Saltwater substrate?

[dave00gt]

I got my brother the saltwater tank bug, now he wants to start one.

He currently has a 32 gallon tank , and he is about to start the cycle and we are currenty debating on what substrate to use on a budget and about how many lbs we need for his 32 gallon tank.

i was thinking , sand or sand w/ crushed corral.

if we get the sand we will buy the bacteria liquid to be introduced in to the sand , and get a small shrimp to introduce ammonia , and then take it out within 2-3 days cause it stinks .

but should we get this sand , its the only thing we got close and cheap


http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.as...1&N=0&Ntt=sand



http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

[Reefland]

Hi Dave,

The liquid bacteria is useless, don't bother spending any money on it. For a substrate, I would go with the smallest particle sized aragonite sand you can find and get enough for 3"+.

[dave00gt]

Hi Dave,

The liquid bacteria is useless, don't bother spending any money on it. For a substrate, I would go with the smallest particle sized aragonite sand you can find and get enough for 3"+.

so aragonite it is then.


thanks!

[The R/C Man]

Scott,

Are you DSB guy?

[CSeaSee]

Certainly not to diss the sand guys, but I have successfully kept my 55-gallon for three years with crushed coral. I'm switching to sand now more for asthetic reasons than anything else. Granted, it's just fish and softies, and it's been a pretty light bioload, but it's worked pretty well for me.

[dave00gt]

Certainly not to diss the sand guys, but I have successfully kept my 55-gallon for three years with crushed coral. I'm switching to sand now more for asthetic reasons than anything else. Granted, it's just fish and softies, and it's been a pretty light bioload, but it's worked pretty well for me.

my next 125 gallon tank will be sand. i think i will go with dark black marine sand.;)

[Reefland]

Scott,

Are you DSB guy?

It depends on the setup. I like the BB effect in our 75 and would probably go BB in anything smaller than a 75, but anything larger I would go with a DSB.

[Little Luey]

The substrate for me:

Nothing at all. I am BB and loving it. I plan on having my cutting board covered with coraline algie, Zoos and sea grass.

[Reefland]

I like it too, but don't think I would try it in anything larger than a 75gal. Too much maintenance in a very large tank.

[The R/C Man]

Hey Guys!

I have done some reading by well known aquariasts and I have come to the conclusion that although there are pros and cons for all, a shallow bed and a fuge seem to provide the best results. I know that many people are successful with their set up no matter which one they are running but long term success is the goal.

[cichlidfort]

The deeper the sand bed, the less problems you will have down the road. A deep sand bed for a tank such as 4+ inches gives an ideal depth for your critters that live within it and will also reduce nitrates, ammonia and nitrites a lot. And don't make the same mistake I made. I got aragonite sand from drfostersmith.com which was extrememly fine. It was like powder almost and it clouded my tank beyond crazy. My tank had a thick cloud of unsettled sand for 4 days and even still after it was settled, it was still cloudy and could easily get stirred up.

I would go with a not to fine live aragonite sand but if life sand is to much just go with the non live.

[Reefland]

I'll add some varying opinions here.

4+" of fine grade aragonite sand, seeded with various collected live sands and with various detritivore kits was the recommendation for a long time, and still is. The fine silt that causes the initial cloud in a tank is yet another beneficial particle size for the DSB composition. There are some opinions that say these DSB's are problematic and accumulate waste and phosphate that will eventually leach and crash a tank. DSB proponents claim this is because the DSB was not properly maintained.

This moves people to shallower sand beds (2-3") and the proponents here claim that is has the same nitrate reducing capabilities. The particle size recommendation is the same, sugar sized aragonite. For the filtering capacity, the sand bed should again be seeded with other live sand sources and detritivores.

Then there are the proponents of BB tanks who say that DSB's or SBS's are note effective, not worth the effort or cause problems in a tank that wants very high amounts of internal flow. Obviously there is no filtering capabilities with a BB however with enough flow and proper maintenance any accumulated waste is mechanically or manually removed.

[Little Luey]

I went BB for my new tank and I have not have any algie problems on my tank for 2 or 3 months now, also diched the Oceanic salt mix and stick to Instant Ocean, coincidence? maybe, but I am happier with my tank this way.
I still respect those who want sand in their tanks.

[Reefland]

Where's a picture at Luey?

[The R/C Man]

Yes the deep sand bed may reduce nitrates, but as mentioned above there can be issues with them over time. Which is why a nice refugium is so great. Incorporating live algae and even Xenia with reduce the nitrates in the tank and eliminate problems of the dsb. Many people have different opions on this topic. There was an article in Coral magazine (I'll get the issue # for you guys later) and it describes the different methodiologies and the pros and cons of each. It is a good article! I have run a shallow bed 1-2" and fuge for three years with no nitrates present. There is no build up of deterus in the bottom of my sand bed because it is not deep enough for them to accumulate. So for me, this works. If a BB or DSB works for you then stick with it. With that said however, the pros for a shallow bed and fuge out weigh the pros for either the BB or DSB. Just do some reading. Not on the boards nessesarily but in books as well.....

[sparkflame7]

hi i need to know about calurpa Taxifolia and algaes/fungis that can kill it

[Ninong]

hi i need to know about calurpa Taxifolia and algaes/fungis that can kill it

Hi sparkflame7, welcome to Reefland!

I'm afraid I don't understand your question? Caulerpa taxifolia is an alga. You want to know what algae or fungus might kill it?



Are you trying to kill some C. taxifolia? If so, where? Are you talking about eradicating invasive C. taxifolia from areas where it is not a native species, such as the Mediterranean?