Chronicle of my 180g Aquarium

I'm the friend Fliger mentioned who has had the black sand for a year. It does show the detritus but I really don't mind because it tells me where I need to clean and where my dead spots are. If you let it go and don't keep up then it might start to look unsightly. I think it handles flow a little better. No sand storms just a few rolling canyons.

I absolutely love the way the colors pop at you. To match I also have the back panel black acrylic.

Phil
 
Cool. Thanks for poppin' in! What do you use specifically for siphoning the detritus out, or do you just stir it up? Do you use a lot of sand sifters or any creatures to maintain your sand bed? Is it shallow or deep? Mine is holding up alright sofar, but it's pretty new yet.
 
Hi Pysire,
Sorry for not getting back to you. Fish came down with ich and been getting the big QT set up.

Usually I just use a 1/2" hose and carefully siphon out the detritus. Sometimes I use a plastic fork rubber banded to the hose to help stir up the top layer and use the hose to suck what ever I stirred up right out. Just the very top. Its 4-6" deep depending where the flow made the valleys.

Since I was trying to keep a DSB with lots of sand critters I don't have real sand sifters. A couple conchs, lots of nassarius, bristleworms, small brittle stars, mysids, amphipods and some asterina do a pretty good job.

Cheers,
Phil
 
I like the black sand look but starboard is probably the way to go for easy of use... where can someone get black starboard?

If i wanted to glue a layer of black sand onto the starboard what kind of exopy should i use...

Thanks
 
Beautiful set-up! I've been following from the beginning and you've done a great job. I have the same skimmer as you on my 110, just got it set-up yesterday. What psi are you running yours at? I currently have mine set at 35 psi but am wondering if a higher psi might be more beneficial.
 
Bebo77 said:
I like the black sand look but starboard is probably the way to go for easy of use... where can someone get black starboard?

If i wanted to glue a layer of black sand onto the starboard what kind of exopy should i use...

Thanks
Click to expand...

Envirotek Lite
 
Kelly said:
Beautiful set-up! I've been following from the beginning and you've done a great job. I have the same skimmer as you on my 110, just got it set-up yesterday. What psi are you running yours at? I currently have mine set at 35 psi but am wondering if a higher psi might be more beneficial.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I'm running my skimmer at the same, 35 scfh. I find it's working fairly well at that rate. I've been adjusting my backpressure more so than my air. I haven't really had it running long enough to have it tuned just right yet. I still overflow it the odd time...
 
Well my Wife plays the drums and I 'used' to play around with my keyboard & computer. That was until... well this saltwater thing. lol
 
Psyire... is that what starboard is? Cutting board material? never seen it so i am asking...

What type of "glue" can can i put on the starboard if i want to put a layer of sand down on it.

Also, what product can i use that would produce hills and mounds, to give a true sand look?
 
Bebo, try searching for 'faux sandbed'. You should be able to turn up some information this way. I believe you have to use an epoxy to stick the sand to it.

When I was deciding on what substrate to use, I looked into doing something similar to what you have planned. However I realized it was a lot of work for nothing as the entire bottom 'fake' sandbed would get covered in coralline algae and you wouldn't see it anyway.

I would suggest using starboard (cuttingboard) by itself if you want to do a barebottom. Unfortunately I don't believe there is a 'sand bed looking' barebottom alternative yet. IMO
 
Thats what i was thinking.. i have not been able to find anything that would create a "real looking" sandbed. I was hoping maybe you did. Thanks Psyire...

How is the sand bed looking now? any new changes?
 
It's doing alright still. The only problem I'm having is keeping my Tunze's from moving it around too much. I think I'm going to add another 20 lbs. or so around the edges as it seems to have 'moved inward' and away from the glass. I still have to do some more playing with my tunze placement as well.
 
What if you were to place a Tunze wave maker in there?

What would that do to the black sand?

Would it help keep it black with the constant movement?
 
Do you mean the Tunze wavebox? I'm going to assume you do and it's not an option for me due to the way my overflow is designed.

I have noticed though that my Goby definately does help keep my sand looking black. (through sifting)
 
Thanks

Yeah, I find this hobby a continual learning experience. Plus, I find things are made easier by learning from other peoples mistakes as much as possible.
 
Bebo77

That is a really cool idea, that's a thread I'll have to take the time to read it. I like the look of sand but really don't want to have to deal with maintenance in my large display once it is up. I just can't go BB it takes away from the overall appearance of the system IMO.
 
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