Sand in a grow out tank

dgiglio3087 · Jul 17, 2012

I recently purchased a 210g tank that is going to be my main display. And since i dont wanna loose my butt on my old 75g tank i thought id make it a grow out tank for frags that i cut to trade/sell and for frags purchased for the display. My question is should i leave the sand in the 75g? or can i add it to my 210g?

Headiesheradon · Jul 17, 2012

i dont use sand in my frags systems if you want something on the bottom go with a thin layer of crushed coral of puka shells. much easier to deal with imo.

ritter6788 · Jul 17, 2012

After 4 years of having a 4+inch sandbed on all my tanks, I've recently become anti-sand. I like enough for looks but no deeper than a 1/2 inch-1 inch.

Pkunk35 · Jul 17, 2012

Any chance to plumb a refugium in there to take advantage of the sand but not having to deal with it in the grow out? You could also split some into the 210 display.

What do you guys do with all that sand if you don't need it? Find local reefers to donate?

dgiglio3087 · Jul 18, 2012

Pkunk35 said:
Any chance to plumb a refugium in there to take advantage of the sand but not having to deal with it in the grow out? You could also split some into the 210 display.

What do you guys do with all that sand if you don't need it? Find local reefers to donate?

Fill sink holes in your yard lol j/k yeah id give it away before filling holes with it.

Okay so sand is purely for looks for the most part right? the sump has a 4" deep sand bed in the fuge. what about the live rock, put as much as possible in the sump as possible then get rid of the rest?

Pkunk35 · Jul 18, 2012

dgiglio3087 said:
Fill sink holes in your yard lol j/k yeah id give it away before filling holes with it.

Okay so sand is purely for looks for the most part right? the sump has a 4" deep sand bed in the fuge. what about the live rock, put as much as possible in the sump as possible then get rid of the rest?

Sand is going to be biologically active so still retains filtration or fixing capabilities. Plus any sand no matter the depth is going to hold detrivores/pods. The reason for the 1" depth is to prevent it from becoming a sinkhole for nutrients (easy to siphon/stir out). If you already have a fuge and DSB connected to the system I'd say you are good to go on the benefit of the sand already.

If this is a true frag grow out tank then I would think you need the most room in the tank as possible, thus I would also add as much rock into the sump as possible to make room. Depending on how much you can fit in the sump, you may still need to add some to the main display for additional filtration (maybe not if you run bioballs or other biological filtration), but this is going to depend on your bioload and feeding habits.

One idea i have but not sure of the science behind it, is to break up the rocks into pieces/rubble so as to fit more into the sump? I'm not sure if this will change the biological filtration qualities of the rock (center of the rock is supposed to fix nitrate?). Essentially you would be turning rock into bio-balls.

dgiglio3087 · Jul 18, 2012

Thanks for all the replies. What about fish, as of now I have no fish in the tank, good or bad? If I do put fish in their it'll probably be a pair of clowns. But for now its going to be no fish... Good or bad?

halcyonism · Jul 19, 2012

dgiglio3087 said:
Thanks for all the replies. What about fish, as of now I have no fish in the tank, good or bad? If I do put fish in their it'll probably be a pair of clowns. But for now its going to be no fish... Good or bad?

I would say you would definitely want some fish in there to help with algae control. Scopas tangs are work horses and can usually be picked up for next to nothing.

Plus, don' forget; fish poop = coral food.

dgiglio3087 · Aug 5, 2012

Okay thanks everyone for the tips I think I know where im heading with that old tank now. I'm going to sell the coralife pro mh fixture, cause it kills my electic bill. Then I'll do a First time DIY LED set up. I'm going to go no sand or rock in display( I'll keep whats in the sump plus as much rock as i can fit. And since I haven't really begun stocking my 210g with fish yet, and there wont be any coral in the 75g for some time, im planning to use it as a qt (not a hospital tank, no meds will enter this tank) for the new arrivals for my 210. Then once I do start using the tank for frags ill add a couple of permanent fish. sounds about right? Also, for those of you who have set up frag tanks whats the best racking methods? Should I go flat egg crate raised 2-3" off the bottom? Or do the egg Crate like steps? Or should I go with multiple traditional magnetized frag racks? By the way in looking grow out/ frag sps/ Zoas mainly, maybe a few lps.