Give this comment a thumbs up if you find these timestamps helpful! Top-21 Sand Mistakes Cheat Sheet: 1. Missing the Surface Area of Sand : 00:14 2. Not Remembering That Black Sand is Magnetic : 01:07 3. Small Grain Sand Blows Around : 01:59 4. Large Grade Sand Doesn’t Move Around : 02:47 5. Mixing Small and Large Grade Sand : 03:42 6. Trying to Glue Sand in Place : 04:21 7. Dumping Out Live Sand Water : 05:01 8. Missing You Can Add Your Own Bacteria : 05:50 9. Not Considering Ocean Direct Live Sand : 06:48 10. Not Considering CaribSea Special Grade : 07:48 11. Actively Making the Decision Not to Clean the Sand : 09:12 12. Not Considering the Value of No Sand : 10:31 13. Not Realizing A Bare Bottom Takes Longer to Cycle : 11:49 14. Bare Bottom Bacterial Blooms : 13:12 15. Not Considering How to Clean the Sand in Your Aquascape : 14:32 16. Not Considering Livestock to Clean Your Sand : 15:50 17. Not Considering Grain Size for Your Fish : 17:02 18. Not Reusing Your Old Sand : 18:29 19. Transporting Sand From One Tank Into Another : 19:30 20. Removing Sand From an Established Tank : 20:17 21. A Sand Bed Deeper Than One Inch : 21:23
can you please do a bare bottom special where you show tanks that have been converted to a bare bottom, started with a bare bottom ect, perhaps brs investigates with the take up of no3/4 ect with bare bottom vs gravel ect😁
Fighting conches are my favorite sand sifters and cleaners. I was initially scared that he wouldn't find enough food because it is a 20 gallon nano, but he has been living in there for over a year, so he is eating something lol. They don't have a "sticky" foot, so they kinda shove the sand as they pull themselves around.
@@devildawg4947 I have just one. I hear that they can fight if there are too many, but the fighting is mostly just them kinda shoving into one another...
When adding live sand, I actually cut the bag on the side to basically fold it out as a long large sheet of plastic, lay that down on the sand, and fill the tank. The plastic will rise to the top, and the clouding will be to an absolute minimum as well as the bubbles. Granted, the tank must still sit dormant without fish, but it does look more presentable. Doing all of this insures that the the bacteria has the best chance of making its way into the tank (if the bag is submerged, it basically has to). I then gently place the rocks in the tank in some aquascape. Usually I come back to this after the tank has cycled but try to get something good right off the bat.
As a puffer guy.. brackish set ups.. figure 8's... sand is essential for them.. they sleep in it (they like the softest sands and make a little bed in it).. they dig for live food in it.. it's essential.. bare bottom.. while I understand has application.. for a Puff tank, sand is like carpet in a tile house. Love the vid anyhow! Love BRS! Love Puffs!
Sand sifters. Goby's and stars etc. need an established tank. However, they will clean out sand quick enough and starve to death.. So not for your typical startup tank. I however run a 6 inch sand bed, yes I do :). because these stars and snails wants to go deep. Never cleaned my sand manually, only snails stars and goby's cleans it for me.
@@tomwebber4015 yes. Sand sifter stars and nassarius snails goes deep, but not so deep as to cause a stir up of anaerobic bateria deep in the sand. They keep the top 2 inches clean and the gobies pretty much cleans the very top layer of the sand. But again, my sand bed is really well established and have loads of pods in the system as well.
@@tomwebber4015 yeah, so I suppose it will not be a surprise that I tell you that I crinch when fresh water guys tell me thwy use under gravel filters. Lol
Love this series. Give such a great information and knowledge. I always like doing a small grain/large grain mix. I also like creating a rubble zone around the bases of my rock structures. Gives it a worn look. Make it feel like the rock been there for years in my opinion.
Learned alot and been in the hobby for over a decade , I was always scared of cleaning my sand bed other than the top 1/2 inch but now I know the real answer and I will be practicing a new husbandry for my maintenance on my reef thank you guys for the great info!!!
I love my sand...have the medium type. It have allot of flow in it but it's a FOWLER. The hardest thing was setting up the flow so I didn't have to move it back in place ever couple of days. Its thick at spots ( about 2.5 inches in spots) but it's also thin in others. The different elevations really add character. The fact that it has to be moved back into position allows for just that little bit of change in your system that's like whoa. I turn my with a Turkey baster when I do water changes the constant movement with this method keeps wy sand turned over. Sand is awesome and apart of an authentic saltwater system. I will do a bare bottom minimalist build in the future, but my main tanks will always have sand.
I also have about 10 wrasse in the tank which all go underneath the sand so they are always stirring it up and 2 in particular ( my moyers and lapilus from the leopard family) are constantly going under the sand and flicking it all over the place trying to hunt for pods, so for me Wrasse can definitely help with sand maintenance
When I set up my 125 gallon tank 10 years ago, there was a lot of debate about shallow beds and DSB's. Since the argument for a DSB was the anaerobic zone that consumed NO3, and would slowly release nitrogen gas into the atmosphere, I chose that path. Yes, I've seen those grey clouds when I'd move a rock or stir the sand, so I've left it alone for the most part. I've kept Nassarius snails and sea stars to stir the upper layer, but that's mostly been the extent of my sand bed maintenance except for the few times I vacuumed small sections over several days. With the GHA making a massive comeback after dosing Vibrant for 6 weeks (week 7 now, dosing bi-weekly), the thought of a reboot is becoming more frequent. I would rather NOT have to tear down my tank, bleach and power wash the rocks, and clean the sand... but...
