I am setting up a Red Sea Max for my mother and I am about to put some substrate into the system. What is everyone's favorite? Does the "full of bacteria" kind really benefit the system? I have used both Caribsea Arag-Alive and Nature's Direct (I think that is the name) and they were nice Any suggestions would be very helpful.
Best substrate?
- Thread starter thedeper
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from what I have been told it has no effect on the system as most of it is dead anyway and will only promote a cycle, possibly faster one, though my lasted 2-3 weeks. I've also been told that just plain dead, dry sand is better as it will become "alive" with time. but it preference.
I'm going with the dead, dry sand and seeding from my 10g for the 40 I got from you to help make it live.
I'm going with the dead, dry sand and seeding from my 10g for the 40 I got from you to help make it live.
I personally think the "live sand" you get in bags is just marketing crap. The only good news is that they sell the sand by dry weight, so at least you don't have to pay extra for the water weight.
I've tried a number of different sands, and while I haven't nailed down the perfect sand yet, I've found it really depends on how much flow you have. I have a couple Tunze's in the tank for a total of around 10,000 gph flow inside the tank, and the finer sands, which look nice, just won't stay in place.
I personally don't like the southdown / playsand - it's sugar fine.
I really liked this stuff, but it doesn't stay in place with a lot of flow. Grain size 1-2mm:
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This stuff will stay in place, but it's a bit TOO big. I ended up using this for the past two years, and never had to worry about the sand moving, but it's not as pretty. Grain size 2.0-5.5mm:
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I'm supposed to be getting something in between from Sal @ SWC next weekend - I'll let you know after I "review" it. See http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/substrates.html">this site</a> for more details. Based on my numbers above, it appears you need 2+mm grain size to keep things in place with a high flow tank...
Oh, and the Fiji black sand is ferrous, so if you drop your cleaning magnet in it, you'll be picking sand out of the magnet...
I've tried a number of different sands, and while I haven't nailed down the perfect sand yet, I've found it really depends on how much flow you have. I have a couple Tunze's in the tank for a total of around 10,000 gph flow inside the tank, and the finer sands, which look nice, just won't stay in place.
I personally don't like the southdown / playsand - it's sugar fine.
I really liked this stuff, but it doesn't stay in place with a lot of flow. Grain size 1-2mm:
This stuff will stay in place, but it's a bit TOO big. I ended up using this for the past two years, and never had to worry about the sand moving, but it's not as pretty. Grain size 2.0-5.5mm:
I'm supposed to be getting something in between from Sal @ SWC next weekend - I'll let you know after I "review" it. See http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/substrates.html">this site</a> for more details. Based on my numbers above, it appears you need 2+mm grain size to keep things in place with a high flow tank...
Oh, and the Fiji black sand is ferrous, so if you drop your cleaning magnet in it, you'll be picking sand out of the magnet...
mojo;266977 wrote: I personally think the "live sand" you get in bags is just marketing crap. The only good news is that they sell the sand by dry weight, so at least you don't have to pay extra for the water weight.
I've tried a number of different sands, and while I haven't nailed down the perfect sand yet, I've found it really depends on how much flow you have. I have a couple Tunze's in the tank for a total of around 10,000 gph flow inside the tank, and the finer sands, which look nice, just won't stay in place.
I personally don't like the southdown / playsand - it's sugar fine.
I really liked this stuff, but it doesn't stay in place with a lot of flow. Grain size 1-2mm:
alt="" /></a>
This stuff will stay in place, but it's a bit TOO big. I ended up using this for the past two years, and never had to worry about the sand moving, but it's not as pretty. Grain size 2.0-5.5mm:
alt="" /></a>
I'm supposed to be getting something in between from Sal @ SWC next weekend - I'll let you know after I "review" it. See http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/substrates.html">this site</a> for more details. Based on my numbers above, it appears you need 2+mm grain size to keep things in place with a high flow tank...
Oh, and the Fiji black sand is ferrous, so if you drop your cleaning magnet in it, you'll be picking sand out of the magnet...[/QUOTE]LOL, I am actually running a mixture of both of those. Half and half
John how does the larger crushed coral fair with beneficial bacteria and detritus falling in between the cracks I guess I would say?
I have the .5-1.7 mm grain size in my tank, and have two Koralia 2's in my Solana and blowing is minimal-but it is probably no where near the flow of Chris' Tunzes. I am leaning towards Caribsea's Ocean Direct Original Grade. Even though it is "live sand" I think that it really has a nice mixture of a couple of different sizes within it. http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/ocean_direct.html">http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/ocean_direct.html </a>
Anyone have any reviews of this?
I have the .5-1.7 mm grain size in my tank, and have two Koralia 2's in my Solana and blowing is minimal-but it is probably no where near the flow of Chris' Tunzes. I am leaning towards Caribsea's Ocean Direct Original Grade. Even though it is "live sand" I think that it really has a nice mixture of a couple of different sizes within it. http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/ocean_direct.html">http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/ocean_direct.html </a>
Anyone have any reviews of this?
I wouldn't say that the live sand marketing is a deterrent - only that I wouldn't count it to do anything. If you like the grain size, go for it. Just about any sand will be good for beneficial bacteria, so I wouldn't sweat that aspect- just get what you like and let the bacteria do their thing.
