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Sandbed

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Doug1 
#1 ·
Thanks for the advice on my last post. I've been reading everything I can get my hand's on. One thing I can't seem to find a answer to is about seeding the sandbed. Being as I live down in the Fl. Keys is it possible to seed the bed with live-sand taken from the ocean out near the reef's. If this is possible is there anything I need to do to the sand before I put it in the tank.
thanks. Mike.
 
#2 ·
Hi Mike:

Three problems with collecting live sand:

1) It's harder than you think. Often, by the time the sample is in the bag or canister, the critters have all fled --so scoop WITH the transport container, quick and sure and cap it pronto.

2) Preventing a crash during transport. Depending on the biodensity in the sample, the sudden upheaval in oxygen distribution within the sand, and the standard stresses of stagnant-water transport, can lead to die-off. Heck, worms can die when their tubes are crushed by shifting, heavy sand --so judge the transport quantity accordingly.

3) Unintended introduction of hostile species. You may introduce creatures that are active predators of the livestock you wish to care for. Isopods of Family Cirolanidae are a much-discussed danger to fish. And of course, there's the issue of polluted water/sand near the shore.

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Now if you do harvest sand, have a very clean plastic basin ready at home for 'quarantining' the sand: basically, you want to put the sand in, and gradually blend in some properly-prepared saltwater to the transport water. Aeration of the water will help disperse any gases from normal respiration and any die-off. With a lens and a white dish brimming with saltwater for viewing sand samples, you can check for signs of life.

If it's live, and if you're reasonably sure you don't have any pests on board, then you can introduce the sand by the cupful into the aquarium.

Frankly, I think it's easier and safer (though possibly somewhat more expensive) to create a sandbed from scratch, using live starter kits to seed your bed.

hth
horge!
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply. I guess that solves that question. I think I will go with the starter kit for the sand-bed then. Also I guess I have an other question concerning RO water. Is a single stage filter good enough to filter the water before I had it to the tank? I've noticed there are mutiple stages of RO filters. I have a single stage filter installed at home here and if that will suffice that would be great.
mike.
 
#4 ·
The stages of an RO filter refer to the prefilters basicly. A single stage has a combo carbon and sediment filter, that should be replaced every 6 months. Most single stage combos filters have >10 micron filtration ability. Wheras multistage units can get down to .5 micron. Is it worth it?, depends on how much water you need to make and the quality of the source water. You can add a sediment prefilter before the RO that will help and add a Tap Water Purifier after the RO filter to give good quality water for your reef
 
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