Sand bed depth

[banshee1]

I'm going to be breaking down my tank because I bought an established setup and out seems I have inherited a poorly maintained and neglected tank.I'm sick of fighting a battle I didn't start.plus it well be way easier to drill a tank that dosnt have water in it lol!what is an ideal sand bed depth.I woukd like to use fine sand rather than crushed coral.prius and cons of this.any input would be greatly appreciated.also I want to clean my lr to get any nasty stuff off I know I need to bleach and acid it but I don't know what kind of acid to use and how long to leave it in for

 

[stingythingy45]

Good move getting rid of the crushed coral,that's just a detritus trap.
I like a sugar grain sand about 4 inches deep.
As far as the LR goes.It's generally Muric acid that's used. Not sure on the procedure.But,I'm sure if you do a search on the web you'll find it.

 

[JayM]

Bleach works for LR. After it is bleached, it needs to be rinsed, and rinsed, and rinsed.

then it can be left outside to dry in the sun.

 

[brokereefer]

i prefer no sand
i used sand in all my setups
dsb
shallow sand bed
with vaccuming it out once a month it was always a pita
no i have no sand best thing i ever did atleast for me
zero nitrates and you can see the detruits settle i just remove whats there ever sunday

 

[Cjtabares]

Here is a thread that goes into both bleaching and giving rock an acid bath. I am pretty sure it will answer any question you have.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587539

I bleached my rock in 1 part bleach to 10 parts water for 48 hours. I then rinsed it 2 times. I then gave them a muric acid, 1 part acid and 10 parts water for 20 mins. If you are going to be giving the rock an acid bath after the bleach then the only reason you need to rinse the rock is to limit the amount of toxic gas. The acid will turn the bleach into a toxic gas, so it will remove the bleach but you have to be careful, I did it out side. The forum explains it a lot better then I can. The acid removes the outer layer of rock with it any phosphates or copper bound to the rocks. If you dont think you have any copper or phosphates then I think you can skip the acid bath.

 

[banshee1]

I want a sand bed and I've got tons of brown stuff everywhere that I can't seem too get rid of.so I'm bucket going to start from scratch since I have no corals.there has been tap water used so I think that this will be my best bet.

 

[banshee1]

Can I use tap water to soak and rinse or would it be better to use ro?

 

[brokereefer]

Use Rodi water

 

[banshee1]

I don't have a rodi system only ro.will that be fine?

 

[willray]

Yes! If its all you got, that isn't too bad.

 

[delta]

Why would you kill all the bacteria off and start fresh? Why not just replace the sand bed? Not being able to right the problem is your issue not the tanks. To kill the established bacteria/eco system is a huge setback.

I would get large stock tank. Drain your tank into it and move all the livestock and LR in it as well. Then remove the existing sand bed and replace it with new sand seeded with sand from an established tank. Have about half your total water volume in water premixed so you can take some of the old water for scrubbing/rinsing the LR in. once you get the new sand bed in place. scrub any algae off rinse and place back in the tank. Granted you will be slowly taking water out of the stock tank as you refill with 50% old water on top of the 50% new.

Sand is nice for looks as well as certain sand dwelling fish and what not. But I only use 1-2". I will never go bare bottom again, not my bag as far as looks go. Deep sand bed are about as unsightly as it gets and I have never seen any benefit worth using one.

Once that is done start your weekly water changes and get you skimmer running to peak performance.

I would spend the 30-40 dollars on a add on DI kit rather than waste time money and effort killing off an established system. IN the end you will save a buck and be well ahead of the game

 

[banshee1]

that sounds like a pretty good idea since I have a empty 50 gallon tank.if i still use some of my existing water will that seed my new sand? I would like to bleech and acid the live rock anyway because of any phosphates that were in the tap water I used and I know the previous owner used tap water as well.and it just looks like crap.I an going to purchase some more live rock when I so this whole thing, any ideas on who I should get it from?

 

[delta]

I really do not believe the work involved in acid baths it worth it, regular maintenance will get you there. I would grab a cup of sand to seed your new sand bed. Your water does not hold the life of a healthy sand bed.

Also if you have livestock restarting the tank is risky. Replacing the sand bed if done right is not very risky.

Adding LR I Would grab a few pieces of actual LR and Probably the rest in Dead Rock Like Marco rock.

 

[banshee1]

Ok so after I scrub mine down in rodi will it still be "live"? And will that seed the dead rock? you don't think existing phosphates will be a problem in the rock I have?

 

[delta]

Ok so after I scrub mine down in rodi will it still be "live"? And will that seed the dead rock? you don't think existing phosphates will be a problem in the rock I have?

No scrub it in old tank water.

What I am saying is I don;t think the benefits of trying to remove phosphates via acid baths and restart your system out weight what you have to do to get the tank in order. You will need to stay on top of your maintenance. I do not really buy into the whole phosphate leaching as a huge problem as they are always there and once the tank adjusts it isn't an issue. problem many have when the tank is out of sorts is the algae and bacteria trap organics and smoother sand beds. Once the Algae's back is broken the problem becomes much easier to deal with.

Too many miss the fact it gets real after a year and a half. So sooner or later the work needs to be done. Most never get that far before breaking down and getting out or upgrading so they really have no idea of what goes into running a tank long term or the benefits a very stable system. Long term there is no easy button. Although if you look on the web there are lots of suggestions that one does exist. been in the hobby long time and have seen many things come and go and one hold true maintenance/husbandry. You can always bank on the fact that will get you there.

 

[SteveDola]

Gregs right. Not worth the hassle of bleaching and acid dip. The life you kill will take years to replace if its fully established LR. Just scrub it off, replace the sandbed, and do a large water change. I would even do an other large water change a couple days later for any phos that leached out after the initial cleansing. The only way I would acid or bleach or both LR was if it was contaminated.

I think the biggest problem people have is inefficient skimmers and lack of husbandry (ie not doing waterchanges) which leads to algea probs. There has to be somewhere for that excess nutrients to go...which in your case (or the previous owners case) was Algea. Have a plan on how you expect to export the waste from your system. Another great way (in my opinion) is to use a refugium. I like them, I think theyre good at helping give a reefer that added buffer zone. The cheatomorpha (or any other macroalgea) is another way to export nitrates/po4. It adds biodiversity also a good spot for fish or frags that need to be separated. Implement those 3 techniques and Id bet on you having a long lasting, healthy, enjoyable reef tank.

 

[banshee1]

Ok sounds good.that's what I will do then.I'm in process of building a sump/fuge and i just bought a new skimmer.I think the skimmer I have if too small anyway so mabey that's adding to the problem. Thank you for all the great info