Aragonite for high flow tank

dp0350 · 05/02/2008, 09:45 AM

I am having a problem with suspended sand particles in my water. I though it was my goby but after watching closely for a week I have found out that its a combination of my high flow and the tiny particles in my live sand, the size is very inconsistent. I was online reef flakes and found this aragonite sand. Its between 2-5mm and seems to be of consistent size. I have want a 3-4 inch sand bed. Is this grain size just too big? What kinds of aragonite have been working well in high flow tanks?

jimwat · 05/02/2008, 10:41 AM

I am using 1" of 1 -2 mm (special grade) sand, which I think is big enough to allow good flow, but not so large that it will collect detritus. 3" - 4" is not really deep enough for a DSB. So unless your planning on housing critters that need to tunnel, your just using up tank real estate. Plus keeping the front glass clean below the sand is impossible without making a big mess when the sand is over an inch or two.

I have a modded MJ (1200 gph), a Tunze (1500 gph), a Koralia 4 (1200 gph), and a Mag 9.5 return (~600 gph @ 7') all in my 65. It took a few tries to get my PH positioned properly to not cause any "holes" getting dug in the sand. Now the only issue with dust ups are when my fish decided to forage.

dp0350 · 05/02/2008, 11:10 AM

Jim:

Wow thats a lot of flow. You don't have any sand suspended in your water column?

fatboyjoe · 05/02/2008, 12:33 PM

I switched from southdown to the carib-sea special grade arogonite too. no more sandstorms.

tbittner · 05/02/2008, 12:40 PM

Special grade stays on the bottom in my tank too. There isn't any floating around.

jimwat · 05/02/2008, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fatboyjoe
I switched from southdown to the carib-sea special grade arogonite too. no more sandstorms.

This is what I am using also.

jimwat · 05/02/2008, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dp0350
Jim:

Wow thats a lot of flow. You don't have any sand suspended in your water column?

The only thing that stays suspended is the detritus and the fish food.

At the very worst, you'll might need to play around with your powerhead placement if you get holes/bare spots in your sand bed (usually in the corners of the tank).

BTW, my Tunze is on a oscillator (WavySea), which makes it much (much) easier to have a lot of flow without moving the sand around.

mcrist · 05/02/2008, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jimwat
BTW, my Tunze is on a oscillator (WavySea), which makes it much (much) easier to have a lot of flow without moving the sand around.

I tried that one time but unfortunately my Tunze loosened the fitting and ended up pointing straight down into the sand and created the worst sand storm I ever saw.

jimwat · 05/02/2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcrist
I tried that one time but unfortunately my Tunze loosened the fitting and ended up pointing straight down into the sand and created the worst sand storm I ever saw.

Over the years I've had a powerhead or two come loose and make a mess, but it's always been those stupid suction cup mounts for me.

BTW, this is another good reason to NOT have a lot of extra sand. Mucking up a SSB is a mess. Mucking up sand thats been marinating 3" - 4" deep is a nightmare.

mcrist · 05/02/2008, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jimwat
BTW, this is another good reason to NOT have a lot of extra sand. Mucking up a SSB is a mess. Mucking up sand thats been marinating 3" - 4" deep is a nightmare.

You got that right, my tank hasn't recovered from this and it was about a year ago. I think I might try BB.

05/02/2008, 09:45 AM	#1
dp0350 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 75	Aragonite for high flow tank I am having a problem with suspended sand particles in my water. I though it was my goby but after watching closely for a week I have found out that its a combination of my high flow and the tiny particles in my live sand, the size is very inconsistent. I was online reef flakes and found this aragonite sand. Its between 2-5mm and seems to be of consistent size. I have want a 3-4 inch sand bed. Is this grain size just too big? What kinds of aragonite have been working well in high flow tanks?

05/02/2008, 10:41 AM	#2
jimwat Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,270	I am using 1" of 1 -2 mm (special grade) sand, which I think is big enough to allow good flow, but not so large that it will collect detritus. 3" - 4" is not really deep enough for a DSB. So unless your planning on housing critters that need to tunnel, your just using up tank real estate. Plus keeping the front glass clean below the sand is impossible without making a big mess when the sand is over an inch or two. I have a modded MJ (1200 gph), a Tunze (1500 gph), a Koralia 4 (1200 gph), and a Mag 9.5 return (~600 gph @ 7') all in my 65. It took a few tries to get my PH positioned properly to not cause any "holes" getting dug in the sand. Now the only issue with dust ups are when my fish decided to forage. __________________ "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day and drink beer." Current Tank Info: 65 gal with 192w PC 10k, 192w VHO actinic, Blue-Moon LED, Tunze 6060 on WavySea, AquaController 3. 20gal sump, Natureef CDECX-1, Phosban Reactor, Remora, Kalk Drip, Ozone.

05/02/2008, 12:33 PM	#4
fatboyjoe Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: philadelphia Posts: 122	I switched from southdown to the carib-sea special grade arogonite too. no more sandstorms. __________________ joe Current Tank Info: 90 gal reef

05/02/2008, 11:10 AM	#3
dp0350 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 75	Jim: Wow thats a lot of flow. You don't have any sand suspended in your water column?

05/02/2008, 12:40 PM	#5
tbittner Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 607	Special grade stays on the bottom in my tank too. There isn't any floating around.