Done w/ Black sand - What sand should I get?

tutmatt3 · Oct 5, 2017

Black sand was fun while it lasted, but I'm done w/ it. On top of my issues w/ some sort of sand algae I can't figure out (dinos, cyano, diatoms, normal algae? i has no idea), I'm just going to get it all out and start with new sand

What sand do you guys recommend for reef? The other issue I had with black sand is that it didn't have the same reflective properties as white sand. I did like that it was thicker, so it didn't float around the entire tank and cloud it up when a wrasse would dive in, but gotta give & take.

My main concern is: will I have to do anything special to the sand before adding it in? I really don't want to go through washing sand - would I need to with caribsea live sand?

Looking forward to recommendations!
Tank as of now:

nautical_nathaniel · Oct 5, 2017

Caribsea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink. Amazing stuff. You can rinse it if you want when adding to the aquarium but honestly the bag that I used on my tank wasn't all that dusty and I put it straight into the aquarium.

Big G · Oct 5, 2017

Caribsea Fiji Pink. It's not really pink; just a few sprinkles of pink here and there. Size is .5-1.5 so it doesn't blow around from powerhead, yet you can blast it with a turkey baster type device to toss the sand for good cleaning practices. I also sprinkled a small bag of live crushed coral on top. I like the look. Cheers.

Radman73 · Oct 5, 2017

IMO, CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand. Used it on my last build and my current. Large enough that it doesn't create a sand storm, small enough that wrasses, and other sand dwellers, can burrow just fine.

tutmatt3 · Oct 5, 2017

Okay, so we're all leaning on caribsea so far. Have any of you guys added LS to an already established tank/ I don't want to experience a bloom because of silicates or something

Jimbo662 · Oct 5, 2017

Radman73 said:
IMO, CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand. Used it on my last build and my current. Large enough that it doesn't create a sand storm, small enough that wrasses, and other sand dwellers, can burrow just fine.

+1 on the special grade...that's all I use now.

tutmatt3 · Oct 5, 2017

Yeah? Any particular reason? Looks very similar to pink - just slightly bigger yea?
Pink - .5-1.5
Special 1-2mm

Will I be able to have fish such as gobies with the special grade? I know my hawaiian black was way too thick

nautical_nathaniel · Oct 5, 2017

Sorry, I haven't added sand to an already established tank. I imagine you will need to move around your rocks and such to get the sand in and keep your filter floss or filter socks well cleaned out to deal with a little bit of dust for a day or so. It may also be helpful to take everything out and place it in a temporary holding tank in order to switch the sands out completely. You'll then need to keep a close eye on water parameters and be ready to do some quick water changes if needed until things settle out.

Mike N · Oct 5, 2017

The fiji pink blows around like mad when i've used it. +1 on the special grade sand.
Maybe a mixture of the two?

Radman73 · Oct 5, 2017

tutmatt3 said:
Yeah? Any particular reason? Looks very similar to pink - just slightly bigger yea?
Pink - .5-1.5
Special 1-2mm

Will I be able to have fish such as gobies with the special grade? I know my hawaiian black was way too thick

Yes, you can.

As to adding to an existing tank. I'd do it slowly. Special grade needs to be washed and then dried thoroughly before adding to an existing tank.

tutmatt3 · Oct 5, 2017

Any particular reason why that one needs to be rinsed?

I know supposedly the arag alive category are ready to go so of course letting it dry out will kill bacteria that came with it

Radman73 · Oct 5, 2017

Every sand I've used needed to be rinsed, live or not. I'm not convinced that live sand from a bag offers much of a benefit. Though in your case it might. Personally I'd feel more comfortable though with well rinsed dry sand. Just personal preference.

tutmatt3 · Oct 6, 2017

Yeah I hear you. Just didn't know if there was some solid reasoning for it, or was more of a preventative "in case"

Luna · Oct 6, 2017

I have a question, do I need to add more sand to my tank after soo many vacuumings to keep the bacteria levels up?

Radman73 · Oct 6, 2017

Luna said:
I have a question, do I need to add more sand to my tank after soo many vacuumings to keep the bacteria levels up?

To keep bacteria levels up? No. Only add sand back in to keep the sand bed at your desired depth.

smokin'reefer · Oct 6, 2017

Recently I had to reset my tank because of a leak. Before that, my tank was really in a sweet spot. Had a great balance.

When I reset the tank, I used all my old live rock and water from the original tank. I did however throw out the old sand and added new sand. The way I understand it, when I added the new sand I added fresh silicates to my balance. This took me on one heck of a new tank syndrome ride. A lot worse than I ever experienced before. I dubbed it re-tank syndrome.

My point for the long back story.?
Is this something the OP should be concerned about. Will adding fresh sand restart his tank syndrome balance? Is he almost there with the black sand and changing out now make things worse? Is this why most people go bare bottom to avoid the silcates that come in sand? I've noticed most coral propagaters don't have sand.

My questions are also self serving because I have siphoned out some of my new sand and would like to add some like Radman73 suggested. Right now I am hesitant to mess with my balance.

tutmatt3 · Oct 7, 2017

What kind of sand did you add?
I found the special grade available @ a local LFS, so I picked up 3x 20lb bags.

I'm about 80% getting all my black sand out, but think I will keep my tank sandless just to let things settle a bit. Dont want to REMOVE ALL then go and ADD ALL route. Too much change imo

My goal is once things stabilize, add in 1x 20lb bag, and observe for a week. Then repeat weekly until all 3 are done.

I did get the arag-alive version. What do you guys recommend best for rinsing? Maybe toss in a filter sock & in a bucket of salt water? Dude @ LFS recommended using a shirt, lol

smokin'reefer · Oct 7, 2017

I used the Tropic Eden Mini Reef Flakes. According to the label the "live" version didn't require rinsing as opposed to the "Dry" version. I also chose this because some one here on R2R implied I wouldn't get the "Dust" storm that most sands give you. That didn't work, although not as bad as my original sand. Still got a lot of dust.