is not worth the work of rinsing. Good luck!

06/19/2016, 11:26 AM	#4
bmitchell138 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 84	Are there any issues adding more sand to an existing sand bed? Mine is not as deep as I would like. I was thinking about getting a small bag of dry sand. Rinsing it really good to remove the dust and adding it to the areas that need it in my tank.

06/19/2016, 02:04 PM	#5
Leyth Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Atlanta Posts: 73	I had the same issue with Nature's Ocean Samoan pink. It was very dusty at first everytime I had to do something in the tank. A week later it seems to have improved a lot more.

06/21/2016, 07:26 PM	#7
jrvelie Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 54	Well I ended up draining the tank and removing the sand. Put in the new sand and what a huge difference. It was cloudy for about 4 hours and now it looks great. Thanks for the help guys. While I did not have that great of an experience with the Ocean Direct Live sand, I will say that it did have a lot of nice shells of all sizes in it. I actually did manage to save some of these and added them to the top of the sand I added.