strtrodreefer
02/06/2009, 04:17 PM
Well, a little over a year ago I opted to try a remote sand bed while running a bare bottom tank. The tank has been so so and I've been looking at possible reasons for the lack of total satisfaction. I had been curious of the condition/function of the rdsb, and today I decided to pull it offline and monitor the tank awhile. I was quite surprised to find the top 3 inchs hard as rock. The inlet side was not nearly as bad as the outgoing side of the bed. The container is about 12x15" and held 40 lbs of araginite fine sand. The feed was from a tap off the return pump and valved down. There was no debris on the top, nor was there any odor. Basically quite clean but hard.
The interesting part is my decision to try a bare bottom set up was due to several in tank sand beds going hard.
So, what would likely be the cause? My normal testing ranges are 420 cal, 3 meq/l alk, ph 8.0, nitrates 0, phos 0(per api kit) though I'm sure there are some.
I've run Randys two part and have recently returned my geo reactor online.(got lazy again!)
Thanks for any ideas.
The interesting part is my decision to try a bare bottom set up was due to several in tank sand beds going hard.
So, what would likely be the cause? My normal testing ranges are 420 cal, 3 meq/l alk, ph 8.0, nitrates 0, phos 0(per api kit) though I'm sure there are some.
I've run Randys two part and have recently returned my geo reactor online.(got lazy again!)
Thanks for any ideas.