southdown vs cc

[thefatman]

quick question for you southdown users.

in the 55 i have medium grained crushed coral. i was told after getting it, the negative drawbacks that it would present. well, they are now presenting themselves i get small patches of cyano on the cc occasionly and some patches of hair algae from time to time.

it's no big deal, i just go in and siphon them off, and they are gone. but they also take the top layer of cc that they are attached to as well. i'm not too concerned because the tank will be down soon anyway, once the transfer to the 75 takes place.

however, i'm concerned about the southdown. does this same problem happen with it? the southdown is even lighter than the cc is, so siphoning doesnt seem like a good option? is there something in the makeup of the sand that prevents the algae from growing on it like it does on cc?

i have been under the impression that you dont siphon a sandbed like you would cc. and siphoning cc doesnt even seem very smart to me either, because you lose so much of it. this isnt going to work with sand. you have no idea how hard it was to acquire what little southdown i have to begin with...well jimemr does

so to wrap this up, is algae on southdown a problem like it is on a cc bed?

[mikeMersot]

you don't siphon sand usually, as long as you keep nutrients down and good circulation at the bottom, plus a good clean up crew, you shouldn't have any problems with cyano on the sand. I dont use southdown----yet, but it is very fine and would definatley not be condusive to siphoning. I just picked up 500 lbs of the stuff and am looking forward to setting it up in my new 150!

[laddy00]

I use southdown.Since it is so light and fine it is continually moving due to fish, current or cleanup crew. Nothing seems to have a chance to get a hold on. This is just my experience and others might have had different experiences.

[Jimmer]

FWIW, I put 100 lbs of sd in 2 weeks ago. I recycled my old h20. (problem 1 I'm sure)

Now I am growing a TON of algae. Looks like grass in my sand. I have 2 turbos that can't keep up. I bought 8 Nassarius that are pretty small that seem happy to burrow and sit. I'm thinking I need to get Astrea to surf the sand to chomp down the algae. Prolly gonna need to get a cleaner too. I have plans to get a fighting conch or 2 as well.

Any other suggetions as to what I can do to control my new lawn.

Oh btw, params are:
Ph 8.0
Ammonia 0
Trite, trate, 0
Alkalinity 2.98

Temp pretty steady at 80. Skimmer running 24/7

[thefatman]

jim, everyone told me astreas dont like to be on the sand. so do a little more checking before buying them. might be better off with something that likes sand better.

thanks for the info guys.

[Jeremy1973]

nassarius and conchs are great for a sand bed. Yep, my astreas always stay on the glass. However, I love to see the bulldozed path that my turbos make in the sand.

[Beaches]

I just replaced my dsb of cc and mixture of ls in my recent move with a 50 lb bag of southdown and a 10lb bag of ls mixture for my 40g. I can't tell you what a huge difference this is in the look of my tank!! The cc had lots of brown algae (no matter what my parameters) and made the tank look so dirty.

The fish seem to really like the difference since it is much easier fo them to pick up the food that falls to the bottom--and of course, Tomi (Tomato clown) really likes kickin up the sand!

I haven't had any algae problems yet...but, it's only been a week since the move. We were able to use most of the existing water in the tank and only had to add about 10g, so I'm hoping the "cycle" thing isn't too bad. Didn't lose any occupants, but had a near miss with my scooter--he buried himself and we couldn't find him!

So far all is well...and we all love the new place...the dogs are really enjoying the pool!

[Ray1214]

I have been running a bed of Crushed Coral with oolitic sand on the surface (basically an expensive version of the southdown). After 2 years , I don't seem to have the problems that other people do. However I do have a corner where I poured a quart of aruba shell for my jawfish. That and t he hermit shells in my tank take on a brown look.

Ray

[ldmk]

Originally posted by thefatman
quick question for you southdown users.

so to wrap this up, is algae on southdown a problem like it is on a cc bed?

You will get algae on the sand also, but my turbos seem to do a good job on keeping it clean. I have four large and one small turbo. Also, I just got a Yellow Tang and it'll pick on the algae on the floor also. Except for the back corners the tank is pretty much clean. The narsissus snails are great at picking up stuff that falls to the floor but are not "grazers."

FWIW the aragonite from Pure Caribbean Aragonite is really outstanding sand and may be worth it. Although I've heard Southdown is the same stuff - it's just that we can't seem to get any in the PNW.

HTH.

K.M.

[MammaDuck]

Idmk,

Since you are in Gig Harbor, a trip to Silverdale may well be worth it to you. The Home Depot in Silverdale carries the Old Castle (South Down) sand for 2.49/50 lb bag. If you have a home Depot closer to you (I think there was on in Unviersity Place-- which is closer to you). Just give HD a call, the one in Silverdale said they stocked the Old Castle play sand exclusively. . . HTH

[Doug1]

Originally posted by MammaDuck
Idmk,

Since you are in Gig Harbor, a trip to Silverdale may well be worth it to you. The Home Depot in Silverdale carries the Old Castle (South Down) sand for 2.49/50 lb bag. If you have a home Depot closer to you (I think there was on in Unviersity Place-- which is closer to you). Just give HD a call, the one in Silverdale said they stocked the Old Castle play sand exclusively. . . HTH

OH REALLY my daughter lives in SIlverdale
Jimmer, the nassarious wont graze algae their niche is eating any food that hits the sand bed, breaking it down for the smaller critters to work on. Queen or Fightin Conch should go a long way towards cleaning the sand surface. Turbos will work bioth sand and rock. Cerith and astreas will help, everyone seems to have fave foods they target, thats why diversity is good

[mikeMersot]

I like fighting conchs and cukes best for cleaning the sand bed, I have 2 conchs and 1 turd cuke in my 75 and I never have any algae on the sand. Ceriths help too.

[cath]

Jay, I started out with cc and oolite, and had the usual outbreaks of cyano what not every so often, but not rampant. Then I put SD in my tank, and it can still be a mess. Clean up crew has been sorta invisible, so they are either 1) dead or 2) not hungry enough. But Mr Spot and Ms


So I use my trusty turkey baster to lift the cyano off.


what a balancing act

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Jimmer
Now I am growing a TON of algae. Looks like grass in my sand. ... I have plans to get a fighting conch or 2 as well.

Any other suggetions as to what I can do to control my new lawn.

remove the algae, that is where the nutrients are locjked up, this is the easiest way to immediately improve your water quality.

a scoop of sand from a few well established tanks will help a lot. once the sandbed matures a bit, buy some atlantic or tigertail Holothurians, they wil digest the stuff of the surface of the sand granules and poop clean sand.

[Jimmer]

thx for the info. Sorry to have hijacked your thread Jay..