Which Size?

What kind of sand should I use? Is this good? [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010748A0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2LDZGFAGG1QXE]Amazon.com: Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand 20 lb.: PETCO[/ame]
 
Like this? CaribSea Dry Aragonite Fiji Pink Reef Sand 15 lb

And my father told me that if you have a REALLY deep sand bed, like 8", in the sump or something, that deep down it makes a good environment for anaerobic bacteria which eat nitrates. I tried to tell him a deep sand bed just collects organic matter and produces more nitrates. He didn't buy it. He's very stubborn... :grumble: What do you think?
 
He is right, a very deep sand bed like that does do that. It needs to be 6+ inches deep though, any shorter than that and it does just what you described. You have to be very careful to never disturb a deep sand bed though because it will release the other toxic chemicals that are byproducts of the anaerobic metabolism.
 
I took your advice and put 100 pounds of dry rock and 45 pounds of live rock on my list. It saved me about $100. Something, else. Do you think it's worth spending 5 times more to get a rose bubble tip anemone vs. a regular bubble tip anemone?
 
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no.

but like i have told you, you cannot put all those fish into your tank at once. You absolutely have to space them out at least 3 weeks between each addition. I would suggest find a nice lfs near you to get your fish from.

Also, you can try adding all those corals at once, but i highly doubt most of them will survive because im sure not all of your corals are going to do well in a newer tank. Plus you shouldnt be putting a nem in a tank younger than a year old. Plus i would be really worried about the effects of shipping a nem. I would want to buy one that i can see is healthy and then quickly take it home, instead of putting it all through the stress of shipping. I know people do it all the time, but with nems, it still freaks me out.

Also, when you order live rock on line, unless you are ordering from TBS, that live rock you are going to get is going to be mostly dead. IMO its not worth the money for the shipping. I would find 10lbs locally, or just pull out a piece of rock from your other tank. Why do you want to spend that much on live rock when you already have a tank full of it? You dont have to move that piece over to the other tank forever, once its done cycling, just put it back in your eel tank.

Once again, i really suggest you find some more local sources for your livestock. It is out there, you just have to take the time to look. It might not instantly pop up, you might have to look a little harder, but i promise you its out there.
 
I used that sand when I set up my tank.. great stuff and for the price cant beat it..
Just watch the flow from the powerheads,, can move it around easily.. :D
i too went a pound per gallon well just over...
 
little_fish said:
no.

but like i have told you, you cannot put all those fish into your tank at once. You absolutely have to space them out at least 3 weeks between each addition. I would suggest find a nice lfs near you to get your fish from.
Click to expand...

I know, a fish can only be added every 3 to 4 weeks. Probably the closest decent fish store is almost and hour away, I guess it's probably worth it though.

little_fish said:
Also, you can try adding all those corals at once, but i highly doubt most of them will survive because im sure not all of your corals are going to do well in a newer tank. Plus you shouldnt be putting a nem in a tank younger than a year old. Plus i would be really worried about the effects of shipping a nem. I would want to buy one that i can see is healthy and then quickly take it home, instead of putting it all through the stress of shipping. I know people do it all the time, but with nems, it still freaks me out.
Click to expand...

I'll have plenty of time for my tank to stabilize before I get any corals. It's going to take me over a year to get enough money for everything. I know, an anemone needs a mature tank. The spreadsheet was for everything I'll need. About shipping anemones, I guess your right, I don't need my hole tank destroyed by anemone toxins.

little_fish said:
Also, when you order live rock on line, unless you are ordering from TBS, that live rock you are going to get is going to be mostly dead. IMO its not worth the money for the shipping. I would find 10lbs locally, or just pull out a piece of rock from your other tank. Why do you want to spend that much on live rock when you already have a tank full of it? You dont have to move that piece over to the other tank forever, once its done cycling, just put it back in your eel tank.
Click to expand...

I think I'll get some out of my eel tank, they charge $7 a pound locally, which means $70 for just 10 pound. I think I'll get another 100 pounds of dry rock for my eel tank. If it weren't for his PVC pipe he'd probably get pretty stressed, he does spend most of his time there. The thing is, I have about 20 to 30 Ib of rock in there.:shock:

little_fish said:
Once again, i really suggest you find some more local sources for your livestock. It is out there, you just have to take the time to look. It might not instantly pop up, you might have to look a little harder, but i promise you its out there.
Click to expand...

I'll do some research when I have a chance. I'll tell you if I find anything. Thank you, you've probably saved me a couple hundred dollars. :D
 

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