What kind of sand won't form a sandstorm?

[nterry]

Hi,

I am looking for some sand for my reef tank that won't create a sandstorm. I have seen some sands on marine depot listed as having a grade of 0.5-1.5 mm? Will something like that avoid sandstorms, or do I need something a little bit bigger like a 1-2mm grade sand? I have a Tunze power head 1600 gph right now and unless I put it close to the top of the tank, I blow the sand around and get patches of the tank that have no sand and patches that are deep. I'd like to have a sand heavy enough that I can keep the powerhead lower and not move it around so much.

So should I go with the 0.5-1.5 or 1-2mm?

Thanks,

Nate Terry

[chaseracing]

Nate,

This may be tough with Sand. If I ever change substrates I am going back to Crushed Coral. The sandstorm get really annoying over time. I am using southdown sand. Not sure the grain size.

-=E=-

[nterry]

I guess the grade I am looking at would be considered crushed coral as well...

[asmodeus]

.20mm sand is your best bet......

[nterry]

0.2mm sand? Wouldn't that be so small as to be easily blown around? Never used that size before, which is why I'm asking... anyone else have ideas?

Thanks

[davocean]

This is a good time for me to talk about what I've been doing, and maybe someone will tell me a reason if this is cool or not.
I have nems, so I need a DSB.
I have about 45x flow.
I have been putting flat tonga rock across bottom where I want strong flow to prevent sandstorm.
Maybe someone w/ serious exp can chime in on whether this is cool or not.
I'll post pics later.

[chaseracing]

I have several large flat rocks laying on my substrate. I have been using it as a base for the rest of the rockwork. I believe it helps to keep everything stable. I imagine that would work well to prevent sandstorms. Most of my sandstorms happen in the corner.

-=E=-

[lookout888]

I tried the Redsea REEF BASE. From what I was told. Red sea takes shells and puts them in tumblers this creates round pieces of sand. One of our local fish stores has this in there tanks. The owner reached in and picked up a hand full of the sand and let it go. The sand instantly fell right to the bottom. No mess or clouds. I don’t know if this helps but figured I would throw it out there. I will see if i can get some pictures later today if you are interested.

Mike

[2thdeekay]

I have the same issue. I use 2-3 inches CaribSea Fiji Pink (.5-1.5mm) in my 90 sps reef, which has 35-60x turnover. It's a chore to keep fixing the sand every couple days that gets blown about.

I like the above idea about tumbled "round" sand. Round shaped sand is best.

I'm considering using sand I collected in the south pacific, years ago. Its tumbled round shapes are roughly 2mm. I did a test, and it doesn't get blown about by my pumps in a test tank. Only problem is I'd have to make a trip to collect more, as I don't have enough.

Another option may be CaribSea Seaflor Flamingo Reef Sand, 1-2 mm grain size.

[killagoby]

Originally posted by lookout888
I tried the Redsea REEF BASE. From what I was told. Red sea takes shells and puts them in tumblers this creates round pieces of sand. One of our local fish stores has this in there tanks. The owner reached in and picked up a hand full of the sand and let it go. The sand instantly fell right to the bottom. No mess or clouds. I don’t know if this helps but figured I would throw it out there. I will see if i can get some pictures later today if you are interested.

Mike

I use the Red Sea substrate he is talking about. I have a Tunze 6101 running full bore to low flow on a single controller. It moves the "sand" around, but it does not create a sand storm. This was one of the reasons why I chose this substrate. Now I get dunes with some bare spots of glass underneath.

[dcombs44]

I use CaribSea Aragonite sand, and my tank turns over around 30 times/hour. As my tank has matured, and the sand has become saturated with bacteria, my sand storms have decreased. Even in a narrow 55 gallon tank. Now, even when my clowns kick up the sand, most of it falls right back down to the bottom without blowing around.

Just food for thought I guess.

[nterry]

the red sea stuff sounds interesting--I'll have to see if any LFS stocks. Very hestitant to buy online due to the high shipping costs of such a heavy item....

[2thdeekay]

I would like to see/touch this stuff too. Marine Depot doesn't have a grain size description of the red sea substrate. Anybody know what it is?

[eastcoaster1]

You could spead a 1/2 inch layer of crushed coral in the areas that get blown around the most. As long as you keep the layer fairly thin and don't cover the whole bottom with it, you shouldn't have any problems with detritus buildup.

[Sk8r]

I had a problem until I began using T nozzles instead of straight.
The T from a modular hose makes a great nozzle, and will prevent sand getting blown about.

[Blown 346]

Originally posted by nterry
0.2mm sand? Wouldn't that be so small as to be easily blown around? Never used that size before, which is why I'm asking... anyone else have ideas?

Thanks

Once bacteria colonizes in the sand, the sand will becokme weighted down and wont blow around unless there is direct flow on it. I have sugar sized sand and dont have a problem with mine moving at all.

[Blown 346]

Originally posted by eastcoaster1
You could spead a 1/2 inch layer of crushed coral in the areas that get blown around the most. As long as you keep the layer fairly thin and don't cover the whole bottom with it, you shouldn't have any problems with detritus buildup.

The only probelm with CC is it is heavier than sand, the sand will go directly tro the bottom of the tank and the CC will be at top.

[curthendrix]

The latest thinking is that a dsb should use a variety of particle sizes. If the larger particles will come the surface you would get less drifting but still have the advantages of the greater surface area of the smaller sand size.