crushed coral or sand
- Thread starter soundgeek
- Start date
Kaos
"Lurker"
Definitely go w/ sand. When I got into SW I used CC in my first two FO tanks and even w/ RO/DI water w/ a TDS of 5 or less I still got hair algae bad. And like danorth said keep it 1/2" or less unless you want to go DSB then you want atleast 4"-6". But it seems DSB's have fallen out of favor here.
I have done sand, CC, and bare bottom in FO/FOWLR....
I'd first recommend BB. However once VERY VERY thoroughly rinsed CC is okay. No real problems with algae, just be able to vacuum properly with a "python" type device.
Hope this helps...
PS Sand looks great but is a nightmare long term.
I'd first recommend BB. However once VERY VERY thoroughly rinsed CC is okay. No real problems with algae, just be able to vacuum properly with a "python" type device.
Hope this helps...
PS Sand looks great but is a nightmare long term.
Can you tell me more about the long term nightmare. I am just trying to get everything in order. My tank was setup since febuary and a bulkhead started leaking so I completely tore the tank down and put the fish and rock in another tank I have. I had about 90lbs of crushed coral that I put into buckets with water. The tank is now ready to be set back up but people are telling me that the cc in buckets will be no good and cause a major cycle. Since I am resetting it back up I thought now would be a time to fix all the things i didn't like about it.
Kaos
"Lurker"
It seems some people have had to remove their DSB's after a few years due to algae issues and param's going crazy. I'm not convinced that the DSB is the whole problem, and if it is I believe it is due to lack of a complete understanding of how a DSB works and not up keeping it properly. I've seen tanks that have run a type of DSB for many years w/ no problem. I've got a DSB in my new setup (FO/FOWLR) and I am going to be trying different things to see if I can avoid the bad experience others have had. Only time will tell. There is too much going on (biologically) in our tanks for someone to completely understand every aspect. That's why I feel there are different ways to setup and mantain SW tanks.
stykthyn
New member
I have had the same sand in my display for goingon 5 years with no issues. all the critters and corals are happy. the only drawback that I can see is that you are limited to the amount of waterflow going to the bottom of the tank. I spend a lot of time siphoning the detritus up where as with cc you can aim a powerhead at the botttom of the tank to stir it up and you filter can catch it. This just makes a big mess with sand and will take about a day for the water to clear again.
SaltyMember
Premium Member
For my FO I went with a larger grain aragonite sand. I forget which brand it was but it was labeled reefgrade. I think the grain size was 2-3 mm. It is large enough to vaccuum without causing a mess like the very fine oolitic sand.
Well I got some sand. It isn't to fine. I went with 30lbs and it covers the bottom by almost an inch. Now I need to but the tank back together and get the fish out of my temporary tank. My dogface puffer got sucked into a powerhead. The left side is streched out. It looks bad be he is acting normal and doing his thing. I hope it heals. I felt sorry for him, he is the first fish I got for this tank. Thanks for the sand advice.
