New substrate for new tank.

[Reefbound]

Hey all, Im in the process of upgrading from a 15 year old 75g to a 90 megaflow,I know not a big jump but all I had room for... Anyway I dont want the large araganite for a substrate and I was looking at Carribsea original size sand and the Oolite. Can someone tell me the difference between the two and are they anygood to use.Foster and Smith have it for a good price and no shipping fees.I cant get it that cheap anywhere around me.Would you mix the two together for a varing substrate or stick to one or theother.

 

[Krish]

Looking at Caribsea's website, Oolite looks like fine grain sand which is what I would recommend over crushed coral type sand. It is said that crushed corals tends to allow more waste, food, detritus etc to get lost in it a bit easier than a finer grain sand would because of all the space between the grains. If you are planning a deep sandbed then the finer sand you will want to use. With that said, I've tried they both and personally, I much rather the finer grain sand over crushed coral type substrate any day. It's all a matter of personal opinion though. I used figi pink last time I had a sand bed and would be the one I'd use again if I ever went back to running a sand bed.

 

[Reefbound]

Thanks for your reply Krish, I might have went with the Figi pink if I was able to get it in forty lbs bags but, its looking like Im going with the white which I like too.So you think the Oolite is a better all round choice? I have never used just sand. My Plan is for about a 2" sand bed in the tank for my sifters because right now they dont like the aragonite crushed stuff.

 

[Krish]

Thanks for your reply Krish, I might have went with the Figi pink if I was able to get it in forty lbs bags but, its looking like Im going with the white which I like too.So you think the Oolite is a better all round choice? I have never used just sand. My Plan is for about a 2" sand bed in the tank for my sifters because right now they dont like the aragonite crushed stuff.

Yea, I think the finer grain sand is the way to go. Definately easier on any sand sifters. Same thing with like stingrays for example. You'd want a finer grain sand for them as well because anything like crushed corals will probably damage their undersides. I've never had any personal experience with the Oolite, but I have seen it mentioned a few times. In additon to that, caribsea makes nice products so if you are happy with the color and grain size then I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[SFEERO]

Quick question, as I am upgrading from a 28 nano to a 90 here shortly. I am wondering if this will save on cost.....buy 1 bag of live sand and mix it with dead sand? The live sand gets spendy if you want a 2 inch or more bottom, and I am wondering if this is a good idea or am I losing my mind. I have also heard that "dead sand" eventually becomes live anyway, so what is the benefit of throwing in live sand at double the cost when you can maybe mix 1 bag of live with dead or use dead only and throw in some live rock? I don't want to use the sand from my old nano tank because I am changing the sand type from a aragonite to a finer consistency. Let me know....

 

[Krish]

Quick question, as I am upgrading from a 28 nano to a 90 here shortly. I am wondering if this will save on cost.....buy 1 bag of live sand and mix it with dead sand? The live sand gets spendy if you want a 2 inch or more bottom, and I am wondering if this is a good idea or am I losing my mind. I have also heard that "dead sand" eventually becomes live anyway, so what is the benefit of throwing in live sand at double the cost when you can maybe mix 1 bag of live with dead or use dead only and throw in some live rock? I don't want to use the sand from my old nano tank because I am changing the sand type from a aragonite to a finer consistency. Let me know....

You can go with all dead sand if you like. All it takes is a bit of waste/decaying matter which will come in the form of un-eaten fish food, fish poop, detritus etc to et things going and make your sand "live". Same thing goes for base/dead rock. If you want to go 50/50 with live sand, then that is fine as well. It will give you a bit of a headstart, but not totally necessary because like I mentioned, it will become live in no time.

 

[SFEERO]

Got the 90 today, pretty pumped. Gonna be a while before she is all set up, have to filter out 90 gallons of ro/di water to put in the tank, which should take quite a while. Also have to cut a hole in the stand, as my Proflex model 3 sump/refugium won't fit through the back or the front of the stand...bummer. Wish the stand was open top, but it shouldn't be too hard of a project. I've decided to go with the "dead" sand, as I am putting live rock in the tank so it will go live pretty quick, and I will save loads on cash going with the "dead" sand. Waiting on other "parts" to arrive, I bought the Hydor in-line 300w heater, need to install my retro fit Coralife lighting on the canopy, etc. etc. etc. Got plenty of projects to occupy my off time! Krish, thanks for the knowledge, much appreciated.

 

[SFEERO]

Also, do you suggest the "dead shrimp" theory when cycling a tank? I want to do whatever I can to speed up the process, and I have heard that some aquariasts put dead shrimp in an empty tank to speed up the nitrogen cycle. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Krish]

Got the 90 today, pretty pumped. Gonna be a while before she is all set up, have to filter out 90 gallons of ro/di water to put in the tank, which should take quite a while. Also have to cut a hole in the stand, as my Proflex model 3 sump/refugium won't fit through the back or the front of the stand...bummer. Wish the stand was open top, but it shouldn't be too hard of a project. I've decided to go with the "dead" sand, as I am putting live rock in the tank so it will go live pretty quick, and I will save loads on cash going with the "dead" sand. Waiting on other "parts" to arrive, I bought the Hydor in-line 300w heater, need to install my retro fit Coralife lighting on the canopy, etc. etc. etc. Got plenty of projects to occupy my off time! Krish, thanks for the knowledge, much appreciated.

No problem man! Anytime! With your stand, some people actually put a door on the side of their stand and load their sumps in from the side. That way, if you ever need to get it out for any reason, you won't have to drain the tank.

Also, do you suggest the "dead shrimp" theory when cycling a tank? I want to do whatever I can to speed up the process, and I have heard that some aquariasts put dead shrimp in an empty tank to speed up the nitrogen cycle. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

On the shrimp, a lot of people do it to kick start the cycle, but I think it is more geared to tanks starting out with just base rock which need a source of waste to be added to the tank to get the bacterial populations going. The dead decaying rotting shrimp provides this. However, it is not totally necessary especially if you are going with liverock. The die-off you will experience from the liverock will help cycle the tank. If the rock you add is fully cured and experiences no die-off then no cycle will probably happen. I personally never used the dead shrimp method. I just let my liverock do it's own thing and I tested the water to watch ammonia and nitrite specifically as they are most toxic to fish. When all traces of ammonia and nitrite have spiked and have dropped off, your initial cycle is complete and it is then that I usually throw in the most hardiest of damsel fish to get some increased bioload in there and then just take if from there. With that said, by all means, if you want to use the dead shrimp method that is perfectly fine. No harm in it and it will kick start things for you without you having to subject any livestock to toxic ammonia or nitrite that may be present. If you want a bit of reading on liverock, take a peek here. It was a small article I put together on liverock and the thread where we discussed it some.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f124/all-about-liverock-59783/