need help in suggestion of sandbed or no sandbed

[Olivier]

I am in process of setting up a 180 gallons tank. I have 2 MP40W. should I go with sand or no sand. I have sandbed (3" or so) in my 125 gallon with korolia 4 and i have sand storm if i want to have high flow. i want to cover the bottom of the tank just worry that the MP40 create sandstorm in my tank. I am thinking of 1" of sandbed this time but still debating of no sand at all for high flow. any suggest on sand bed? thank in advance
Olivier

 

[vangvace]

I personally prefer a sandbed and you should be able to play with the MPs so you don't a have a sandstorm. Shoot I've seen 20H tanks with a MP20 and a sandbed so it's doable.

 

[ricwilli]

I'm starting to get tiered of the BB thing. I'm looking for a different look now on the tank that I'm setting up now. So I will be adding at least 2-3 inches of sand in my tank. I will be putting strong pumps as well. I'll see how it goes.

 

[Phyl]

I like a little sand. I know that TwinReefs had a slightly coarser sand in his tank than I have and his sand stayed put even through the mega flow that he had. If he could do it, any of us could! If you search for his name there's a thread where he talks about the sand. Even with the finer sand, once it finds a home it stays fairly well. I have a bare spot in the middle of the tank, but it stayed put everywhere else.

Such a personal preference though. Some say NO WAY to sand and others need to have it. If you like sand you may not be happy without it.

 

[hurtback]

i have sand in 2 tanks, and crushed coral in another
i like the sand better---and when you stop and think about it, where in the ocean can you find a bare bottom?
it comes down to your personal preference i guess
Steve

 

[JRWOHLER]

I'm starting to get tiered of the BB thing. I'm looking for a different look now on the tank that I'm setting up now. So I will be adding at least 2-3 inches of sand in my tank. I will be putting strong pumps as well. I'll see how it goes.

Come over to the darkside...Bill and I will give you moral support. ;D

 

[Phyl]

i have sand in 2 tanks, and crushed coral in another

Twin was using a slightly coarser sand, not CC. I wouldn't advocate CC as it is typically REALLY course.

 

[hurtback]

i have sand in 2 tanks, and crushed coral in another

Twin was using a slightly coarser sand, not CC. I wouldn't advocate CC as it is typically REALLY course.

i hate the fact i used the crushed coral---it acts like an underground filter, snails dont usually go under it, and limits also what you can keep in the tank--

 

[Hawkeye]

my tunzes blow the sand everywhere...making a mess. Stupid sand has iron elements in them too causing them to stick to the magnets.

That stated - I love my jawfish - such great personalities. I have the sand in there pretty much for them.

Oh and being able to keep wrasses is also a nice plus.

I believe merv did BB with wrasses but he had to use a plastic container of sand for them to sleep.

 

[Nickjr000]

I tried BB with my new tank, I didn't like the look. Just looked like somethin was missing. Sand brightened the whole tank. I have a 215 almost the same dimensions as your 180. I have 2- koralia # 4's A seio 1200, And 1- mp40. Also about 1200 gph return. No prob with the sand, It settled right down. Oliver you can come see it if you want remember i'm only 5 min away.

 

[Olivier]

thank you veryone. I had sand bed before and I love it due to light reflection and brighter. I would like to ask a further question in relation to cleaning. How do you clean your sand bed while doing water change? I plan to have fish only for now but in 2 years, i will have SPS and others soft corals. I knew with SPS, i need a lot of flow thus bring up my concern in sand storm. How much sand should I have for authentic look? is 1" enough?
thank for all help

 

[Phyl]

2" or so is probably a good depth, I think 1" will not be quite enough. I'm not sure what I have on the outter thirds of the tank (the center is bare bottom/snail shell). I use a cuke to keep the sand clean. He does a great job!

 

[vangvace]

1-2" should be fine. I bought a dowel rod at the hardware store that I use to stir the parts of the sandbed weekly.

edit: a cuke would work too.

 

[Olivier]

So Stir the sand bed every week? would this cause sand storm and sand get into corals? how do you control those fireworm and worms?

 

[vangvace]

Not enough of a stir to kick sand that far into the water column, but just enough to release some detritus and keep the sand loose. I prefer to do it right before a waterchange too so I can export some of it.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I use a turkey baster to do the rocks before a water change, I don't hit the sand intentionally but end up blowing some sand around. That said I have 4-5 inches of super fine sand so I am in the DSB end of the spectrum.

 

[Olivier]

thank you veryone, I stop by ROD house on friday to check out this tank. his tank is awsome and I learn quite abit from him. I will give a sand bed a second try. hope thing work out this time for me. Now I need to get the aquascape work out.

 

[concept3]

I believe merv did BB with wrasses but he had to use a plastic container of sand for them to sleep.

Yep- here it is, but the wrasse now sleeps in a hole in one of the rocks. These are old pics-

Sand is a personal preference. While it does add a great amount of aesthetic value, it doesn't bother me to see the bottom of the tank since it gets covered with calcareous algae anyways. Besides, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to vacuuming sand which I've had before.

 

[DxSOR25]

i like the look of the sandbed but not the deep ones. Does anyone have a guess or a clue of the calculations of sand per gallon. For instance i would like to have a 1-2inch deep sandbed at most. I have a 72 gal bowfront tank.. anyone know how many pounds of live sand ill need for each inch?

 

[Olivier]

I think the reefcentral has the calculator for the sandbed on their front page left side column