conflicting info regarding sand

[uncle_gazza]

Hey Guys,

I'm still a begginner (about to re-set my tank up after all my fish died in December) and have been getting mighty confused by all the conflicting info I've been reading. I'm wondering if any of you guys could clear something up for me:

In a fish only tank (280 litres/55 gallons) what kinda ammount of coral sand should I have? I have read some books which say 5 inches, and others which say none!

Also, I have read somewhere that I should be using gravel, not sand...any truth to this?

Thanks
Uncle (confused) Gazza.

[jeffb3t]

Gazza. Welcome to RC. you will find all kinds of info here.. For your sand bed I would personally go for a 1-2 inch bed with the nice sand you find at you local hardware store. You said you are going for a fish only (FO) tank right? I would highly recommend some live rok to go with it. It will act as your biological filter but I would still recommend a good skimmer as well. For a fish only lighting isn't important but I woul hightly recommend you think about you future upgrades on this tank and if you will make it a reef later on down the road. If so, spend you money on a good set of lights. Do some searches on VHO, T-5, MH and CF lights. also while you are at it search for some of Water keeper threads for people starting tanks. I can't find the link right now but someone will chime in and post it for me. Read as much as you can and always post if you have questions. There is a wealth of info available here.

[mg426]

Another vote for the skimmer. a skimmer pulls organic crap from the water before it has a chance to cause problems and will lessen the load on your biological filtration. makes things so much easier to maintain. Just read up and get a good one, beware that there is lots of junk out there too.

[uncle_gazza]

Thanks guys - appreciate your help

[jeffb3t]

There is a lot of junk skimmers out there so just remember, you get what you pay for. While you are at it, I would also look at an RO/DI filter. Good water = less problems.

[mg426]

Good water less problems, Rock on !!!!

[lawmary]

I have a BB (bare bottom) tank, with a lot of LR, and a separate refugium tank with live sand, about 3" deep. The reason I don;t have sand in my main tank is that after a few years, sometimes whatever is living in the sand can "go bad" and cause the tank to crash. I've had my tank for almost a year now, and it's easy to clean. There are animals that need sand beds to live in, so maybe you want to consider first what kind of animals you want to have and whether they need sand, and then decide whether or not to put sand in.