Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
I made a mistake a couple weeks ago and bought crushed coral for my tank. I should have done more research before I did that, but here I am with 5" of crushed coral in my tank.
I did some reading and decided that I wanted to use sand instead. But, funds are a little tight and I can't afford to buy all the sand I need right now.
I decided to crush the coral gravel and turn it into "sand" or finer grain pieces. 3hrs in my kitchen with a blender has reduced the average grain size from about 1/4" cross section to about 1/16" cross section. I have a LOT more teeny tiny fine pieces now.
So, I put it back in the tank. Instant cloud. No big deal. Turned on a canister to try and filter out some of the fine dust. But, I now have a nice 1/4" or 3/8" deep bed of powder or "mud" on top of my sand bed. :frustrat:
Should I use a gravel vac and remove this fine dusting on top of my sand bed? Or just leave it be? Stir/mix it into the sand bed?
I am planning to have small sand sifters and sand burrowing critters in my tank. I'm confident now that my sand bed is fine enough to permit these types of fishies to go about their normal business of stirring the bottom and digging around. I'm just worried that this fine dusting of mud/silt/dust on top of my sand bed will be a source of constant cloudiness as the fish swim and root around in the tank.
I'm expecting a refugium in the mail on this coming Monday. Should I gravel vac that fine dust/mud off the sand bedk and put it in my fuge?
Thanks. :bowdown:
I did some reading and decided that I wanted to use sand instead. But, funds are a little tight and I can't afford to buy all the sand I need right now.
I decided to crush the coral gravel and turn it into "sand" or finer grain pieces. 3hrs in my kitchen with a blender has reduced the average grain size from about 1/4" cross section to about 1/16" cross section. I have a LOT more teeny tiny fine pieces now.
So, I put it back in the tank. Instant cloud. No big deal. Turned on a canister to try and filter out some of the fine dust. But, I now have a nice 1/4" or 3/8" deep bed of powder or "mud" on top of my sand bed. :frustrat:
Should I use a gravel vac and remove this fine dusting on top of my sand bed? Or just leave it be? Stir/mix it into the sand bed?
I am planning to have small sand sifters and sand burrowing critters in my tank. I'm confident now that my sand bed is fine enough to permit these types of fishies to go about their normal business of stirring the bottom and digging around. I'm just worried that this fine dusting of mud/silt/dust on top of my sand bed will be a source of constant cloudiness as the fish swim and root around in the tank.
I'm expecting a refugium in the mail on this coming Monday. Should I gravel vac that fine dust/mud off the sand bedk and put it in my fuge?
Thanks. :bowdown:
