Sand Bed Advice

Yeah. I was thinking about adding one or two Nassarius snails.

One possibly negative thing I'll say that may be related to my sand is that my alkalinity seems to want to be 2 meq/L. I have to dose everyday to keep it at 4 meq/L. This may be the sand, or it may be the natural salt water. Or both. Actually I think the water is part of it for sure come to think of it. The NSW I get seems to be low in alk and calcium.

 

Do you guys recommend any particular sand granule size? I'm not talking coral fragments vs. regular sand. I have some sand that is more like the size of sugar grains and also have sand that is slightly coarser (like you can see each grain quite clearly).

I have the coarser stuff (imported from the Philippines) in the tank but the finer grained sand I have not added yet because I noticed the size was quite different from what I already have.

Thanks.

 

The smaller the grain of sand, the greater the total area for denitrifying bacteria. The smaller the better,

 

Not sure how the two would mix now that you are set up. I'm tempted to say stick with what you have.

 

[quote author=Matt Rogers link=board=Sand;num=1094710160;start=0#10 date=10/22/04 at 12:55:27]Yeah. I was thinking about adding one or two Nassarius snails.

One possibly negative thing I'll say that may be related to my sand is that my alkalinity seems to want to be 2 meq/L. I have to dose everyday to keep it at 4 meq/L. This may be the sand, or it may be the natural salt water. Or both. Actually I think the water is part of it for sure come to think of it. The NSW I get seems to be low in alk and calcium. [/quote]

Matt,

I would almost bet it's the NSW. Do you have access to an ORP meter? It could be that there is some organic material in the NSW that is dying and causing the acidic effect that is dropping your Alkalinity. Just a thought

John

 

Ok, thanks Craig and Matt for your advice

 

I used 100% garf grunge to add life to plain old seaflor special grade sand, and garf aragocrete rock. you just would not believe the life that finds its way into your tank when you use grunge! imo, it's all you need.

 

Hello:

I payed this guy 25 bucks for a box of his stuff from his 8 year old tank. He said that over the years he has introduced sand from countless other tanks and has bought other live-sand kits. He sells the stuff for 5 bucks a cup. I asked him if he would cut me a deal on a box. He sent me a small box full. It had so many worms.
I also now have lots of different types of pods other fauna that I never had before. I first bought a cup for 5 bucks and was impressed, thats when I asked him to send me a box. It was 30 bucks with shipping.
[glow=brown,2,300]WORMS WORMS WORMS[/glow]
Tons of worms. You might try seeding your tank with this guys stuff.

Jay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=66794&item=4357488668&rd=1

 

You might try this site: http://www.floridaliverock.com/

Only trick is that you have to order 100 pounds or more. Maybe if you had some local reefers that could use some live sand, you could go in together on an order. That is what I and several others in my area are planning to do.

Anne Wanger