sand advice (need answer by thur 2 pm)

[greatgman]

please let me know of what you finheads out there think about this

i have 120 pounds of caribsea aragamax select (.05 -1.0 mm)
in my 90 galon tank
1 should i get enough of the same to make 3.5 -4 inches dsb

2 use seafloor special mix on top

3 use sugar size oolitic sand on top

4 put the sealfloor on the bottom with the select on top

5 put the oolitic sand on the bottom and select on top

i'm looking to get some sort of answer by 2 pm est thursday
any help would be appreciated

oh and i found something growing on my rock today very small probably algae (green)
strange because there is nothing in the tank but these 4 rocks
looks like they were once seeded but died off long ago
maybee the stuffs waking up again???
just had them in there for 3 weeks for me to have something to look at instaed of just a tank of sand

 

[loganj]

I would probably go a little deeper that 3.5-4". 5-6" would be better. Also, since you already have the Aragamax, I'd stick with that. The reason is if you add a different size sand, they will mix up. Actually, since you're using that type sand, you might want to consider sticking with a shallow sand bed. I'm not sure if you'll get good results as far as nitrate removal with this size sand.

 

[WhiteCloud]

My most local "Coralist" (is that a word yet?), which is 2 hrs away, likes 2/3 Agaramax on the bottom and about 1/3 Seaflor on top for at 4-6 inch total for a dsb. Sealfor is a bit heavier and larger grained and keeps the finer and ligher agaramax in place, so she recommends Seaflor on top of the Agaramax.

Check out her reef making tips at:

http://www.aquacorals.com/ShopTipsReefSetUp.htm

 

[greatgman]

currently i'm at 2.75 inch sand base

cmon loanj 5-6" why
iknow iknow dinitrification of nitrate
but with that much sand there wont be alot of swimming space for the fish 4 should be enought

 

[quarryshark]

Well you could start with a 4" base and if you are not getting the denitrification effect that you want, you could always incrementally increase the depth (1/2" per week) until you do.
I would also suggest sticking with the same size grain.
What is your tank depth? Do you have a sump? If so, you could skip the DSB for the main and make a fuge with a DSB in you sump. Just another thought.

 

[quarryshark]

Another thought, what are your stocking plans? You could alway skip the DSB for now and see how it goes. It can be added later, thats what I did.
Just another option for you to consider.

 

[phases99]

You should get plenty of NNR from a 4" sandbed. Remember it does dissolve over time so you will want to add 1" per year or so. I would stick with the same type of sand for looks.