Another Dumb question i guess

[timberwollf]

i have black sand in my tank not alive so im getting rid of that and putting in live sand , but the question i have is i have a 90 gallon bow front how much live sand is enough in the tank ? i can get 20lb bags, the live rock i have doesnt have much growth should i clean it to make it better for things to grow on yes im starting over, doing new plumbing, add protein skimmer and sump and a chiller I made the wife buy herself a tank so she can keep her 9'' choclate chip star fish that she care so much about , which ate 99% of everything in my tank in the beginner All i hear was aww isnt it cute now its gone haha party time** Ideas guys please

 

[gary shandling]

2 dumb questions? IT will become live if you have any LR at all it will only take langer.

 

[timberwollf]

Ive had that sand in for over 2 years now and ive had nothing but problems with tons of brown and red blobs as i call them not very nice to look at so i think im going ot dump the fake black .. So i guess im asking what is a good amount of Live sand to place in a 90 gallon tank

 

[krisfal]

It really depends what depth you want. Some people like a deep sand bed to help with denitrification. I think a deep sand bed needs to be at least 4", but they require some careful maintenance, only vacuuming the top layer without disturbing the deeper section. I prefer a shallow bed and shoot for about 2" of sand.

Gary is correct in stating that dead sand becomes live sand. If you have had your current sand for 2 years it is most definitely "live". the brown and red globs are most likely algae or cyano and may indicate areas in your tank that are building up detrius. Buying live sand will not necessarily fix that problem.

If I were you I would not dump the black sand (I am buying some for my new tank) I like to mix the black and white sand myself. If you need more depth maybe consider adding a bag or two of white live sand.

I have heard the rule 1lb of sand/gal but I am not sure if that would give you a deep sand bed or shallow

Edit: The only dumb question is the question not asked!

 

[ac7av]

Your sand is definitely live after 2 years the algae is not caused buy the sand. If you like the sand then keep it, save yourself the trouble of changing it. Glad to here you found a solution for the starfish that will make everyone happy. Water flow or denitrification problem could very well be the issue for the tank. I use a deep sand bed in the refugium to help with that.
Erik

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Timberwollf, keep the sand, perhaps very carefully vacuum some detritus and algae out of it. I would be more concerned with how much rock you have since it is the primary filtration.

There are no dumb questions, only bad answers :>)

 

[gary shandling]

The SB condition is important and can be one of your best bio filters but if not cared for then causes problems.

Your main problems would be water source and or amount of water flow and or feeding habits. Do you know your phosphate and nitrate readings?

And trying to remove the algea could cause it to spread. If you cure the problem you will so it recede and dissappear with a much better feeling of the fix.

 

[nanshaw2001]

Ouch....easy on the newbies- even those who have been at it for years constantly find new challenges !!!! Thanks for all kind replies to our questions!

 

[NaH2O]

timberwolf - I know it was mentioned earlier, but depending on how deep you want your sand will dictate how many pounds you need. As as example, in my 120 gallon I put in approximately 240 pounds of sand to get around a 4+ inch sandbed (it is deeper in some areas).

nanshaw2001 - not sure if I welcomed you to the board, yet, so Welcome!

 

[timberwollf]

Thank you for the Warm Welcome. IM wondering about Snails in a coral tank (Nassarius Vibex Snails) any infor about them there very small but do they eat corals i have about 100-250 in my 90 gallon bow front..

 

[gary shandling]

You have over 100 nass snails?

 

[timberwollf]

Yes there baby machines seems like i take half out and there are 10x more next time i look you can somtimes see the sand moving around cause of them i need to know if there ok will they eat soft coral or anything?

 

[NC2WA]

Edit: The only dumb question is the question not asked!

Ah yes, reminds me of the quote from Dr. Bratton in Biology 200 in college 20+ years ago

Oh my, I just dated myself

 

[NaH2O]

Nassarius snails are perfectly fine for a tank with corals. They will eat left over food off the sandbed.