I am using Vibrant now only for Bubble algae though. Use Fluconazole if you haven't ready for GHA. It does wonders within 14 days for me everytime. I have an SPS dominate tank with over 90 pieces and haven't lost a single one.
@@JoshColeH2O does the vibrant work? Every rock had become completely covered, I have just resigned that it is here to stay and don't even try to scrape out off :( I do have caulerpa and mangroves in the fuge so would need to at least move the macro temporarily.
I have small particle white sand but I rinse the hell out of it with the garden hose until there isn't anymore ultra fine particles left. It will blow into a giant dune over time but I just push it back into place every week. The movement keeps it white and pretty.
I almost completely agree. Most cases black sand just dont look good. I do, however, have a tank with black fiji sand that i think looks good. Could just be my bias and used to it. It's a display fuge, on the wall at eye level, with fire shrimp.
I took the cruise to the Bahamas couple of years ago and there is a beach called Pink sands Beach and there is quite literally pink sand pretty cool actually.
I am actually using a mix of 40lbs of Fiji pink and 20lbs of caribsea direct because I want all those crunched up shells and other things for a bit of a more natural look
Be wary of adding sand sifting fish to your tank as a method of reducing cleaning if you value having corals on the floor, speaking from experience it's not uncommon for my Engineer Goby to build dunes 7-8 inches high on a 3" sand bed and he doesn't care what's under the dune.
I did that mistake. Made my tank from sand to bare bottom to accommodate more sps. Eventually I had that shocked Pikachu face. Big mistake....however, I'm still bare bottom with very less issues now.
Its been awhile since I've seen this video. Great resource! For me I've settled on cleaning the front 1/3 of the sand bed in my 120g so the tank looks great, while allowing for rhe bio to remaing untouched for the rest of the tank and the fish stift through it. No issues to report after 4ys.
At one of my LFS they suggested just every other week or monthly just running something through the sand bed to stir it up rather than let it set or python.
You won't get quite as much of the detritus and other waste out of the sand that way, but it's still a viable strategy and much better than doing nothing!
Good idea for starting out. To not vacuum out populations trying to grow. If feeding fish and coral, should be vacuuming the sand, there are spots the current settles particles, learn them and keep those spots clean.
#5 mixing sands. 2 of my tanks i do this, sorta of. I put crushed coral in back, behind rocks, where strong inflow blows. It stays in place, strong flow keeps accumulation down, and also blows through rocks from the back keeping them cleaner. easier to clean tank without trying to concentrate behind rocks, hard to reach areas.
Sand for me. Oolite here on an SPS dominated tank. It was hell in the first few months, but like after 6 to 8 months things are getting a lot more stable, not so many grains flying anymore. I have a larger tank to set up so next time I may go with fiji pink, idk.
@melevsreef would tell you otherwise about cleaning sandbed. His theory is stock up enough sandbed CUC, and don't manually clean it at all. It definitively works awesomely for his giant tank.
I use special grade in my dt cuz my fish gang prefer it, the best setup for a sps dominated tank is bare bottom with your special grade and live rock in the fuge/sump.
6:02 i once tried something like that in my quarantine, my healthy regal tang which i had had for 2 weeks almost immediately got a severe bacterial infection and was dead in about three days.
My fist 500lt/150gal failed after a year due to never vacuuming the sand not sure why I am sure I read it somewhere and lost the tank to algae. Thinking back now I always vacuumed my fresh water so no idea why I didn’t. But I do now and now algae is a lot easier to control even when maintenance lacks due to life
RODI water is best practice for rinsing dry sand, but in reality, it takes A LOT of water to thoroughly rinse. Everyone does it slightly differently around here, but I usually do the bulk of my rinsing in tap water, then a quick final rinse in RODI at the very end.
For my 36 inch 40 gallon I have 2 ai prime 16hd on it but I want to get into more acropora and sps would y’all recommend me either getting a third ai prime or the aquatic life 36 inch t5 hybrid and would my 2 ai primes along with 4 t5s
Thanks guys. I’m just about to move the contents of my Red Sea 170 to a new Red Sea 300XL.. After watching , maybe not the sand😉! I have a bag of the RedSea pink sand, used it before and I’m hoping it is like the Carib Sea product. Plan to cycle it in a bin with a skimmer and some maxspect bio balls to start the bacteria for a couple of weeks. Any advise appreciated.
The choice to going barebottom or going sand is going to be mostly a personal choice based on the pro's and con's. I personally like the look of sand and like my wrasse fish too much. On the other hand, Ryan has decided that for his maintenance schedule, barebottom is the best choice for him.
What If you added to much sand from the start like me and I put 40lbs in my Biocube 32 can I pull some out little at a time to bring it to 1” depth or just leave it?
Just found this channel; good stuff!. I've been keeping marine tanks for a long time. Currently bare bottom. Crushed coral years ago. Time for sand, I like/want that look. Question about live sand; Will it result in ammonia spike? Should it be cycled prior to adding to an established system? Thanks in advance!
If you're adding sand to an established system, we usually suggest using dry sand and rinsing it VERY VERY VERY (did we say very enough? 😉 ) well. Add small amounts at a time so that you don't cloud the water up. No matter how well you rinse, there will still be a slight bit of dusty material that enters the water column. Good news is that this usually settles out within a few hours.
ATM (the tv show place) Colony is a The Best! cycling bacteria I've used I had used too much ammonium chloride my tank cycled up to 120ppm of nitrates and back to 0 within 2.5 weeks using ammonia half the amount then add FULL amount of bacteria then the remaining amount of ammonia. This was in a 120gal
Some of what I’m reading about sand sifting CUC (some gobies specifically) recommend at least 2” of sand depth. Is that really necessary? Or is the 1” you recommend enough?
