seeding sand

saltysteven · 01/03/2008, 07:43 PM

hey guys,
whats the best way to seed aragonite? what do i use and where do i get it?

bertoni · 01/03/2008, 07:53 PM

How deep is the sandbed? Seeding is optional for shallow sandbeds, in my opinion. Some animals might help keep the sand a bit cleaner. I buy kits from ipsf.com and InlandAquatics.com, but there are other vendors.

saltysteven · 01/03/2008, 08:11 PM

sand bed is 2.25 inches
so what do you recommend i do with keeping the price as low as you can?

rustybucket145 · 01/03/2008, 08:12 PM

Find a local fellow reefer with a nice tank and ask them if they would be kind enough to give you a cup full of sand. Offer to pay, but most will give it free of charge.

Siberman · 01/03/2008, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bertoni
How deep is the sandbed? Seeding is optional for shallow sandbeds, in my opinion. Some animals might help keep the sand a bit cleaner. I buy kits from ipsf.com and InlandAquatics.com, but there are other vendors.

Did you notice any aptasia after buying one of these kits? Not accusing, just asking.

bertoni · 01/03/2008, 08:21 PM

I think begging a cup of sand is the most I'd do. I might not do that, unless I was sure the donor tank was pest-free.

saltysteven · 01/03/2008, 08:34 PM

bertoni- whats the way to go?
is it just a gamble?

bertoni · 01/03/2008, 08:38 PM

I've seen Aiptasia in some of the kit items.

I think it's a gamble, any way you go. For that depth of sand, I don't think stocking is critical. I'd probably just leave it be. When we had a local sand swap, I opted out, in the end, due to fears of introducing pests.

ivgonmad · 01/03/2008, 08:46 PM

buy a 5lb bag of live sand and dump it in your tank, also could get some Pods from ebay, that would kick start the microfauna in your tank quite a bit.

spike78 · 01/03/2008, 08:47 PM

You may have problems with that depth of sand. You're kind of in between a shallow sand bed and a DSB. Too deep to keep free of detrius and too shallow for good denitrification. You should look to add more sand and get the bed over 4" or pull some out and go shallower than an inch.

I seeded my DSB with 20# of Florida Live Sand and 20# of South Pacific Live Sand from LivaAquaria and PremiumAqatics. I'm still finding new stuff growing in the bed.

saltysteven · 01/03/2008, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ivgonmad
buy a 5lb bag of live sand and dump it in your tank, also could get some Pods from ebay, that would kick start the microfauna in your tank quite a bit.

where do you get a 5 lbs bag and what are the pods?

Nanz · 01/04/2008, 01:30 PM

I ordered that grunge from Garf's and was not pleased. Thankfully I tested it in a Nano tank first. I work at a soil lab and we get some foul samples from wastewater treatment plants, etc. Well this grunge smelled exactly like wastewater. I proceeded to put it in my nano which had nothing but LR and sand in it. It spiked my ammonia up to 5.0ppm or higher. That was the limit on the testkit. Anyways Im glad I did not add it to my refugium for my display tank. I spoke with Garf and he was surprised that this happened to me and expected the opposite. No more mud for me. I'll just buy the worms and brittle stars from inlandaquatics.

tcilmo · 01/04/2008, 02:30 PM

What I did when I started my tanks was 1/2 the sand was live sand and the other half was not. Not sure if that helps at all.

01/03/2008, 07:43 PM	#1
saltysteven Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: bethany, ct Posts: 851	seeding sand hey guys, whats the best way to seed aragonite? what do i use and where do i get it?

01/03/2008, 07:53 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	How deep is the sandbed? Seeding is optional for shallow sandbeds, in my opinion. Some animals might help keep the sand a bit cleaner. I buy kits from ipsf.com and InlandAquatics.com, but there are other vendors. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/03/2008, 08:12 PM	#4
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	Find a local fellow reefer with a nice tank and ask them if they would be kind enough to give you a cup full of sand. Offer to pay, but most will give it free of charge. __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

01/03/2008, 08:21 PM	#6
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I think begging a cup of sand is the most I'd do. I might not do that, unless I was sure the donor tank was pest-free. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/03/2008, 08:38 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I've seen Aiptasia in some of the kit items. I think it's a gamble, any way you go. For that depth of sand, I don't think stocking is critical. I'd probably just leave it be. When we had a local sand swap, I opted out, in the end, due to fears of introducing pests. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/03/2008, 08:11 PM	#3
saltysteven Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: bethany, ct Posts: 851	sand bed is 2.25 inches so what do you recommend i do with keeping the price as low as you can?

01/03/2008, 08:34 PM	#7
saltysteven Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: bethany, ct Posts: 851	bertoni- whats the way to go? is it just a gamble?

01/03/2008, 08:46 PM	#9
ivgonmad Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Diego Posts: 468	buy a 5lb bag of live sand and dump it in your tank, also could get some Pods from ebay, that would kick start the microfauna in your tank quite a bit. __________________ 60g Frag Tank 60g Q.T. 240g Reef - 2x Dual 250w Coralvue MH Ballasts, 2x Custom Dual 250w Pendants, DAS EX-3 Protein Skimmer, GEN-X PCX-40 Return Pump, Iwaki 70 Closed Loop, Wave I Closed Loop, 4x Pacific Coast Flow Accelerators, GEO 612 Calcium Reactor w/Panworld Pump, 75g SDA Sump/Refugium, Fluorex 65w Floodlight Refugium Light Current Tank Info: 240g in the works B)

01/03/2008, 08:47 PM	#10
spike78 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 420	You may have problems with that depth of sand. You're kind of in between a shallow sand bed and a DSB. Too deep to keep free of detrius and too shallow for good denitrification. You should look to add more sand and get the bed over 4" or pull some out and go shallower than an inch. I seeded my DSB with 20# of Florida Live Sand and 20# of South Pacific Live Sand from LivaAquaria and PremiumAqatics. I'm still finding new stuff growing in the bed.

01/04/2008, 01:30 PM	#12
Nanz Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,389	I ordered that grunge from Garf's and was not pleased. Thankfully I tested it in a Nano tank first. I work at a soil lab and we get some foul samples from wastewater treatment plants, etc. Well this grunge smelled exactly like wastewater. I proceeded to put it in my nano which had nothing but LR and sand in it. It spiked my ammonia up to 5.0ppm or higher. That was the limit on the testkit. Anyways Im glad I did not add it to my refugium for my display tank. I spoke with Garf and he was surprised that this happened to me and expected the opposite. No more mud for me. I'll just buy the worms and brittle stars from inlandaquatics. __________________ S.G. = 1.025, Temp = 78.5, pH = 8.00 Ca = 550 ppm, Alk = 176 ppm (9.85 dKH), Mg = 1300 ppm NO3 = 0.97 ppm, PO4 = 0.07 ppm Nuvo 30, Razor Nano LED, Tunze ATO, Tunze 9004 skimmer, Vortec mp10,

01/04/2008, 02:30 PM	#13
tcilmo Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 59	What I did when I started my tanks was 1/2 the sand was live sand and the other half was not. Not sure if that helps at all.