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Nitrate question |
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#1 |
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Citizen
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Nitrate question
i have a 50gal with Crushed Coral Substrate. i have 2 clowns and 2 damsels. 3 crabs and 4 snails. i have some LR as well. tank set up for 1 year.. i do a water change and in 3 days Nitrates off the charts.. any idea why? i dont have much of a load in tank.
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#2 |
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Crushed coral substrates can be problematic. They have a tendency to trap detritus. Most people will tell you to get rid of the crush coral and replace it with fine particle sand if you are experiencing problems with nitrates.
Are you running a protein skimmer?
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Ninong |
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#3 |
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Citizen
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yea new prisim deluxe skimmer.. all i get tho is clean bubbles out of it. Thought about going to sand, but think it will be hard to do with LR .. wont i have to let the tank cycle with new sand?thing is i want to make sure my tank is perfect before corals again. i know lots of peeps have sumps but it is ok to do this without one right?
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#4 | |
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Ninong |
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#5 | |
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Owner
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Bardstown, KY
Posts: 13,161
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#6 |
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Citizen
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nitrates are good after water change for afew days then boom!! i have tested the water i have had stting since my last change and 0 nitrates . it is same water i put in tank 3-4 days ago.
next question. if it is not live sand that trhey sell at LFS is it still the sand i buy? what is a calcium reactor? is that the doser thing? |
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#7 | ||
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Quote:
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Ninong |
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#8 |
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Citizen
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ok.. so you buy dry sand then? i thought you said that there is no real Live sand no matter what they say? you have a good link to somebody selling sand? i think that is what i will go with
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#9 | |
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Quote:
What a lot of the LFS like to call live sand comes in 20-lbs bags that look the same as the larger bags of expensive commercial aragonite sand except for the claim that it is "live sand." One product is called "Arag-Alive" -- it's put out by CaribSea. There is another brand of this stuff that has the word "Nature" as part of it's name. The only difference is that it is shipped moist with dormant marine bacteria that are supposed to remain viable for several months. This is not live sand that is collect in the wild in the South Pacific somewhere. This is the same stuff that is mined in the Bahama Banks and sold as Southdown, Yardright, Oldcastle, CaribSea and maybe a couple of other newer brands such as Pure Aragonite. All of it is heat sterilized, including the cheapy stuff because it is intended for children's play sand boxes, but the more expensive hobby stuff is also graded by size. P.S. -- If you want to order some of Walt Smith's Fiji live sand from Fiji, you can order it through these folks: http://www.reefermadness.us/RM-LiveRock.htm
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Ninong |
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#10 |
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Citizen
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so the "live Sand" they sell in baggs sealed with water is not true live sand?
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#11 | |
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Quote:
Live sand not only contains beneficial bacteria, it also contains lots of tiny beneficial wormy critters and microscopic crustaceans that are mostly too small to see without a microscope. If you are lucky, it might even contain critters that are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. The so-called live sand that is sold under brand names such as Arag-Alive is not the same thing at all. All it contains is dormant bacteria that supposedly has a shelf live of six months or so. I wouldn't say that it is shipped in bags sealed with water, it is merely moist. So I guess if you are talking about stuff that is packed in water, then maybe it is live sand. Even if it is live sand, the quality can vary significantly depending on the handling. I hope this hasn't added to the confusion but I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing or not. ![]()
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Ninong |
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#12 |
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Citizen
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http://www.petco.com/search/mercado_...ntry=live+sand
this stuff i think is what you were talking about. I was at PetCo the other day and saw the sand in a bag. I had water in it as well. Not sure if this is same type or brand i saw there. But even if it is sealed with water in bag with sand it is still not live? This bag i saw was laying flat on the shelf and you could se the water in it.. matter of fact i was suprprised to see it packaged like this. Wondered how they keep it from busting open during shipping. I was not just moist, but could put my hand on bag and move water around. Can i just go buy some dry sand put in a bucket with my salt water and a live rock and let it run for a few days to cure it? do you have more links for Live sand and regular tank sand you use that is not live? |
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#13 | |
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Quote:
You can buy it if you want to as long as you understand that it is not really live sand. There are lots of sand products on the market. The ones sold at LFS are naturally more profitable for them and more expensive for you. I see no reason to put the sand in a bucket of salt water with a live rock first. Just put it in your tank. It does not have to "cure" first. This is not like buying uncured live rock. I have no idea what is available in your area. If you live in Washington state, maybe you could ask Kevinpo for advice. He's a moderator on this board.
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Ninong |
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#14 |
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Citizen
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i understand what you are saying about it not being live sand.. what i was trying to ask was.. what kind of sand do i buy? just regular dry sand from home depot?
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#15 | |
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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People in the Northeast have access to Southdown (Oldcastle) and Yardright sand but it is not available all over the country. It is calcareous sand and it sells for around $3.50/50-lb bag. In other parts of the country most hobbyists have to pay more and buy Carib-Sea http://www.carib-sea.com/Carib1.htm or Pure Aragonite http://www.purearagonite.com/ -- those are two brand names. Also, ESV http://www.esvco.com/prod5.html sells a very fine oolitic aragonite sand but they're in Brooklyn, NY and shipping is expensive. Most LFS carry Carib-Sea sands. Expect to pay about $25/30-lb bag. Get mostly the Aragamax sugar-sized sand and maybe a small amount (no more than 10% by weight) of something with a little larger particle size. P.S. -- If you live in Washington, DC you can find Southdown sand. If you live in Washington state you're out of luck.
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Ninong |
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#16 |
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Spokane Valley WA
Posts: 2,460
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Hello,
I recomend Acrotropic (it is the same as Pure Aragonite brand) fine oolitic aragonite sand. IMO/IME this type of sand works the best for small gobies and looks the best. It is $36.99 for a 50lb pail. I would seed it with a couple of pounds of live sand from your LFS tank or another local reefkeeper. Regards, Kevin
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SPSguy On - On |
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#17 |
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Citizen
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well i just talked to a buddy who may trade me his 100 gal for my 50gal. he just moved into asmaller house and wants the smaller tank. So if so ill put down sand. I dont really plan on seeding it because i have so much LR with enough on that to do the job i think. sux about 25-35 around here cmpared to 3.50 down there tho.
what if i just went to the beach here and got me some from there? |
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#18 | ||
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 20,691
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Quote:
Quote:
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Ninong |
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#19 |
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Citizen
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ok thanks .. i guess ill just buy it then.
you have been a great help so far .. |
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#20 |
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Owner
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Bardstown, KY
Posts: 13,161
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Why not just go to a local reef club meeting and ask some feelow reefers to supply you with a small cup from their tanks to kick off a dead sand bed? Then you could get the CaribSea Fine Grade Aragonite sand to establish a depth of 4"+ and use these cups of live sand from local reefers to start developing the live sand bed?
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