Saltwater Questions

[Mitchell0605]

That's actually nicely shaped and once it gets covered won't look at all artificial.

 

[thincat]

All my rock except for a few that I needed to seed my tank is homemade. The biggest problem is getting the PH down. It takes awhile and lots of water changes. I used the Saltwater that I removed during a PWC as my water change for the DIY Rock. It's fun and you can make any shape you want.

 

[thincat]

Here is the thread on making the rock. I was helping someone else make it.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f20/diy-live-rock-115686.html

 

[thincat]

The homemade rock that I make is so porous the water just runs right through it. Lots of area for bacteria to grow on and it's very light to boot.

 

[melosu58]

There are some SPS corals that would do good under T5`s and even VHO`s Check out millipora and pavona corals. Also montipora red cap and green caps. I have them in my tank under VHO`s and they do good. There are some moderate lighting SPS. Not alot but some.

 

[wingersfan14191]

Making my own rock? I have thought about it but i thought it would be a little to hard..How long does it take? Dont you have to sure it?

And thanks for the SPS corals! I was leaning towards t5 lighting and that would allow me to grow sps which is going to be awesome!!

I have asked around about this Dry black sand and so far what i have heard is that it would take for ever for me to get it to become live..I really want to use black sand but i dont want to wait years for it to become live..So are there any other black sands out there that are live?

 

[mfdrookie516]

.I really want to use black sand but i dont want to wait years for it to become live..So are there any other black sands out there that are live?

it wont take years to be considered live, once the tank is cycled and you have your live rock in there, the bacteria that resides on that rock will start to spread to the glass, filters if you have any, and the substrate. Most people use dry sand to begin with, since sitting on a shelf in an air tight bag with no source of ammonia is no way to keep sand "alive" (you could compare it to the magical cycle in a bottle).

My biggest problem with black sand (mine is in fw, but im certain this would carry over) is that what little bit of food that the fish dont eat, detrius, and just general gunk gets built up over time. My sand looks nasty, and i do 50% pwc's weekly with a thorough vac. The sand in my other tanks (pool filter sand, comparable in color to dry aragonite) looks nice and clean all the time. Like i said, mine's in fw, but sw fish still eat and poop just like fw fish

 

[Mitchell0605]

Thanks TC! So the only problem was it kept the pH rather high for a while?

 

[wingersfan14191]

So I found some black sand..its Hawaiian Black Sand..Does anyone know have this sand? or Know a lot about it?..Is there a Way to keep the sand clean Jonathan? or should i just use something else?

 

[thincat]

If it's true Hawaiian black sand it would have no calcium in it and would make ot hard to keep your ph up.