Sand Question

[scu95821]

I put sand in my tank and decided I wanted a little more so I ran to the store and bought a 20 lb bag of live sand. Its CaribSea Ocean Direct Caribbean Live Sand. Its black and white so I thought it would look cool sprinkled across the surface.

It has a lot of pieces that are 1/4 of inch or a little more. Is that going to be a problem?? DO I need to remove them?
Also well I have you here, I got a really cool piece of base rock then realized it will create a cave in the back of my tank. Is that bad will the fishies go hide there? My freshwater tank had that problem but I had a fish that bullied everybody. The only way I can find to still use it and not have the cave is to use another piece to of rock to block it. I can do that but then I have to re scape my tank.

 

[chiqui bb]

Not sure about your sand question but certainly some of the more experienced hobbyists will answer for you. Just wanted to comment on your base rock. I think the cave will be great for any shy fish you may have in the tank. They may hide in it but this will make them feel more comfortable and the less stressed they are, the better the chances are that they will venture out in the future. Can you position the cave so that it faces the front of the tank? That way you can still see inside it but the fish have a safe place to hang out.

 

[dcantucson]

Your sand will be okay as long as there aren't too many larger pieces that will allow detritus to fall down in between the pieces causing build up and water pollution within your tank. As for the cave, hiding places are good. Makes for happy fish.

 

[daugherty]

your sand will be fine like dcan said and the more places you can create in the rock for fish to hide the better.

 

[scu95821]

Cool. I'm going to add the rock today get my water all set and add a shrimp tonight or tomorrow.

Does it matter is the sand is level or not? Despite rinsing the sand it was still cludy when I put it in the tank and isnt level, whenI move it it stirs up more stuff.

the shallowest paertis 2 inchs up to maybe 4"

 

[Bifferwine]

I have that exact same sand in my 10 gallon nano. Some pieces are chunkier than others, but the only bad thing about that is if you don't like the way it looks. It won't cause any problems.

 

[scu95821]

I don't mind the look too much. I like the salt and pepper look especially because I have the regular sand under it.

The big chunks look like charcoal or burnt wood. Maybe I'll get a set of tongs and pull the big ones out.