SAND OR NO SAND
 

:question:I am up-grading to a 300 from my 210, the question I have is if I should put sand in the tank or not. It is going to be a full sps tank with a few clams. Filtration include biopellets, large skimmer and a small refugium, plus I will be dosing some zeo additive.

Personally, I don't like the look of a bare bottom tank. One thing to consider though is that you'll likely have lots of flow in an SPS tank, so don't pick a fine grain sand. Something a little bigger is better, otherwise your sand will blow around a lot... you likely already know that though!

That's the predicament I am faced with. I got 4x6105 and a wavebox. Some times when the pump gets bumped by a fish and it will start a sand storm. I think I am gonna go with a bare-bottom for starters and if I don;'t like the look of it I'll just add a bit of sand.

I have 2 6105s in a 160... with 2 waveboxes... theres a little sand blowing, but for the most part, you just need to aim the 6105s... should be good from there.

Probably a lot easier than the other way around.

HAHA 10-4 on that :mrgreen:

I also don't personally like the look of a bare bottom. 1-2 inches is nice.

Does any one think that fine sand particles can cause a sand blasting effect on the sps coral, or am I just crazy? I get way better PE when I turn down the flow on my pumps and the water has less particulates. just curious if anyone has experience that before?

I use fine sand, and have 2 MP40W powerheads, also until recentlay had 2 #4 Koralias wavemakers going as well. Never had any issue with sand. But again my tank height is 27inches.

Yes I've experienced this myself. One reason I put my filter socks back on.

Same here. Floating particulate would reduce PE on my acros.

IMO, you can never have too much flow! Blowing sand is just a matter of aiming the PH up a little higher so the flow doesn't disturb the sand. The particulates are what our filter feeders consume. Less flow and problems like GHA or cyano arise.

BBlinks, I believe your new 300G is also 27" tall right?

It will be 27 tall, but even with the 210 sitting at 29 I still see a lot of stuff floating around even with filter sock in place.

btw I didnt like your comment in my pm box. A$$HOLE.:mrgreen:

Depends on whose it is...:mrgreen: LOL! Sorry, couldn't resist!

I keep a 6-8" DSB. Haven't touched it in 2 years. Corals are healthy. No problem with nuisance algae. Water parameters are 0 phosphates, 0 nitrates. DSB is a good option IMO.

What kind of corals do you keep in your tank?

I had a problem with my 6205 PHs where they would slip and point downward into the sand bed. It drove me crazy. I complained to Tunze and they suggested squeezing the C clamps to tighten the grip. I did this but was worried about breaking them if I squeezed too hard. After my first attempt, there was little improvement. I then asked Tunze again what I should do and they said squeeze harder - if they break, we will replace them. So, I squeezed to the point where I felt the C tighten. They did not break and they have never slipped since. Perhaps not an elegant solution, but it solved my problem.

I vote for having a sand bed. Get some sand sifting gobies to keep it clean. My sand bed is always white. I opted for a 1" sand bed in my bigger tank and it works well. I might increase the depth to 1.5" one day, but for now it's fine.

I like the DSBs too, but they do require more thought and need to be properly seeded with micro and macro fauna.

- Brad

Hi Brad.

It's always good to get your input. I think you are right about having a inch of sand just so it will make maintenance much less time consuming, and of course make the tank look more natural. The commander(wife) also agrees with the a thin layer of sand. So inch of sand it is.
Thanks everyone who voted and taken the time to reply to the thread.
Rich