WTH.....My Sand is Fused LOL

[jonboyb]

I run a minimal sand layer in my tank of about 1" Caribsea Reef Special. I was moving things around last night and discovered some places the sand is now rock. Weird.....this is the same sand I had in 3 cubes for a year and it never did this. If I bust it up....it releases ZERO sediment so I can't figure out why it's fused. Given I run my CA around 450 and my MG is really high too. The only soft spots are where my nassarius snails live.

 

[smoothie]

Had any ph swings lately? Check that

 

[jonboyb]

No kalk and my pH is always rock steady at 8.4. I dose this tank with automated drips and my parameters just flat out NEVER move (knocks woods...LOL). I have a hefty cleanup crew so I've haven't been vacuming the past few months....maybe I should just to keep my sand loose.

 

[smoothie]

Now I have to do some reading. Geez!
Wonder what would fuse calcium based sand together besides ph swings?

 

[ichthyoid]

This can also happen from bacterial mats, usually caused by carbon dosing, especially vinegar for some reason. Craig Bingman wrote about it several years back.

 

[haninja]

Almost all of my 125 gallon - 6 feet - was fused... I start noticing it after a few month although my sand was new. At the time I was dosing Kalk. The only explanation I could find is that while the sand is new, and the PH get's high from Kalk dosing, the sand didn't have time to form the bacteria that usual would live there, and it kinda start sticking together. I can't even remember where I saw this but again, that is the only explanation I could find. I also had the reeffloor special sand and I believe it would be a trait of the coarser sand.

 

[acroholic]

I also had that happed in my 210 in spots. What you can do is get a piece of 3/4" PVC pipe and cut it at a slight angle, then use the pointed end to break up the chunks. Mine broke up pretty easily.

 

[jonboyb]

Yes...I dose 2-part automated 24-hours a day. Keeps everything nice and steady and with the alk dosing at night, my pH doesn't fall much off light cycle. Literally, my pH MAY drop to 8.3 just before lights on time. It may be my slightly elevated pH that caused the fuse. It's just always been 8.4 and I've lived with it. I'd prefer 8.2 but I haven't seen any need to "depress" the pH with everything happy.

 

[jcusmarine]

I also dose two-part, and use the same sand and had the exact same problem. I keep my PH at 8.1.

I just broke it up and it has since remained free and un-fused.

I will also note that I run a reactor with NP Biopellets (solid vodka carbon dosing)

I would not worry unless it re-fuses together. Just keep an eye on it.

 

[drnecropolis]

dawgdude;508332 wrote: Maybe he was dosing 2 part.....I dont remember in all honesty. Im sure he will chime in when he sees this.

Im pretty sure your right about the kalk.. Seems like Hanin and I had a conversation about it once.. He had that GSP on the bottom and it was getting blasted by a tunze and the sand wasnt moving at all...

 

[fish scales2]

Have you recently started using gfo or any other carbon sources?

 

[jonboyb]

I run GFO in a Phosban reactor and run carbon occassionally.....but I've done that on the other tanks too without the sand fusion.

 

[raisedonnintendo]

maby keep a sand sifting fish n the tank from now on?

 

[jonboyb]

8" engineer goby already in there. Probably the finest sand excavator in all of marine fish...LOL.