Thinking of adding sand to my BB sps tank

[prodman]

I have been BB for over 2 years now and I like the look its working well but I miss some of the tank diversty. I would like to keep a leopard wrasse and maybe a sand dwelling anemone. But I find it hard to imagine turning my flow down. I have 2 6100 tunzes and 2 6045 nanostreams that keep the tank fairly churned up. So why should I stay BB or why should I add the sand? Thanks

[GSMguy]

what about a sandbox for the wrasse and anemone?

[prodman]

I have tried it before but I dont care for the look of the sandbox.

[kirstenk]

You could add sand in small increments and see where the flow takes it. Wherever it settles ya add some more and eventually you will have a sand bed. Probably won't cover the whole bottom.

[JER-Z]

i'm removing my sand so i can crank up the flow in the bottom half of the tank for more SPS. the middle/top areas have no more room.

[mpoletti]

Yes Paul; I love my ssb. Come back to the world of the living;)

[mpoletti]

Oh yeah. Just get some of the thicker grain sand for the areas that the aragonite gets blown around.

[prodman]

Mark-thats a good idea for filling in the bare spots

[mpoletti]

I have seen small shells and crushed coral used in those areas as well. Karl has a pretty diverse sandbed from what I can tell in his photos.

[MiddletonMark]

Are you looking for a deep bed, or enough sand for your critters?

I added sand back in about 8 months ago [had been BB for 2 to 2.5 years at that point]. With high flow - some of it still is bare, some of it has a nice 1" or a bit more for my sand-sleeping wrasses to be happy in.

No regrets here :)

[prodman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9838552#post9838552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
Are you looking for a deep bed, or enough sand for your critters?

I added sand back in about 8 months ago [had been BB for 2 to 2.5 years at that point]. With high flow - some of it still is bare, some of it has a nice 1" or a bit more for my sand-sleeping wrasses to be happy in.

No regrets here :)

Good to hear thats what I am thinking is just enough to cover the bottom but I think if i do it I will add some larger grain stuff in the bare spots like Mark09 suggested.

And should I look into live sand? Or does it matter and what about reccomended grain size? Thanks

[Aqua Keepers]

Don't do it man! It's a "TRAP" :-)

[MiddletonMark]

I originally went with larger grains, but have since siphoned it all out. Yes, it stayed in place better - but trapped a lot more + maintenance was [ideally] higher vs. finer grained.

All IMO, of course.

As far as live or not - I did have mine here in a tub for about a week with some LR ... it seems like if adding to already estabilshed tank, that it settles much faster if bacteria-coated. Also - having a 58 meant that 30-40# of sand was all that I needed - easy enough to do as a very shallow layer on a tub. Again JMO :)

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

I'd say skip the cc or large grain as well....just let the couple bare areas go(you liked all BB for years)....if it is only for sand dwelling wrasse.
If for more biodiversity, I'd say add a remote dsb.

Be careful and add very slowly...i've heard a few horror stories of existing tanks completely going to heck quickly adding sand too quickly or too much at a time. The Carib-Sea 'live', although too much money, is very clean. So it is easier to add without fear of a downfall.

[prodman]

What do you think of this stuff? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=16764&inm=1&N=2004+113554+2035

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

looks perfect...

[mpoletti]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=16765&N=2004+113554

Paul, this is what I used along with dry aragonite. I have also added some #3 sized sand as well.

[prodman]

Mark did you use the reef substrate or the reef sand?

[mpoletti]

I have the reef sand. It is made up of small aragonite and does not have the shells that their substrate does.

[prodman]

Do you like it? What do you think of the one I linked its a little cheaper. Did you rinse the live stuff or just pour it in?

[Pico1]

Just pour it in. Bags of live sand are extremely clean and won't cloud the water much.

[mpoletti]

Yep, as Jordan said, Just pour it in. Sometimes I have heard of putting it in a net and letting it settle on the bottom that way.

[T-T-Trigger]

I finally remember the name. It was the caribsea "Grand Bahama" mix that is probably my favorite, since I don't like completely uniform grains or too many chunky pieces, I found this stuff to be just on the money for my taste.

I don't think it is sold as 'live' though... maybe.

[MiddletonMark]

I used the sand-type [not that brand, but ...] I think it was 0.5 to 1mm in size. Fairly fine-grained - which for a sleeping wrasse IMO is likely less scratchy than the big stuff [in my attempt at understanding the life of a wrasse]

[flyingphish]

i just added a super shallow sand bed (sssb). 1cm deep.

how does it look? incredible...cant believe ive been fooling myself all this time.

[prodman]

I just recived the oean direct sand yesterday. I am soaking it in RO for 2 weeks before adding it to my tank. When I was sifting throuh it I found rocks large shells and even a chunk of wood. I am glad I looked.

[flyingphish]

i think youll be pleasantly surprised with the addition of sand.

first thing i noticed was the tank was much brighter from the reflective qualities. second the sand allows a better contrast visibly against the rock and corals. colors and detail pop more.

[TandN]

ive been thinking myself about adding a sandbed to my tank

[mpoletti]

Paul- welcome back to reefing....

[prodman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9887040#post9887040 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marko9
Paul- welcome back to reefing....
Hey now I still like a BB setup and it worked very well for me I just like to change things around and since I cant fit any more sps this is a way of adding some new things to my tank.

[mpoletti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9887204#post9887204 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prodman
Hey now I still like a BB setup and it worked very well for me I just like to change things around and since I cant fit any more sps this is a way of adding some new things to my tank.

:D I was wondering if I could get a reaction out of you. How are all of those frags working out for you.

So, Tim and I were talking-- was it the choice of wrasses out there that has you adding the sand back?

[invincible569]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9883988#post9883988 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flyingphish
i just added a super shallow sand bed (sssb). 1cm deep.

how does it look? incredible...cant believe ive been fooling myself all this time.


LOL. You cant beat the natural look. Was this sand added to your new Elos system?

[flyingphish]

no i added it to my current 22g setup, the one with the suncolor evo hanging over it. wanted to see if i liked sand before setting up the system 70...and i do like it. thanks for the input invy.

barebottom is so, yesterday...

[prodman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9887315#post9887315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marko9
:D I was wondering if I could get a reaction out of you. How are all of those frags working out for you.

So, Tim and I were talking-- was it the choice of wrasses out there that has you adding the sand back?

I just wanted to clarify for the BB critics that BB worked well for me. A leopard wrasse was one reason for switching but really its a step towards a more mixed reef. I have all the sps I an handle and I like the way chalices and micros look on the sand better than the glass. I also would like to get an anemone of some kind either a h.crispa or m.doreensis which need the sand as well.

[flyingphish]

prod...you and me, same page...mixed reef, micros, chalice...i just got bored of the same sps look, variety is the spice of life. plus im looking forward to the new challenges of mixed reefing. easy to dial in sps with barebottom, big skimmer, and flow. this mixed thing should be interesting.

leopard wrasse? indeed.

lunch napa airport?

[prodman]

flyingphish- That it exactly.Do you fly to the napa often?

[flyingphish]

im at palo alto airport. napa is 20 minutes by air. pick up some of the sactown boys on the way up...that would be crazy though.