Aragonite for high flow tank

[dp0350]

I am having a problem with suspended sand particles in my water. I though it was my goby but after watching closely for a week I have found out that its a combination of my high flow and the tiny particles in my live sand, the size is very inconsistent. I was online reef flakes and found this aragonite sand. Its between 2-5mm and seems to be of consistent size. I have want a 3-4 inch sand bed. Is this grain size just too big? What kinds of aragonite have been working well in high flow tanks?

 

[jimwat]

I am using 1" of 1 -2 mm (special grade) sand, which I think is big enough to allow good flow, but not so large that it will collect detritus. 3" - 4" is not really deep enough for a DSB. So unless your planning on housing critters that need to tunnel, your just using up tank real estate. Plus keeping the front glass clean below the sand is impossible without making a big mess when the sand is over an inch or two.

I have a modded MJ (1200 gph), a Tunze (1500 gph), a Koralia 4 (1200 gph), and a Mag 9.5 return (~600 gph @ 7') all in my 65. It took a few tries to get my PH positioned properly to not cause any "holes" getting dug in the sand. Now the only issue with dust ups are when my fish decided to forage.

 

[dp0350]

Jim:

Wow thats a lot of flow. You don't have any sand suspended in your water column?

 

[fatboyjoe]

I switched from southdown to the carib-sea special grade arogonite too. no more sandstorms.

 

[tbittner]

Special grade stays on the bottom in my tank too. There isn't any floating around.

 

[jimwat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12456658#post12456658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatboyjoe
I switched from southdown to the carib-sea special grade arogonite too. no more sandstorms.

This is what I am using also.

 

[jimwat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12456017#post12456017 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dp0350
Jim:

Wow thats a lot of flow. You don't have any sand suspended in your water column?

The only thing that stays suspended is the detritus and the fish food.

At the very worst, you'll might need to play around with your powerhead placement if you get holes/bare spots in your sand bed (usually in the corners of the tank).

BTW, my Tunze is on a oscillator (WavySea), which makes it much (much) easier to have a lot of flow without moving the sand around.

 

[mcrist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12457259#post12457259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimwat
BTW, my Tunze is on a oscillator (WavySea), which makes it much (much) easier to have a lot of flow without moving the sand around.

I tried that one time but unfortunately my Tunze loosened the fitting and ended up pointing straight down into the sand and created the worst sand storm I ever saw.

 

[jimwat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12457303#post12457303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcrist
I tried that one time but unfortunately my Tunze loosened the fitting and ended up pointing straight down into the sand and created the worst sand storm I ever saw.

Over the years I've had a powerhead or two come loose and make a mess, but it's always been those stupid suction cup mounts for me.

BTW, this is another good reason to NOT have a lot of extra sand. Mucking up a SSB is a mess. Mucking up sand thats been marinating 3" - 4" deep is a nightmare.

 

[mcrist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12457542#post12457542 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimwat
BTW, this is another good reason to NOT have a lot of extra sand. Mucking up a SSB is a mess. Mucking up sand thats been marinating 3" - 4" deep is a nightmare.

You got that right, my tank hasn't recovered from this and it was about a year ago. I think I might try BB.