I'd recommend checking out special grade sand from CaribSea. It's a great grain size that's small enough for popular sand sifters, but large enough so that it won't blow around like crazy. Available in dry or live versions. Dry > www.bulkreefsupply.com/aragonite-special-grade-dry-sand-40lbs-caribsea.html Live > www.bulkreefsupply.com/20-lb-special-grade-arag-alive-reef-sand.html
Great video guys, keep them coming!! What specific type of rock are you showing at minute 15:00? I'm sure its something you built but out of what product?
I have heard different opinions on using sand sifting fish and the depth of sand. I just lost a four inch diamond watchman. A inch inch sandbed would not be enough for him. My sandbed is three inches. I also clean my sand bed and before I do a water change I take a plexiglas rod on one side of the tank and run it through the sand while my Vortechs are in nutrient mode to stir everything up. This avoids any of the bad things you talk about ( nitrogen escaping and other issues) causing harm to the tank. I have been doing this for 7 years, maybe I’ve been lucky but been watching your videos all this time along with faithfully reading up on reef to reef as well about this issue. Oh I do have a new Diamond watchman goby now Your thoughts on this.
So I'm stuck in the middle now... I want an sps 60Gal but I like sand too... Mostly because I like the little critters and I've always wanted a goby in there. What are my options? I want sand fine enough for gobys but I also need flow for sps.
If it's live sand, don't rinse it. Otherwise, you'll be removing all of the live parts that you've paid for. If you buy dry sand, we usually suggest to rinse as it tends to be a little more dusty.
Thanks a lot for the video .. really usefull. Just one question that wasn't approached. I want to ADD more sand to my tank. As long as I clear the sand, turn off the circulation and add it wet and slowly, do you see any problems ? Cheers from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Marcelo.
Shouldn't be an issue. I like to use a funnel and piece of PVC to guide the sand down to the bottom of the tank. Less dust gets into the water column that way 🙂
When adding sand to an established system, go with dry sand and rinse the heck out of it to remove as much dust as possible. Everyone has a slightly different method, but I like to take a funnel and some 1" PVC to help guide the sand to the bottom of the tank. This greatly reduces the cloudiness. If the tank is getting too cloudy, just stop and wait for it to clear up before continuing.
Why not on a bare bottom put your sand bed in you refugium in your sump.... especially if you have a large sump.like a 280 gallon display with a 125 gallon sump
I'm in the process of setting up my 1st coral tank. Love the series I'm learning a lot through yawll. Question though. I'm doing a reef (no clue types yet gonna learn more on that once I'm cycling the tank.) The only fish I want are sifters and cleaners. Will 3/4" deep finer sandbed mostly be kept clean by a decent crew? Or should I still vacuum it?
While you may not have to do it very often, I still like the idea of vacuuming the sand regularly. This might mean every other water change or once per month, depending on your schedule.
Hello!! Question for ya'll regarding sand! I'm moving my 66 gallon to a 130 gallon and I'm curious - How do you recommend I save all of my sand critters? brittle stars, snails, etc - I really want to keep my sand - but also get some new sand and if I take my old sand and rinse it, won't it kill all of my star fish and other critters? Are you using fresh water to rinse it? Thank you!!
Most reefers will simply put the old sand into the new tank and add additional sand to make up the difference. Because your old sand is already established, it's best not to rinse it so you can help seed the new sand. I would recommend vacuuming the old sand prior to moving it so you can get as much crud and waste out of it before it gets added to the new tank. :)
You can always stir the sand bed up periodically (I like to use a turkey baster) to get the debris into the water column for the filtration to remove it.
If I am transferring a 75-gallon marine to a 300-gallon and I have amazing coralline algae growth existing - do I treat my rock? I am assuming I still rinse the sand? Treated water or non-treated water?
I would not suggest treating the rock or rinsing the sand if you plan to re-use either. Rinsing will kill off all of the good bacteria that will help with the tank transfer. You'll want to use RODI water to mix your new saltwater with just like you probably did with your current tank. You'll never have better water than the water you start with!
Hey brs and brs community what are opinions on having a sand tank in a container in the sump or a plumbed in tank with a sand bed so that it can be cleaned or removed and cleaned. My thoughts are that it gives you the Benefits of a sand bed though having to turn down flow and the ability to clean it more easily. You can’t get as much sand in the system but I figure it’s better then nothing for bare bottom tanks!
What do you think of mixing some finer grain along with a mostly special grade sand in a mix tank to accommodate my sifting crew and make pockets of friendly habitat for them?
Yea, I saw that, but what I was thinking is if you mixed the fine with the medium, you might get the benefits if the medium, as a base, then dunes of fine for your suffers. Just a thought. Or would special grade be just OK for your sifters?
Error on Mistake 17, jawfish require a mixed grain size and will stress in a tank with only fine grain size. They do not sift the sand, they are constructing borrows.
Excellent informative video here, especially for new comers to the hobby, but also something for everyone. I have quick question - what's your take on just a fine dusting of sand on the bottom guys? 👍
I live blocks from the beach area. Is beach sand safe to use ? Sand from under the waters surface seems a little more packed than the sand from the dry beach. Probably because of the water....but is the usage of sand from the beach area a bad idea ? The beach I live near has no marinas or anything that would pollute the water if that helps with my question ?
Pollution would be the main concern, but also, beach sand is very very fine grain in most cases, which would result in it blowing around the tank easily. Before you make your decision, make sure that taking sand from the beach is legal in your area.
Your best bet is to do it slowly over time and work in sections. Sand has an incredible surface area, so removing it all at once would be very destabilizing for the tank's biological filter.
Great vid as usual lads. My tank has been running a year now and I have around 10mm of course sand/gravel. I vac it every week as part of my weekly water change. I want to add more to around an inch. Would this be ok?
If you need to add more sand, you can do that, just do it slowly over time. When adding sand, I like to use the dry sand and rinse the dust out before adding.
Can I keep a dwarf golden moray eel in a 60 gallon reef tank? I have 2 clownfish, 1 royal gramma, 1 tomini tang, 1 yellow coris wrasse, 1 fire shrimp, 12 trochus snails and 6 nasarius snails. I’m starting another 30 gallon tank as well, I heard that it is better to mix different types of bacteria for example: ATM Colony, MicroBacter7 and Turbo Start 900 so that there are different types of bacteria which is beneficial for the tank in the long run. Is this true and should I mix different types of bacteria? And can I keep the dwarf golden moray eel? Thank you in advance.😊
You sure can. Just don't expect any of the live part of the product to be there. If I were in your shoes, I might even rinse the sand before adding it to that tank, which is something that we don't normally suggest with live sand under normal circumstances.
Most reefers will use live sand as-is and not rinse. If you rinse, you're essentially getting rid of all of the "live" parts of the sand that you've paid for.
I would check your local environmental regulations about removing sand. As far as water goes, check this video out. ua-cam.com/video/IEnEaDxAOVI/v-deo.html
You've basically got two options in that case. Option 1 is to reduce flow to the point where the sand doesn't get blown around as easily. Easier said than done because corals, even softies, will need flow. Option 2 is to remove and replace with something larger. Most of the BRS staff prefers the special grade as it still looks like a natural sand bed, but is more likely to stay put vs other popular options like fiji pink.
I have a fair amount of used sand, probably 200+ lbs. I would like to clean it as in “the coil method”, can I use tap water then a rinse with RO water or should I use only RO water?
I don't think tap water will set you sand on fire...post pics if it does. With that said it depends on your water report on what methods you should take.
Chloramine and heavy metals are what you are looking for. You will need to set you rodi system up to handle this as not all come out the box capable of doing such.
Give this comment a thumbs up if you find these timestamps helpful!
Top-21 Sand Mistakes Cheat Sheet:
1. Missing the Surface Area of Sand : 00:14
2. Not Remembering That Black Sand is Magnetic : 01:07
3. Small Grain Sand Blows Around : 01:59
4. Large Grade Sand Doesn’t Move Around : 02:47
5. Mixing Small and Large Grade Sand : 03:42
6. Trying to Glue Sand in Place : 04:21
7. Dumping Out Live Sand Water : 05:01
8. Missing You Can Add Your Own Bacteria : 05:50
9. Not Considering Ocean Direct Live Sand : 06:48
10. Not Considering CaribSea Special Grade : 07:48
11. Actively Making the Decision Not to Clean the Sand : 09:12
12. Not Considering the Value of No Sand : 10:31
13. Not Realizing A Bare Bottom Takes Longer to Cycle : 11:49
14. Bare Bottom Bacterial Blooms : 13:12
15. Not Considering How to Clean the Sand in Your Aquascape : 14:32
16. Not Considering Livestock to Clean Your Sand : 15:50
17. Not Considering Grain Size for Your Fish : 17:02
18. Not Reusing Your Old Sand : 18:29
19. Transporting Sand From One Tank Into Another : 19:30
20. Removing Sand From an Established Tank : 20:17
21. A Sand Bed Deeper Than One Inch : 21:23
I think it's very helpful, especially when I have to rewatch to remember a specific piece of info.
can you please do a bare bottom special where you show tanks that have been converted to a bare bottom, started with a bare bottom ect, perhaps brs investigates with the take up of no3/4 ect with bare bottom vs gravel ect😁
Is sand better than gravel in a freshwater tank? I have gravel,30 gallon freshwater tank..can I add sand to my gravel?
Fighting conches are my favorite sand sifters and cleaners. I was initially scared that he wouldn't find enough food because it is a 20 gallon nano, but he has been living in there for over a year, so he is eating something lol. They don't have a "sticky" foot, so they kinda shove the sand as they pull themselves around.
Yes I l like them too
How many u got n 20 gallon nano?
Agreed. I have two in my 50g reef. They are great at cleaning and stirring up the sand .
@@devildawg4947 I have just one. I hear that they can fight if there are too many, but the fighting is mostly just them kinda shoving into one another...
Marina McKinley how many would u recommend in a 50 gallon cube ?
When adding live sand, I actually cut the bag on the side to basically fold it out as a long large sheet of plastic, lay that down on the sand, and fill the tank. The plastic will rise to the top, and the clouding will be to an absolute minimum as well as the bubbles. Granted, the tank must still sit dormant without fish, but it does look more presentable. Doing all of this insures that the the bacteria has the best chance of making its way into the tank (if the bag is submerged, it basically has to).
I then gently place the rocks in the tank in some aquascape. Usually I come back to this after the tank has cycled but try to get something good right off the bat.
As a puffer guy.. brackish set ups.. figure 8's... sand is essential for them.. they sleep in it (they like the softest sands and make a little bed in it).. they dig for live food in it.. it's essential.. bare bottom.. while I understand has application.. for a Puff tank, sand is like carpet in a tile house. Love the vid anyhow! Love BRS! Love Puffs!
Man, I love that you are active in the debates about husbandry. We gotta stretch if we’re gonna grow.
Sand sifters. Goby's and stars etc. need an established tank. However, they will clean out sand quick enough and starve to death.. So not for your typical startup tank. I however run a 6 inch sand bed, yes I do :). because these stars and snails wants to go deep. Never cleaned my sand manually, only snails stars and goby's cleans it for me.
I was going to ask about build up , but you answered my question : starfish 👍
@@tomwebber4015 yes. Sand sifter stars and nassarius snails goes deep, but not so deep as to cause a stir up of anaerobic bateria deep in the sand. They keep the top 2 inches clean and the gobies pretty much cleans the very top layer of the sand. But again, my sand bed is really well established and have loads of pods in the system as well.
@@turbocpt1
I'm a freshwater fish guy i use sand , but i keep it under 2 inches for the same reasons .
😎👍
Keep up the good work.
@@tomwebber4015 yeah, so I suppose it will not be a surprise that I tell you that I crinch when fresh water guys tell me thwy use under gravel filters. Lol
@@turbocpt1
Lol
No ,,, sounds like yours works great .👍
( I don't use under gravel filters ,,, anymore,,,😒 )
Theres a beach in Bermuda that is pink. It's amazing to see. Also is the reason I bought Fiji pink. But it's not the same.
Love this series. Give such a great information and knowledge. I always like doing a small grain/large grain mix. I also like creating a rubble zone around the bases of my rock structures. Gives it a worn look. Make it feel like the rock been there for years in my opinion.
Learned alot and been in the hobby for over a decade , I was always scared of cleaning my sand bed other than the top 1/2 inch but now I know the real answer and I will be practicing a new husbandry for my maintenance on my reef thank you guys for the great info!!!
I love my sand...have the medium type. It have allot of flow in it but it's a FOWLER. The hardest thing was setting up the flow so I didn't have to move it back in place ever couple of days. Its thick at spots ( about 2.5 inches in spots) but it's also thin in others. The different elevations really add character. The fact that it has to be moved back into position allows for just that little bit of change in your system that's like whoa.
I turn my with a Turkey baster when I do water changes the constant movement with this method keeps wy sand turned over. Sand is awesome and apart of an authentic saltwater system. I will do a bare bottom minimalist build in the future, but my main tanks will always have sand.
i didnt know that the water was that important. glad i watched this before i bought my sand thanx!!
I also have about 10 wrasse in the tank which all go underneath the sand so they are always stirring it up and 2 in particular ( my moyers and lapilus from the leopard family) are constantly going under the sand and flicking it all over the place trying to hunt for pods, so for me Wrasse can definitely help with sand maintenance
Great vid by the way😁
When I set up my 125 gallon tank 10 years ago, there was a lot of debate about shallow beds and DSB's. Since the argument for a DSB was the anaerobic zone that consumed NO3, and would slowly release nitrogen gas into the atmosphere, I chose that path. Yes, I've seen those grey clouds when I'd move a rock or stir the sand, so I've left it alone for the most part. I've kept Nassarius snails and sea stars to stir the upper layer, but that's mostly been the extent of my sand bed maintenance except for the few times I vacuumed small sections over several days. With the GHA making a massive comeback after dosing Vibrant for 6 weeks (week 7 now, dosing bi-weekly), the thought of a reboot is becoming more frequent. I would rather NOT have to tear down my tank, bleach and power wash the rocks, and clean the sand... but...
I am using Vibrant now only for Bubble algae though. Use Fluconazole if you haven't ready for GHA. It does wonders within 14 days for me everytime. I have an SPS dominate tank with over 90 pieces and haven't lost a single one.
@@JoshColeH2O does the vibrant work? Every rock had become completely covered, I have just resigned that it is here to stay and don't even try to scrape out off :( I do have caulerpa and mangroves in the fuge so would need to at least move the macro temporarily.
When you have a deep sand bed you don't clean it. Anything passed 3 inches is poisonous possibly the anerobic bacteria live there.
@@mimicmage but do you still have a deep sand bed ???
@@twoteccs2twoteccs287 yeah I do. Why
I would really like you guy to do a deep sand bed experiment because I’ve been reefing for 20 plus years and I love deep sand beds
I have small particle white sand but I rinse the hell out of it with the garden hose until there isn't anymore ultra fine particles left. It will blow into a giant dune over time but I just push it back into place every week. The movement keeps it white and pretty.
Gotta have sand in my tank but have always known you gotta clean it. A tank just does not look finished with a glass bottom.
I enjoy a bare bottom. It's easier to keep cleaner, and if you actually keep the bottom generally clean, it adds dimension
Brilliant Convo 💥💥⚡️🖐🏿
Always thought black sand looks much better in a freshwater tank than a reef tank, but that's just me.
Couldn't agree more
So true
It looks weird all together for me
I almost completely agree.
Most cases black sand just dont look good. I do, however, have a tank with black fiji sand that i think looks good. Could just be my bias and used to it.
It's a display fuge, on the wall at eye level, with fire shrimp.
Agreed
Honestly a bit of corraline mixed in on the sand is gorgeous on the black sand lol.
A display fuge i have(black sand) has very little purple coraline, but a ton of deep red, looks sweet. I think. Fire shrimp also.
I took the cruise to the Bahamas couple of years ago and there is a beach called Pink sands Beach and there is quite literally pink sand pretty cool actually.
I am actually using a mix of 40lbs of Fiji pink and 20lbs of caribsea direct because I want all those crunched up shells and other things for a bit of a more natural look
Be wary of adding sand sifting fish to your tank as a method of reducing cleaning if you value having corals on the floor, speaking from experience it's not uncommon for my Engineer Goby to build dunes 7-8 inches high on a 3" sand bed and he doesn't care what's under the dune.
Lol
I did that mistake. Made my tank from sand to bare bottom to accommodate more sps. Eventually I had that shocked Pikachu face. Big mistake....however, I'm still bare bottom with very less issues now.
Its been awhile since I've seen this video. Great resource! For me I've settled on cleaning the front 1/3 of the sand bed in my 120g so the tank looks great, while allowing for rhe bio to remaing untouched for the rest of the tank and the fish stift through it. No issues to report after 4ys.
Excelent
Brilliant ideas and very professional video. Thanks
At one of my LFS they suggested just every other week or monthly just running something through the sand bed to stir it up rather than let it set or python.
You won't get quite as much of the detritus and other waste out of the sand that way, but it's still a viable strategy and much better than doing nothing!
Good idea for starting out. To not vacuum out populations trying to grow.
If feeding fish and coral, should be vacuuming the sand, there are spots the current settles particles, learn them and keep those spots clean.
Ahahaha, I would love to meet the professor who hypothesized that he could glue his sand down..... Smh....
There are lots of mistakes maybe more than 21 that a person can make using sand I think I've made at least 20 of them but got it figured out now.
#5 mixing sands. 2 of my tanks i do this, sorta of.
I put crushed coral in back, behind rocks, where strong inflow blows. It stays in place, strong flow keeps accumulation down, and also blows through rocks from the back keeping them cleaner. easier to clean tank without trying to concentrate behind rocks, hard to reach areas.
Great info! I love the 5 gal bucket to clean sand! I learn something everytime. Thank you!
Mixing would appear to be the best at recreation of reef sand. Excellent video👍
After watching this vid I will start doing sand cleaning. I never even gave it any thought, but it looks dirty.
Thanks.
Sand for me. Oolite here on an SPS dominated tank. It was hell in the first few months, but like after 6 to 8 months things are getting a lot more stable, not so many grains flying anymore. I have a larger tank to set up so next time I may go with fiji pink, idk.
I could not live without sand.
@melevsreef would tell you otherwise about cleaning sandbed. His theory is stock up enough sandbed CUC, and don't manually clean it at all. It definitively works awesomely for his giant tank.
I use special grade in my dt cuz my fish gang prefer it, the best setup for a sps dominated tank is bare bottom with your special grade and live rock in the fuge/sump.
great video thank you
Whats awesome about small gain sand? It blows around. It keeps you ( the reef keeper) involved. The more you are in your tank the better.
Grain size and compatible fish information would be helpful. Thanks!
6:02 i once tried something like that in my quarantine, my healthy regal tang which i had had for 2 weeks almost immediately got a severe bacterial infection and was dead in about three days.
Yeah #3 was my big one! Lol wish I would of watched this prior !
No sand for me ! And sump full of biomedia ! Never had any bacteria bloom or any issues
If i have dried out sand that i previously used in a tank several years ago would i need to cure first or just rinse clean?
After watching the tank tour episode today it's funny to see the tank is basically the same a year later (the rock and glass)
My fist 500lt/150gal failed after a year due to never vacuuming the sand not sure why I am sure I read it somewhere and lost the tank to algae. Thinking back now I always vacuumed my fresh water so no idea why I didn’t. But I do now and now algae is a lot easier to control even when maintenance lacks due to life
you are fantastic
Thanks for another great video. Petaluma Nemo
Can u do a vid about Is soltwater Tanks right for u
Back in the day, 45 years or so, we used crushed oyster shells. is this a good Idea and does anyone still use it?
Still seems to be an acceptable way to go, however, very rarely used in the hobby any longer.
The bright well cycling kit is amazing it cycled one of my tanks in TWO days
Can I use the Caribbean sand for a regular 30 gallon freshwater tank?
I think I want to see if I can make a sand chamber in my sump, just to keep the majority of my maintenance in one location
When you wash the sand are you using rodi water?
RODI water is best practice for rinsing dry sand, but in reality, it takes A LOT of water to thoroughly rinse. Everyone does it slightly differently around here, but I usually do the bulk of my rinsing in tap water, then a quick final rinse in RODI at the very end.
No sand and no rocks in my tank. Sump is filled with sponge. Fish waste does not get stuck and flows into a filter sock.
For my 36 inch 40 gallon I have 2 ai prime 16hd on it but I want to get into more acropora and sps would y’all recommend me either getting a third ai prime or the aquatic life 36 inch t5 hybrid and would my 2 ai primes along with 4 t5s
Either way would work. We've seen fantastic results out of the T5/LED hybrid setup, so that's the direction I'd personally lean towards 🙂
Thanks guys.
I’m just about to move the contents of my Red Sea 170 to a new Red Sea 300XL.. After watching , maybe not the sand😉!
I have a bag of the RedSea pink sand, used it before and I’m hoping it is like the Carib Sea product. Plan to cycle it in a bin with a skimmer and some maxspect bio balls to start the bacteria for a couple of weeks. Any advise appreciated.
The balls will be live from my 170 sump.
The choice to going barebottom or going sand is going to be mostly a personal choice based on the pro's and con's. I personally like the look of sand and like my wrasse fish too much. On the other hand, Ryan has decided that for his maintenance schedule, barebottom is the best choice for him.
What If you added to much sand from the start like me and I put 40lbs in my Biocube 32 can I pull some out little at a time to bring it to 1” depth or just leave it?
Just found this channel; good stuff!.
I've been keeping marine tanks for a long time. Currently bare bottom. Crushed coral years ago.
Time for sand, I like/want that look.
Question about live sand;
Will it result in ammonia spike? Should it be cycled prior to adding to an established system?
Thanks in advance!
If you're adding sand to an established system, we usually suggest using dry sand and rinsing it VERY VERY VERY (did we say very enough? 😉 ) well. Add small amounts at a time so that you don't cloud the water up. No matter how well you rinse, there will still be a slight bit of dusty material that enters the water column. Good news is that this usually settles out within a few hours.
Why not go bear bottom in the display and then put sand in your sump?
ATM (the tv show place) Colony is a The Best! cycling bacteria I've used I had used too much ammonium chloride my tank cycled up to 120ppm of nitrates and back to 0 within 2.5 weeks using ammonia half the amount then add FULL amount of bacteria then the remaining amount of ammonia. This was in a 120gal
Some of what I’m reading about sand sifting CUC (some gobies specifically) recommend at least 2” of sand depth. Is that really necessary? Or is the 1” you recommend enough?
what sand will you reccomend to 250 liters with lps and medium flow ?
I'd recommend checking out special grade sand from CaribSea. It's a great grain size that's small enough for popular sand sifters, but large enough so that it won't blow around like crazy. Available in dry or live versions.
Dry > www.bulkreefsupply.com/aragonite-special-grade-dry-sand-40lbs-caribsea.html
Live > www.bulkreefsupply.com/20-lb-special-grade-arag-alive-reef-sand.html
Great video guys, keep them coming!! What specific type of rock are you showing at minute 15:00? I'm sure its something you built but out of what product?
That's built by the folks over at Top Shelf Aquatics using Haitian rock
I have heard different opinions on using sand sifting fish and the depth of sand. I just lost a four inch diamond watchman. A inch inch sandbed would not be enough for him. My sandbed is three inches. I also clean my sand bed and before I do a water change I take a plexiglas rod on one side of the tank and run it through the sand while my Vortechs are in nutrient mode to stir everything up. This avoids any of the bad things you talk about ( nitrogen escaping and other issues) causing harm to the tank. I have been doing this for 7 years, maybe I’ve been lucky but been watching your videos all this time along with faithfully reading up on reef to reef as well about this issue.
Oh I do have a new Diamond watchman goby now
Your thoughts on this.
Sounds like you have a solid solution in place. If it's working for you, I wouldn't change it 🙂
So I'm stuck in the middle now... I want an sps 60Gal but I like sand too... Mostly because I like the little critters and I've always wanted a goby in there. What are my options? I want sand fine enough for gobys but I also need flow for sps.
Check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/AduqkU12qzI/v-deo.html
Spoiler alert, you'll probably end up picking special grade sand 🙂
You guys are amazing!
For new sand adding to a new saltwater aquarium do you have to rinse the caribsea sand at start to prevent it from making the water cloudy??
If it's live sand, don't rinse it. Otherwise, you'll be removing all of the live parts that you've paid for. If you buy dry sand, we usually suggest to rinse as it tends to be a little more dusty.
@@BRStv gotcha thanks!
Thanks a lot for the video .. really usefull. Just one question that wasn't approached. I want to ADD more sand to my tank. As long as I clear the sand, turn off the circulation and add it wet and slowly, do you see any problems ? Cheers from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Marcelo.
Shouldn't be an issue. I like to use a funnel and piece of PVC to guide the sand down to the bottom of the tank. Less dust gets into the water column that way 🙂
How do you add new sand to a already established tank? I am scared of putting the sand in there with my coral and fish.. Any advice?
When adding sand to an established system, go with dry sand and rinse the heck out of it to remove as much dust as possible. Everyone has a slightly different method, but I like to take a funnel and some 1" PVC to help guide the sand to the bottom of the tank. This greatly reduces the cloudiness. If the tank is getting too cloudy, just stop and wait for it to clear up before continuing.
Why not on a bare bottom put your sand bed in you refugium in your sump.... especially if you have a large sump.like a 280 gallon display with a 125 gallon sump
I'm in the process of setting up my 1st coral tank. Love the series I'm learning a lot through yawll.
Question though. I'm doing a reef (no clue types yet gonna learn more on that once I'm cycling the tank.) The only fish I want are sifters and cleaners. Will 3/4" deep finer sandbed mostly be kept clean by a decent crew? Or should I still vacuum it?
While you may not have to do it very often, I still like the idea of vacuuming the sand regularly. This might mean every other water change or once per month, depending on your schedule.
Id love to do a no sand tank........... BUUUUUUT it just looks soooo ugly
Hello!! Question for ya'll regarding sand!
I'm moving my 66 gallon to a 130 gallon and I'm curious - How do you recommend I save all of my sand critters? brittle stars, snails, etc - I really want to keep my sand - but also get some new sand and if I take my old sand and rinse it, won't it kill all of my star fish and other critters? Are you using fresh water to rinse it?
Thank you!!
Most reefers will simply put the old sand into the new tank and add additional sand to make up the difference. Because your old sand is already established, it's best not to rinse it so you can help seed the new sand. I would recommend vacuuming the old sand prior to moving it so you can get as much crud and waste out of it before it gets added to the new tank. :)
@@BRStv Thank you!!!!
Just get a few sand sifting gobies to sift the sand in the middle
Also get some conches and a bunch of cerith
snails
Just keep n mind if you have any corals on sand bed they will be disturbed.
I had a pair of yellow watchmen paired with a tiger pistol shrimp in one tank. Under rocks was not only clean, but free of sand.
With regards to cleaning the sand do you think a sand sifting goby does a good enough job at cleaning then sucking the sand with a siphon vacuum?
Ok 16, I should of watched a bit more before I started writing lol
What about those of us using Triton? No/Rare water changes?
You can always stir the sand bed up periodically (I like to use a turkey baster) to get the debris into the water column for the filtration to remove it.
If I am transferring a 75-gallon marine to a 300-gallon and I have amazing coralline algae growth existing - do I treat my rock? I am assuming I still rinse the sand? Treated water or non-treated water?
