Diatoms

[Butters]

I have a few diatom blooms around my tank but they are very small. im having a bad feeling about my sand and I would like to add more. Looks like all the sand is bigger than a grain of sugar much bigger.

would it be ok to add smaller grained sand and mix it in or would i have to take the larger grain sand out. (not sure if its CC i dont remember). also if I can mix it and add more sand should I clean the areas which have the diatom blooms or can I just cover them with the sand? about 90% of the blooms are near the edge of my sand bed.

also my sand bed is min 1" and max 2" so I was thinking of going about 2 or 3 more inches of sand. this is for a 75 gal tank with no fish or rock yet.

my live rock comes today and I just wanna make sure my sand is set before i scape the LR.

sorry for all the posts. just wanna learn from the best and trying to avoid a disaster. i dont really trust the LFS to much (Petco)

 

[reefrunner69]

would it be ok to add smaller grained sand and mix it in or would i have to take the larger grain sand out.

If it is a large grain like crushed coral...it should be removed. The large grains will make their way to the top and will trap detritus.

my live rock comes today and I just wanna make sure my sand is set before i scape the LR.

I would remove the current sand, I would empty the tank of water completely. I would wet the new sand prior to adding it to the tank. Plave your base rock down on the aquarium bottom. Add the sand around the base rock, upto 4". Then aquascape. If at all possible, I like to aquascape in an empty aquarium, then fill it with water. The addition of sand and the new rock will cloud the water so bad, youmight not be able to see in it for a week or a little more.

 

[Butters]

thx...so from what ive gathered I should get the home depot sand "southdown" carribian play sand? if so about how many bags would make a 4" DSB in a 75 gallon?

 

[BillyZ]

southdown is the way to go. note that they have recently also changed their name, you may find bags of carribian play sand by "oldcastle sand products" this is the same stuff even if it says "not recommended for aquarium use" its a no compete agreement they have with a hoby supplier..

for how much you need, see this handy calculator

 

[Butters]

hmm post didnt take...well 48/18/4 was my calculations and it said 198 lbs of sand. this seems a bit much but what do I know ill trust ya

oh and thanks guys for the help

 

[Butters]

The sand I had in there was CaribSea Aragonite. 120 lbs 1-2 mm diameter. just picked up 200 lbs of old castle tropical play sand for 20 bucks (pfft spent 72 bucks for 120 lbs at the LFS)at home depot. this should be enough for my 4" DSB.

hopefully I wont make anymore of these costly mistakes.

again thanks for your help.