What kind of sand? (1 Viewer)

[rcd]

As I am looking at setting up a 60 gallon tank, I am torn about what kind of sand to buy. The fine stuff, the med grain, coarse grain, pink, ...... There are so many options. Could some of you share your preference and maybe why? I have searched marsh for someone previously asking this question but have struck out.

Looking to have corals, Clam, and some fish and an anemone.

 

[tektite]

I would stay away from the fine stuff, if you have a lot of flow in the tank it can blow around alot. The very coarse sand can become a detritus trap and just end up producing a lot of nitrates fuelling algae growth...I personally like the medium grain.

 

[rcd]

tektite,
Any particular brand you could recommend? I was looking at your 90 and it looks great. I love the red plants. Looking at the pics, the grain looks kind of large but it may just be the close up shots.

I currently have CaribSea Arga-live Reef Sand in my bio-cube. It does not appear to be to small or to large.

 

[DustinB]

Same here, I use the caribsea aragonite "special seaflor grade". Seems just right not to trap detritus and it doesn't blow around as easily.

 

[HorseyStripe]

I would stay away from the fine stuff, if you have a lot of flow in the tank it can blow around alot. The very coarse sand can become a detritus trap and just end up producing a lot of nitrates fuelling algae growth...I personally like the medium grain.

+1 stay away from fine stuff...(by that i mean sugar-fine)...mine blows around my tank, and i can't wait to replace it...looks good when i have the powerheads off though!

 

[tektite]

Oh, the 90 gallon has crushed coral in it, very large grain sand. It was the only livesand I had around when I started the tank up. I've been meaning to cover it up with finer sand but haven't gotten around to it. My 150 gallon has finer sand, I used a mix of white and black. A couple pics of my old 125 with the same sand:

 

[Llama]

The fine sand in my tank is in a constant state of motion. I need to add a layer of reef grade to it.

 

[Ostentum]

No sand. But then again I am running an SPS dominate tank. I have a crap ton of mixed sand in the garage, mostly fiji pink and caribsea aragonite. Needs to be washed clean if your looking for some sand.

 

[rxonco]

According to Dr. Shimek, the smaller the grade, the larger total surface area you have for colonization for your sandbed. That being said, I'd agree that if you go with the sugar-sized, it'll stay in constant motion. I used the seafloor grade as stated above. It's a mixed variety. The only thing that moves it around is the goby.

 

[rcd]

Thank everyone for the input.

Ostentum, I would love some sand, but the gas and tolls from Katy to league city are probably more than paying retail+.