Sand bed advice

M_55G

Active member
Hey everyone, I'm about to tranfer the occupants of my 40 br to a 60g cube. The sand bed in my 40b has turned hard in certain areas, it has been like that for awhile. My question is why did it happen. I will be adding new live sand to my cube and would like to prevent this from happening again.


Thanks
 
i'm +1 with the Diamond Goby BUT i wont recommend having any coral on the sand bed or 4" above the sand bed the Diamond will create a sand storm and cover ALL your coral on the bottom.

There is also sand sifting start fish that will help BUT also will eat all of your small beneficial bugs in the sand and eventually die or melt away.
 
well I would not do Diamond Goby right away...the reason they do that to the sand is that they are actually trying to feed :) What I would use are nasarith snails and sandsifting star. Also with goby you always have to becareful with carpet surfing.
 
I can't think of the word. But this is common. What sand did you use?

Ive had this happen also. When I upgraded to the 200 the bottom of my 120 was almost a 2" concrete block. I got rid of it all and started with fresh sand.

I searched it when it was happening, and as Marvin says, its common. It has something to do with Calcium and how it reacts with sand. It was a little too technical for my chemistry knowledge.
 
Ive had this happen also. When I upgraded to the 200 the bottom of my 120 was almost a 2" concrete block. I got rid of it all and started with fresh sand.

I searched it when it was happening, and as Marvin says, its common. It has something to do with Calcium and how it reacts with sand. It was a little too technical for my chemistry knowledge.

Same here. Before I went BB, I had a healthy sand bed. Over time it began to harden until almost 50% of the tanks bottom surface was completely solidified.
 
I can't think of the word. But this is common. What sand did you use?

Calcified ??? i cant think of the name right now i know its called samoa pink or fiji pink. i got it from all fish. I used the same brand in my 55 and biocube and didnt have this issue. As far as diamond gobies go i dont have a top on the 40 but the 60 will allow a screen top. Ill grab a couple sand sifters for the new setup for sure.
 
+1 on barebottom. as far as standsifters go, I would add a bunch of nasarrius snails initially and then purchase a diamond goby that is already eating prepared foods from the water column once the tank has been established for a little while.
 
+1 on the BB my new build is going to be BB.

3a6egy7y.jpg
 
+1 on the BB my new build is going to be BB.

3a6egy7y.jpg

What kind of tile did you use on your tank and did you secure them somehow to eachother? Also what's the purpose of tile on a BB?

Also sand sifting stars are a good idea, I have 2 of them but be careful of those nasarius snails if you have small clams. I added a small clam and the next day it was gone. I found the nasarius snail attached to it.
 
=but be careful of those nasarius snails if you have small clams. I added a small clam and the next day it was gone. I found the nasarius snail attached to it.

OMG I THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH FOR THAT BIT OF INFO lol.
I had a Ora maxima which was about 2-3" in there for maybe 3 months and a couple days after I added a few nasarius it was completely gone I assumed this has to do with my sand problem. The fact that it died so quickly out of know where drove me nuts.
 
Back
Top