birth of 2 builds totaling 30k gallons
- Thread starter hedgedrew
- Start date
Probably Ted told you about it
Think the only problem with heaver media on top to hold stuff down would be a NO3 trap of the food the fish can't get. I remember I had a set up for African cichlids long ago with heaver stones for the gravel, and when I finely tool it all down,.....what a mess that came out with the gravel :thumbdown
Your a thinker Andrew,...I'm sure you will come up with the right combo for your build.---Rick
I understand that,...but it would take a huge clean-up crews ie sand sifting stars,sea cucumbers, Ceriths ect.ect. depending how large the substrate you choose to use, if your also trying for massive flow,...its going to trap food the fish don't catch,... I think Andrew is planning on a rather large fish load. And lets not forget that clean-up crews also will contribute to some NO3 from the waste they discharge. Kind of a catch22 massive flow without a sand strom. Think a dump system would help the sand problem, but if you don't have the room,...you don't have the room.
---Rick
---Rick
dave.m
Active member
Sorry, I don't see this as a problem at all. A live sand clean-up crew is part of the total biosphere of the reef, and a major part of the enjoyment thereof, in my opinion. There really is no need to overfeed to the extent that you describe, regardless of the size of the tank or the fish load.
And if you ever get the inclination, you can always vacuum a part of the sandbed each week to ensure things are not getting out of hand. Doing this just once should give you an indication of the state of your sandbed and whether you need to continue such cleaning in future.
Dave.M
And if you ever get the inclination, you can always vacuum a part of the sandbed each week to ensure things are not getting out of hand. Doing this just once should give you an indication of the state of your sandbed and whether you need to continue such cleaning in future.
Dave.M
I understand,...I think you need to attack mechanically some how. The gravel size is fine line to get the balance,....no sandstorm vs. no food trapping. A finer sand the fish will continue eating what might bet laying on the surface that they can see. Now some wrasses will root through the substrate,...good and bad. I use to have some large puffers...nice fish, but real pigs. They would take silversides out of my hand, chew them up spit it out, repeat 4 or 5 times, most of the silversides would end up in the gravel. Dam things were always hungry because they spit 1/2 of their meal out. Guess the type of fish you choose comes into play also.
humaguy
Premium Member
guilty...that was me...
he got in a few small interrupta, I think 1 is left...also had some tiny regals....maze...
Aquatron
Refugium pat.#D414,242
You could always run air under your sand to flip automatically or as stated above vacuumed the top 2 to 3" will not hurt micro fauna. Also check out Tropic Eden Reef Flakes(great product) no sand storms with high flow......just a word with Reef Flakes there is a long awaited sea train of it heading to US now already being pre sold..word on the street could be the last for a long time of Reef Flakes?
So based on what I saw on reefs. There was a sea cucumber almost every few feet in lagoons and reefs. I'll be adding plenty. They were in both fine sand and larger gravel size shore lines. Lastly what do you all do regarding fish jumping and covers if anything at all. Just lost a goldflake that decided it was time for a dive. And constantly loose fairy wrasses who turn into bacon from lights of the floor. Don't want to block lights of bulbs for reef and sps. I see ny aquatic has some nice flasher wrasses. But they usually get chased and end up by my closed loop pump under the tank somehow. That's with it enclosed pretty much.
The little group of regals were cute! Few post back was talk about how smaller fish in groups might fair better than a single larger fish purchases.
I have read threads on bird netting used to protect your garden I suppose. I seen some at Lowes. I'm planning on looking into it further for the same reason. I seen some black 3/8 x 3/8 pvc netting/fencing also, then they make the frame from aluminum window screen materials. There are threads on RC.
dave.m
Active member
For such a large tank you my need to go with the 0.5" bird netting. I don't know if you will be able to get plastic window screen in the size you want. Build frames with aluminum window screen framing pieces available at most hardware stores (along with the bird netting).
Dave.M
Dave.M
