abcha0s' 300G Ultimate Reef

[abcha0s]

I had a DSB in my 90G display and I really liked it. However, for this tank I decided that a shallow sand bed would be easier to manage.

In selecting a sand, I looked at color and grain size. Specifically, I wanted a larger grain that would not get blown around by the high flow in the tank. I selected Caribsea Arag-Alaive Special Grade Reef Sand.

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Note: On occasion, I've had my Tunze 6205 powerheads slip in their mounting clamp and end up pointing straight down into the sand bed. When this happens, the larger grain size has basically saved me from disaster. The powerhead pushes the sand aside and exposes the bottom of the tank, but the sand hasn't been blown up into the water column. This is a good sand for high flow tanks.

I should explain that in hind sight, I think the Arag-Alive product line is a little bit confusing and I would not purchase it again. The reason for this is how the weight is calculated. What I learned after the fact is that the water the sand is packed in is calculated as part of the net weight. This could easily be as much as 25% - On a very small tank I could maybe see the benifits, but on most tanks this is just wasting money. I do like the sand, just not the fact that I paid for 50+ pounds of water! One benefit of the Arag-Alive is that it comes pre-washed - I guess that adds some value.

At this time I have added 240 pounds of sand. With the water weight, lets call this at 200 pounds.

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