Fine sand or thick sand???

[Rocklgnd2b]

Bought a used tank so I was going to ditch the sand and put new live sand in. Was thinking of going with the thicker(bigger pieces) sand so it doesn't cloud up the water with high flow. Also considered crushed coral.
What are pros and cons of each of these and do certain animals require different sand?

[krakenster]

what kind of live stocks are you considering to keep?
SPS needs high flow, as such fine sand is a no no

[Rocklgnd2b]

Mostly lps, some sps

[thegrun]

The fine sand will blow all around under high flow. You do not want crushed coral, especially in a SPS tank where the detritus it tends to store will become a big issue by elevating your nitrates and phosphates. Look for something like CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand (sand grains in the 1.25-2.0 mm size range).

[reeferstace]

Another vote for CaribSea SeaFlor special grade reef sand.

[GroktheCube]

I vote for Tropic Eden reef flakes or mini-flakes. My fine sand was an absolute disaster when I set up my tank initially.

[Reef Frog]

Make sure the sand you buy has no particles smaller than 1 micron. It's still suitable for sand dependent organisms but doesn't cloud the water like the ultra fine varieties. Personally I would buy non live sand and invest the time in a very thorough rinsing session.

[manycolors]

I used CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef Sand as my main bed, but put a small amount of fine-er grade sand in the low flow sections of my tank. When I get a goby down the road, He will have his pick. It has since mixed into the sand bed a little, but I have not had any issues with blowing sand (with a 60x turn over)

[SGT_York]

You can mix to get a good combination. I have mid grade and coarse grade. You need the coarse to keep it from blowing adding the medium grade makes it look better IMO without it blowing around. 2part coarse 1 part medium.

[Skrilla]

There are plenty of SPS tanks utilizing a DSB with fine sand.