Starting tank up again after 4 month shut down

Why not go bare bottom?

My next tank will have either a bare bottom or will have only a 1/4 or 1/2 inch of sand.

I don't think that live will help all that much, maybe shave a couple days off the initial cycle...

 

If we are refering to aragonite as crushed coral, this advice is wrong. In a properly set up reef/aquarium this is not an issue. However, sediment can be a problem with fine crushed coral (more so with sand beds) - if two things are ignored- a proper CUC and the type of fish kept.

The more fine the substrate the harder it is to maintain- no matter the substrate choosen, over time. The larger the substrate the easier it is to maintain, and the cleaner your system will be - with proper water flow in your aquarium.

If you wish to argue this point I will prove to you that what you have been reading/told is wrong, simply due to incorrect reef keeping practices, incorrect pump placement, and pure laziness.

My system is 12 years old- with crushed coral (aragonite/large sized sand mix)- this makes a big difference, I do not have to clean my sediment- I let my CUC and fish do it for me- crushed coral- aragonite, is full of calicum and is a great reef base- no matter what all these lazy people tell you. Been diving in any aussie reef's ever? Have a look at any really nice reef system- ANY where- loose substrate, loose rubble and loose rock- this is where the critters live- I wonder why.

What lives in the sand bottom? Think about this.

Fine Sand is great for a coral only tank- but not for a full blown reef system.

 

fish don't like reflective tanks with an unnatural look and tons of creatures almost need it to live a normal lifestyle

 

Well put, I will have to consider the pros and cons and what types of livestock I can go with right now.

 

Fine sand is more beneficial than crushed coral in the reason that it gives the aquarist more options to what he is to keep. Certain types of anemones, jawfish, sand sifting gobies, certain clams, other types of fish etc. With crushed coral you have to worry about the shells cutting fish, or the feet of anemones. Not to mention the looks of fine sand looks way better in my opinion. There are tons of things that live in the sand. As for the loose rock and rubble and shells, you can put that in a fine sand aquarium for things to build there homes in. Here is the same example, an Ice Fisher wants to build a shanty on the ice and asks for enough supplies to build it and you hand him enough to build a mall on the ice. Essentially the same for tanks with CC. But I am not saying that people who use CC are wrong in any way, I am just saying IMO sand with a bit of rubble looks just as nice and can function a tad better.

 

What do you guys usually do to prevent the sand from clouding the tank when putting it in? When I first started this tank I made a rookie move of rinsing all the sand with tap water (our tap is soft/80 ppm nitrates) and I think that caused the bulk of my algae problems in the tank. I know it took a ton of water to get the sand clean and the thought of making that much RO/DI just to pretty much waste it doesn't seem right. Do you just add the sand and let the cloudiness filter out? I also did it that way once and it took like 2 days to finally clear up... Any other suggestions that I didn't hear about to make adding the sand simple and not cloudy?

 

I didn't rinse my sand at all.

I add the rock first. Then I pour the sand around it. Lastly, add water, pouring it slowly over the rocks. The water will cascade down the rocks, not disturbing the sand much at all. What does fog up, should clear within a few hours.

If it is a big deal you could run a small HOB power filter to filter out most of the cloudiness.

 

cool, thanks!

 

No problem, tgood.