Substrate Issues

jesslovesfish · 09/24/2007, 11:50 AM

Tank (29 gallon, will be reef tank) has been cycling for a month. Last week I added some substrate that ended up having tiny grains -- the sand was constantly receding in the tank and being blown around.

So yesterday I went to the pet store and bought what I thought was the exact same stuff I'd used last year in a tank - Nature's Ocean bio-activ live sand. So I removed the superfine sand and threw that stuff in there -- definitely not the pretty, sugar fine sand I bought last year. This stuff has got tons of small shells and is a tan color. Says the grain size is .5 - 2.0.

It looks kind of cool, but I'm afraid it's going to be a huge detrius trap, and while the other varieties of Nature's Ocean stuff say "digger friendly" this does not. Currently I just have a nausarius snail. Should I be worried about him? What about the detrius?

Are their benefits to the bigger sand? I've got about 10-12 lbs in there. Should I scrap this $$ sand yet again?

papagimp · 09/24/2007, 12:02 PM

I use a mix of indopacific black sand and some other cheapy stuff, grains sizes are very comparable to what you listed. NO problems with my tank due to the sandbed. I'm happy with it. Got loads of nassarius in there, had a green mandarin for the longest time (carpet surfer) and so far, it's worked out nicely. If every grain was 2.0 and not a mix of everything in between, I'd worry but for a mix like that, shouldn't be a problem.

fwiw, I use pulverized limestone in my 75g, it's about as fine a grain size as you can get and even though there was a little sand blowing around for the first coupe weeks, it does eventually settle some and havn't had an issue since...well, there was this incident with a seio and poor suction cups, lets not get into that.

Aquarist007 · 09/24/2007, 12:04 PM

sand and live rock are the basis of the reef tank.
Don't try to cut corners on the sand--buy a good medium grade argonite.
As far as supporting bacteria--the aerobic bacteria live in the very topmost area of the sand bed---necessarius snails will keep this area aerated and prevent the sand from clumping up over time.

The deeper layers of the sand bed house the anerobic bacteria.
Both bacteria are needed in the reduction of ammonia to nitrites and then nitrates.

The really deep sand beds over 6 inches have problems over years of of building up some poisoness gases in them but if you keep a 2-4 inch sand bed that should be perfect for housing organisms that need it and the bacteria

Incidentally the process in the live rock is very similar--with the anerobic bacteria deeper in the core. This is why is is also a good idea to buy good quality reef rock(more porous)

09/24/2007, 11:50 AM	#1
jesslovesfish Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 34	Substrate Issues Tank (29 gallon, will be reef tank) has been cycling for a month. Last week I added some substrate that ended up having tiny grains -- the sand was constantly receding in the tank and being blown around. So yesterday I went to the pet store and bought what I thought was the exact same stuff I'd used last year in a tank - Nature's Ocean bio-activ live sand. So I removed the superfine sand and threw that stuff in there -- definitely not the pretty, sugar fine sand I bought last year. This stuff has got tons of small shells and is a tan color. Says the grain size is .5 - 2.0. It looks kind of cool, but I'm afraid it's going to be a huge detrius trap, and while the other varieties of Nature's Ocean stuff say "digger friendly" this does not. Currently I just have a nausarius snail. Should I be worried about him? What about the detrius? Are their benefits to the bigger sand? I've got about 10-12 lbs in there. Should I scrap this $$ sand yet again?

09/24/2007, 12:02 PM	#2
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	I use a mix of indopacific black sand and some other cheapy stuff, grains sizes are very comparable to what you listed. NO problems with my tank due to the sandbed. I'm happy with it. Got loads of nassarius in there, had a green mandarin for the longest time (carpet surfer) and so far, it's worked out nicely. If every grain was 2.0 and not a mix of everything in between, I'd worry but for a mix like that, shouldn't be a problem. fwiw, I use pulverized limestone in my 75g, it's about as fine a grain size as you can get and even though there was a little sand blowing around for the first coupe weeks, it does eventually settle some and havn't had an issue since...well, there was this incident with a seio and poor suction cups, lets not get into that. __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

09/24/2007, 12:04 PM	#3
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	sand and live rock are the basis of the reef tank. Don't try to cut corners on the sand--buy a good medium grade argonite. As far as supporting bacteria--the aerobic bacteria live in the very topmost area of the sand bed---necessarius snails will keep this area aerated and prevent the sand from clumping up over time. The deeper layers of the sand bed house the anerobic bacteria. Both bacteria are needed in the reduction of ammonia to nitrites and then nitrates. The really deep sand beds over 6 inches have problems over years of of building up some poisoness gases in them but if you keep a 2-4 inch sand bed that should be perfect for housing organisms that need it and the bacteria Incidentally the process in the live rock is very similar--with the anerobic bacteria deeper in the core. This is why is is also a good idea to buy good quality reef rock(more porous) __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock