Switching from freshwater to saltwater

[Connie]

I have an 80 g tank with a 402 fluval canister filter. There is only 1 saltwater LFS besides Petco. I'm not happy with either.
What substrate should I use for a FO tank? I really like the fine sand. If I get the sand how do I clean it? Any advice will be appreciated!

 

[d9hp]

I would use sand, and actually you dont need to wash it.

 

[Hara]

You can vacuum sand, you just have to be careful doing it. I use a piece of airline tubing and more or less "hover" over the sand surface. I have black sand that is very expensive and I do not want to lose any. Also, being black, it shows all the detritus.

I have used many substrates from sand to crushed coral, a mix of the two and even regular gravel. Sand has been the best.

 

[Connie]

Janitor pkg.

I've read that there are starfish, shrimp, etc that clean the sand. can these be put in an FO tank? If so when?

 

[kribbz]

connie i don't know how far you are away from phoenix but there was REALY cool place there called "The Ocean Floor" i went there when i visited my cousin and it was awesome.