I would not suggest treating the rock or rinsing the sand if you plan to re-use either. Rinsing will kill off all of the good bacteria that will help with the tank transfer. You'll want to use RODI water to mix your new saltwater with just like you probably did with your current tank. You'll never have better water than the water you start with!
Hey brs and brs community what are opinions on having a sand tank in a container in the sump or a plumbed in tank with a sand bed so that it can be cleaned or removed and cleaned. My thoughts are that it gives you the Benefits of a sand bed though having to turn down flow and the ability to clean it more easily. You can’t get as much sand in the system but I figure it’s better then nothing for bare bottom tanks!
We've not tried this ourselves, but don't see why this wouldn't work :)
What do you think of mixing some finer grain along with a mostly special grade sand in a mix tank to accommodate my sifting crew and make pockets of friendly habitat for them?
Mixing two different grain sizes was actually one of our mistakes 😉
Yea, I saw that, but what I was thinking is if you mixed the fine with the medium, you might get the benefits if the medium, as a base, then dunes of fine for your suffers. Just a thought. Or would special grade be just OK for your sifters?
Error on Mistake 17, jawfish require a mixed grain size and will stress in a tank with only fine grain size. They do not sift the sand, they are constructing borrows.
Excellent informative video here, especially for new comers to the hobby, but also something for everyone.
I have quick question - what's your take on just a fine dusting of sand on the bottom guys?
👍
If you have a very thin layer of sand, it's almost certainly going to get blown around and leave bare spots.
so what type and grain do i get for a mixed fish and soft coral tank
We most typically use the Caribsea special grade
I live blocks from the beach area. Is beach sand safe to use ? Sand from under the waters surface seems a little more packed than the sand from the dry beach. Probably because of the water....but is the usage of sand from the beach area a bad idea ? The beach I live near has no marinas or anything that would pollute the water if that helps with my question ?
Pollution would be the main concern, but also, beach sand is very very fine grain in most cases, which would result in it blowing around the tank easily. Before you make your decision, make sure that taking sand from the beach is legal in your area.
So. I want to remove the current sand i face in my tank and replace it with a different live sand. Is there a rule of thumb for that?
Your best bet is to do it slowly over time and work in sections. Sand has an incredible surface area, so removing it all at once would be very destabilizing for the tank's biological filter.
@@BRStv ok good to know. Thank you so very much!
Lol my black sand isn't magnetic! WTH
Great vid as usual lads. My tank has been running a year now and I have around 10mm of course sand/gravel. I vac it every week as part of my weekly water change. I want to add more to around an inch. Would this be ok?
If you need to add more sand, you can do that, just do it slowly over time. When adding sand, I like to use the dry sand and rinse the dust out before adding.
Is it ok to.run the under
Gravel filters . because
They do run water through it? At lest i did 20 years ago. And yes
You do need to clean
The gravel.
It won't necessarily hurt, but I've not seen a saltwater aquarium with an under gravel filter in a very long time.
Use pool filter sand. Super cheap perfect size and weight. And 50lbs of sand for like 12 bucks at Home Depot
Can I keep a dwarf golden moray eel in a 60 gallon reef tank? I have 2 clownfish, 1 royal gramma, 1 tomini tang, 1 yellow coris wrasse, 1 fire shrimp, 12 trochus snails and 6 nasarius snails. I’m starting another 30 gallon tank as well, I heard that it is better to mix different types of bacteria for example: ATM Colony, MicroBacter7 and Turbo Start 900 so that there are different types of bacteria which is beneficial for the tank in the long run. Is this true and should I mix different types of bacteria? And can I keep the dwarf golden moray eel? Thank you in advance.😊
could you offset a NO-SAND-BED Tank w/ large porous 🧽 Stone in the sump?
Absolutely
I have a 20 lb. bag of Carib Sea live sand unopened, that has an expiration date of 12/2019. Can I still used the sand in a new tank?
You sure can. Just don't expect any of the live part of the product to be there. If I were in your shoes, I might even rinse the sand before adding it to that tank, which is something that we don't normally suggest with live sand under normal circumstances.
Do I rinse the sand before putting it in the tank?
Most reefers will use live sand as-is and not rinse. If you rinse, you're essentially getting rid of all of the "live" parts of the sand that you've paid for.
Hy guys is seachem meridian live or dry sand
We don't carry that one, so I'm not 100% sure, but from what I was able to find online, it appears to be a dry sand.
Question
I live less than 5 hours from the Gulf of Mexico
Would it be harmful to my tank to bring sand and water home to put in my reef tank?
I would check your local environmental regulations about removing sand. As far as water goes, check this video out.
ua-cam.com/video/IEnEaDxAOVI/v-deo.html
What goby popped out during the 2nd point about black sand??
That would be a yellow watchman goby
That's one funky yellow Watchman 😂
I did #3. What is the best way to fix it?
You've basically got two options in that case. Option 1 is to reduce flow to the point where the sand doesn't get blown around as easily. Easier said than done because corals, even softies, will need flow. Option 2 is to remove and replace with something larger. Most of the BRS staff prefers the special grade as it still looks like a natural sand bed, but is more likely to stay put vs other popular options like fiji pink.
I have a fair amount of used sand, probably 200+ lbs. I would like to clean it as in “the coil method”, can I use tap water then a rinse with RO water or should I use only RO water?
Certainly could do this with the garden hose then rinse thoroughly with RO or RODI water. :)
I don't think tap water will set you sand on fire...post pics if it does.
With that said it depends on your water report on what methods you should take.
Chloramine and heavy metals are what you are looking for. You will need to set you rodi system up to handle this as not all come out the box capable of doing such.
What about adding sand to a bare bottom?