Alternatives for deep sand bed.

[75Gallons]

I'm trying to build a deep sand bed for under $200 which is about what i spent on it my first go around. I've read up on the Southdown/OldCastle/Yardright sand and have been unable to locate any. I've also read that a lot of people have used the silica based sand and haven't had any problems out of the ordinary (maybe increased diatoms). I'm looking for input from some of the more experienced reefers who have ever tried this. Have you had any problems with using pulverized limestone or silica based sand or a mixture?
http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=20091
A guy in this link shows some pics of his pulverized limestone in an established tank and it looks pretty good, I consider you all the experts though so advise away please.

[coralnub]

My advice would be not to skimp on the sand. It's really a minor cost compared to all the other things you'll spend money on.

I wouldn't use silica because you won't get the same microfauna in it due to the grain shape. If you can find southdown (I'm not sure it's produced anymore) that would be fine as it's the same material as bagged aquarium sand.

[edwing206]

Also, silica based sand will cut a sifter goby's mouth if you plan on having one.

[reefshadow]

I wouldn't use silica because you won't get the same microfauna in it due to the grain shape.

I would have to disagree with this based on observation of my own tanks and others that use silica sand. Dr Ron also did a classroom study at one time and the tank with the most sandbed microfauna turned out to be the one that was using silica sand. Mine is just loaded.

Also, silica based sand will cut a sifter goby's mouth if you plan on having one.

I don't have any first hand information on this, I have never kept a sand sifting goby due to the fact that they decimate sandbed fauna. Logic would tell me however, that since the largest percentage of the oceans sand is actually silica based, it simply cannot be true. There are sand-sifting fish and inverts the world over that have to feed and live with silica sand.

Silica is a great alternative IME.

JMO and JME!

[Engine 7]

Silca sand seems to work in reef aquariums but it doesnt look good in my opinion. Too shiney... It also wont buffer.

[reefshadow]

Well, I can kind of get behind the shiney part, if by that you mean really white. Mine doesn't have any of the pinkish and tannish grains you often get mixed in with aragonite, so it is very sparkley white. I like the look though, it looks very clean.

As far as PH buffering, some folks will say the effect of this with aragonite is negligible or doesn't exist at all. (I don't know, maybe in the deepest layers of a DSB, but when I was running aragonite I never noticed it disappearing at all, or a reduction in the amount of buffer I had to add). I always rely on chemicals or a reactor to keep my params in check.

The only real negative I've noticed over aragonite is it will scratch the glass terribly if it gets in the magfloat.

[75Gallons]

Thanks for the information everyone. Reefshadow how long have you had a tank with the silica sand and any serious problems with diatoms?

[edwing206]

Well I read about the silica sand yesterday in one of the threads. My bad.

[reefshadow]

I've been using silica sand on multiple tanks for at least 5 years. The current tank (the 240) has been up for maybe 2 1/2 years I think. Somewhere right around there.

I've never noticed any difference in diatoms as a result of using this sand. I get a regular thin layer of it on the glass, needs to be cleaned every 3-4 days. Never had any on my rocks or sand. No other problems with nuisance algae either.

Here are a few shots.




I would not recommend buying just any kind of "silica" sand however, they can contain varying ratios of minerals you wouldn't want in a reef tank. I use only Quickrete medium grade silica, it's an industrial sand. Any silica used should have a prominent warning on the bag, be bright white, and not yield any ferrous particles when run over with a mag.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[75Gallons]

Man, thats a beautiful tank. I'm so jealous. Nice work! How many gallons, lbs of rock ect. I think I may be able to use these photos to talk my lady into getting a bigger tank. Wish me luck.

[reefshadow]

Lol, thanks, 75!

The tank is 8x2x2, 240ish gallons. It's hard to estimate how much LR, it was obtained a bit at a time and lots of it came from previous tanks. Probably about 200 pounds though. 70 percent of the corals I already had as well.

I would actually regard it as kind of a "ghetto" set up, there is no sump, all the equipment except the 3 Seios is run out of the corner overflow on the right side, and alot of it is "low end" compared to what some folks spend. It works out for me though.

I totally lucked out on the tank, bought it from a guy in my state who had chinese water dragons in it. It was basically brand new though and only cost me 250 bucks, plus picking it up and transporting 200 miles. Silicone was perfect and all the labels were still on the tank. I had the overflows custom made in my area (there used to be 2) and siliconed them in myself. My husband made the stand and hood, and most of the other equipment was from previous tanks. The only thing I really bought especially for this tank was the Seios. The skimmer is modded and with a bigger pump it works fine for my bioload and corals.

If I could do everything over and had the money (hahahaha) I would have gone for a 4x4x2 240. Less light required and I just like the square tanks. Easier to aquascape the wider it is IMO. My husband would absolutely kill me if I wanted to do this over though, so this is it unless I win the lottery. He has had to make 3 stands and hoods for me so far, poor guy.

Good luck with your girl, lol.

[lReef_lKeeper]

i run a remote DSB in my sump. it is just a 5 gallon bucket full of sand with a moderate flow across the top of it. before i added this my nitrates would not fall below .5, and now they are 0 after the RDSB was added 2 months ago.