Sand or no sand?

[alexkharden]

Just like the title says, do aquariums stay healthier with sand or without it?

A guy I know swears that sand is the death of a tank. Says that any time the sand gets stirred up it'll cause ammonia spikes and phosphates, and in general ruin your tank. His tanks are all very, "utilitarian", looking with no sand, exposed pvc and pumps everywhere and live rock. He has fish and coral though, and they all appear to be doing well, so I don't know if he's right or not. I want to call BS, but I don't know enough about it all to make an informed objection. I see all of these beautiful tanks posted on here with 3-4 inches of sand, and that's exactly what I want, but now he's got me paranoid.

 

[drillsar]

Well here is the thing about sand or no sand:

If you want sand go with 2" or less

If you want a true DSB 4 - 6" that's another topic which I wont discuss here lol

However, bare bottom easier to maintain, parameters most likely be easier to control. I don't personally like the look though so I go with like 1.5" of sand in my tanks

 

[alexkharden]

True DSB?

 

[reefbroao]

that is just not true. It will not cause ammonia and phosphate spikes. If a sand bed is seriously tossed around and messed with after a long time it may release built up toxins but that is not something I would worry about. He is using a bare bottom tank which is much easier to clean but personally that ruins it for myself. I love the look of sand and to replicate a natural habitat. In fact some fish and creatures need sand to live in a tank.

 

[drillsar]

Deep Sand Bed 4 - 6" of sand which personally in my opinion more work than what it's worth.

I would go with shallow sand bed for a more natural look 1 - 2" of sand

 

[reefbroao]

a deep sand bed is a little too much for me as well. i love the look of a 2" sand bed

 

[drillsar]

here is a great article on DSB's

http://www.ronshimek.com/deep_sand_beds.html

 

[drillsar]

I am guessing new setup? Another advice is before adding sand is to place your live rock on pvc with holes in it.. I can show you what I mean if need be. Than add your sand around it. So lets say you want 2" of sand you cut pvc to 1" so critters and in case you get fish that like to dig under the sand rock doesnt crush them

 

[alexkharden]

Yes, new tank soon. I've read about the pvc before, does that accomplish the same thing as the eggcrate on the bottom ?

Yes, I love the look of sand too, so I'm very happy that he didn't know what he talking about, at least in this regard.

I've seen a lot of discussions on sand, is there any one type that is better than others? For instance, aragonite vs regular?

 

[drillsar]

yeah some people use both pvc and eggcrate. Aragonite sand is what you want, would recommend medium coarse sand not fine unless your going with dsb.

 

[drillsar]

I purchased my sand from Marco Rocks.. Pretty good sand.. Reefrocks I heard great shings with them but have a supplier problem right now.

 

[alexkharden]

That's actually exactly who I was thinking about getting my stuff from. You're saying you can't get reef rocks through them right now?

 

[drillsar]

reefrocks has a problem with sand supplier. Marcorocks doesnt

 

[alexkharden]

Oh, gotcha.

One thing I've read is that there are various types of LR, but I got the impression that Marcos only carries a couple. Any other good online resources for various LR types?

 

[tomreefer]

well if you want good hitchikers, good life on the rock try tampa bay saltwater that is live rock though and may have some pests but tampa bay saltwater is one of the best rocks in my opinion. I went with marco rocks for my tank this time.

Marco rocks is dry rock so it's not live. However, in time it will become live.

 

[alexkharden]

I actually do want hitchhikers I like surprises, especially when those surprises can end up benefiting my tank.

 

[tomreefer]

I would go with Tampa bay saltwater you will not be disappointed at all. Absolutely amazing life on rock. They ship it with water and depending how many lbs you want can be costly. Maybe do some dry and tampa bay 50/50 to reduce cost

 

[alexkharden]

That sounds like a good plan, maybe half Marco and half Tampa bay. From what I can tell, Marco has very good prices.

 

[C.Eymann]

I think the sand vs barebottom vs DSB can be one of the most debated topics in the hobby, however now it seems its the LED vs MH /T5 debate.

I personally like BB because of how easy it is to siphon out detritus, and when doing waterchanges, looking down and seeing a bucket full of filth muck, then replacing it with clean saltwater just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

 

[alexkharden]

Lol, that's the ocd in you crying out for placation ;-) If my wife had her way, my tank would be exactly like yours. I've seen some very nice BB setups, but I think for me it'll be sand all the way