Newbie with questions.

Got Bait · #1 05/10/2006, 09:26 PM

Hey all, new to the forum. I am in the process of setting my 55 gal. tank back up. I used to have it set up about a year ago until the hurricanes messed my house up and what not. But now I'm starting over. First question is, what would be better sand from the beach or crushed coral. My last tank I had it was sand and was a little bit cloudy. The reason why I don't know which to choose from is because I want to have a few little blue crabs in it and I want them to be comfortable. My last tank only lasted about 2 weeks because the nitrate levels spiked when I put a few mole crabs or "sand fleas" in it and they rotted. Stupid mistake on my part. To add, the species I will e putting in my tank would be possibly, small whiting, pompano, snook, mullet, menhaden, redfish. Also a few shrimp to. Any tips or comments will be appreciated. Thanks, Jay!

Blown 346 · #2 05/10/2006, 09:29 PM

Neither sand from the beach or crushed coral, unless you boil and rinse the sand very well to rid all the bacteria.
Crushed coral will just land you with Nitrate problems since it holds Detritus in its crevices and allows food and waste to rot inside and under it.
With sand just make sure to rinse all the dust out out of it if it is store bought. and if not just rinse, rinse,rinse.

Got Bait · #3 05/10/2006, 09:47 PM

So what should I use? If I take beach from the sand I should boil it?

Sk8r · #4 05/10/2006, 09:51 PM

Bagged aragonite will do well.

I've done a freshwater 'local fish' aquarium: it was instructive to say the least. I finally had to put a goldfish in there as the only place i had to put him in an emergency---he straightway ate a catfish and went about 3 days with the living tail hanging out of his mouth. I hope you're in compliance iwth local restrictions, but it sounds like an interesting project.

Do get ro/di water: I know that's a nice ocean out there, but there's too much pollution close to shore (another reason for not using the sand)---you don't have the whole backwash of the ocean to suck it up. So give your critters clean water and clean sand for starters.

Blown 346 · #5 05/10/2006, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Got Bait
So what should I use? If I take beach from the sand I should boil it?

If you do use beach sand, thean yes I would boil it to kill off any bacteria. If that gets into your tank it can cause major problems, that is why it isnt wise to grab Liverock of thebeachand just plop it into your tank.

ratziel · #6 05/10/2006, 11:02 PM

If you were going to use sand, I would just get some playsand from HomeDepot or someplace like that. It's already clean.

Got Bait · #7 05/11/2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
Bagged aragonite will do well.

I've done a freshwater 'local fish' aquarium: it was instructive to say the least. I finally had to put a goldfish in there as the only place i had to put him in an emergency---he straightway ate a catfish and went about 3 days with the living tail hanging out of his mouth. I hope you're in compliance iwth local restrictions, but it sounds like an interesting project.

Do get ro/di water: I know that's a nice ocean out there, but there's too much pollution close to shore (another reason for not using the sand)---you don't have the whole backwash of the ocean to suck it up. So give your critters clean water and clean sand for starters.

What is Aragonite? Aldo what is RO/ DI water. I wasn't planning on using the ocean. I was just going to fill the tank up with the hose and use that sea salt stuff.

Amy83820 · #8 05/11/2006, 01:50 PM

Don't use tap water or ocean water and definitely not the hose! (mold, bacteria, and heaven knows what else growning in a hose). You need to either get a Ro/Di to make pure water or possibly buy it from your lfs.
I used to live in Florida and you couldn't pay me to use sand from the beach or h20 straight from the ocean. Way too polluted! It's also illegal to take the rock in some areas. Besides, if you're close to the ocean, i'm sure you're aware of the 'red tide.' That would shut down your tank pretty quick.

Got Bait · #9 05/11/2006, 04:48 PM

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Sorry for the ridiculous questions. I came across this site that sells aragonite and was wondering which kind would be best. http://www.carib-sea.com/pages/produ...aragonite.html

MCary · #10 05/11/2006, 05:20 PM

I like their special grade reef sand. The oolite or sugar sized sand in great but makes sand storms until it settles down which can take a couple months, especially if you have sand sifting fish like a sleeper head.

salreus · #11 05/11/2006, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Aldo what is RO/ DI water

RO/DI from one of RC's sponsers marine depot

"RO and RO/DI systems help to remove impurities from your water: such as chlorine, chloramines, pesticides, phosphates, heavy metals and many others. Some of these impurities can lead to the growth of nuisance algae, while others may cause much bigger problems. The DI (De-Ionizing) cartridge does an excellent job removing phosphates, silicates and nitrates. They are highly recommend for reef tanks and will also work great for fish-only tanks. Numerous installation accessories are available for these units. The most useful accessory is a drinking water kit so you can also use the RO (or RO/DI) unit for drinking water"

you make RO water from TAP water. The water if filtered first, then forced through a membrane that only allows pure water to escape. The rest is waste water. Then this pure water will be further filtered through a DI filter if you have one. DI isn't as necessary as a R/O and the DI can always be added at a later time.