stupid sand wont stop moving!!!

[kien]

Originally Posted by Milad

Ok WTH is going on. I flatten the sand out a bit and then it starts pilling up near the power heads. And i mean big piles, like 5-6inches high close the power heads.

And then around the rocks it goes to bare bottom. Ideas on how to keep it in one place? The power heads are towards the bottom of the tank pointed slightly up, should they be up top instead?

those powerheads have a lot of pull at the grills (as they draw in water). Personally I think they are placed too low if you plan on having a sandy bottom. I suspect the piles are due to the pull of water towards the powerheads. The only two options I can think of is to A) Raise your powerheads, or B) take out a lot of sand. Only have a dusting of sand on your bottom, like 1/2" to 1". For what it is worth, my 6105s are 5 or 6 inches from the water surface, pointed straight down the length of the tank on either side. Flow bounces off the opposite end of the tank and returns through the centre of the tank (where all the coral and rock work is), plus there is some return below the level of the powerhead. Kind-sorta like a gyre.

As for the bare spots around the rock, well, I think that's just the dynamics of the general flow. Looks like lots of flow is hitting the rocks and swirling around the rocks causing the bare spots. This is generally a good thing if you had a bare bottom as it would help kick up detritus and keep it suspended so that it is filtered out. However, not such a great thing for sandy bottom lovers. Again, moving the powerheads up should help, but then keeping in mind that you will likely have some dead spots around the base of your rock structure if there isn't sufficient open space around the rocks for flow (that is, you have lots of rocks piled and stacked on the bottom).

In the end it becomes a balancing act and a delicate one at that. What kind of flow do you want vs what kind of substrate. Powerheads and sand do not play well together unfortunately.