Sand

[Krish]

I've never heard on anyone putting foam down in their tank then putting acrylic over it and then siliconing it down before they put anything in that tank . Some people put foam between the tank and stand, but that's usually about it.


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[josh88]

Ok So I should put foam between the tank and stand, then the acrylic directly on the glass inside the tank. I think that sounds good. It would give added support to both sides of the glass

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[Krish]

Ok So I should put foam between the tank and stand, then the acrylic directly on the glass inside the tank. I think that sounds good. It would give added support to both sides of the glass

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I never used foam between my tank and stand, but a lot of people do it for safety measures so it's not a bad thing. As for the acrylic on the bottom, yea you can just put it down like you would a starboard or PVC board bottom and I would silicone atleast around the perimeter of it so that no detritus gets underneath it.


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[josh88]

That's what I was thinking. Now ? How do I go about making sure I have good flow, and random flow in my tank before stocking it.

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[fall0n]

I only put some foam pads ( from home dept - the grey garage tile type ones ) under my acrylic sump. For protection as well as making sure there's no stressed points.

 

[fall0n]

Ok while we are talking about sand - what is the safe way to clean it? I've heard if you get to crazy, you throw off the biological balance and gonna make the tank cycle. For those of us keeping sand (shhh Krish!!) what should I be doing to keep it happy?

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[mojoreef]

The only reason you would maintain the sand is to ease the bioload that you put on and into it. Bacteria are very slow to break down products and with the way we feed our tanks its impossible for it to keep up. What I do with mine is to get a phython syphon hose and then dial it back to very slow, then I just stir up the top 1/2 inch with it and try to take out as much detritus/extra food as I can with it. I do that and blow off the rocks with a Ph about once a month.


Mojo

 

[Krish]

Ok while we are talking about sand - what is the safe way to clean it? I've heard if you get to crazy, you throw off the biological balance and gonna make the tank cycle. For those of us keeping sand (shhh Krish!!) what should I be doing to keep it happy?

pics for clicks!

I can't keep quiet :lol:. Looks like you have a shallow sand bed going by the picture and if so, during a water change, I would just vacuum it. When you get into deep sand beds, it gets a bit trickier. You don't want to vacuum too deep into the anaerobic regions. Doing this is where you run into problems.

 

[fall0n]

Ah kk, that makes sense. Yeah, it's only 1.5-2" deep at most. As I do 5-10g water changes every sunday, I'll put it in my routine to clean the sand bed once a month. I use the turkey baster method atm for cleaning off the rocks.