Nano Tank Advice (Sand Bed)

[rookie07]

I am running a Innovative Marine 4 Gl Pico Tank that has blue/white pad (Filter Floss?) & Chemi Pure Elite as the only filtration. I do weekly 85% Water changes with ESV Salt Mix (The extra water when I do my Solana WC).

Should this tank have a sand bed at all? That is my question.

Tank Inhabitants:
1) Wartskin Angler (1.5")
2) A Blue Leg Hermit
3) Two Stomatella
4) Few Brittle stars
5) Few bristle worm

I currently have approx 1" of black sand covering half the bottom (the other half is filled in with rocks completely).

My thoughts are that the sand will help buffer the water, etc.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you

 

[al0ha]

i have a shallow sb in my angler tank. i think it looks better aesthetically but I'm not sure if its beneficial/detrimental chemically

 

[tosiek]

1" of sand in a 4g is a lot of sand. Just coat the bottom of the tank with 1/4" or so. Thats all you need to get some extra bacteria growing on extra surfaces to help with the bio filtration. Plus having more will trap waste.

 

[Custom05Taco]

I'm still learning about this hobby but 85% weekly water changes seems like a lot. Isn't that too big of a change. I know the more often the better but that seems like it could be doing more harm then good to the system. But again I'm still new to reef so It's just a novice opinion.

 

[sillysidewinder]

I'm still learning about this hobby but 85% weekly water changes seems like a lot. Isn't that to big of a change. I know the more often the better. That seems like it could be doing mire harm then good to the system. But again I'm still new to reef so It's just a novice opinion.

I've never heard of anyone doing that big of water changes either. Could you explain the logic behind that? Benefits, drawbacks, etc.

 

[Buck0land]

85% water change is rather large. Why not just 1 Gallon a week?

 

[richardhmc]

in my experience, the times the reef grows the best is when I forget to do water changes for a while. then I come back and everything has grown so much better

 

[House of Laughter]

I am running a Innovative Marine 4 Gl Pico Tank that has blue/white pad (Filter Floss?) & Chemi Pure Elite as the only filtration. I do weekly 85% Water changes with ESV Salt Mix (The extra water when I do my Solana WC).

Should this tank have a sand bed at all? That is my question.

Tank Inhabitants:
1) Wartskin Angler (1.5")
2) A Blue Leg Hermit
3) Two Stomatella
4) Few Brittle stars
5) Few bristle worm

I currently have approx 1" of black sand covering half the bottom (the other half is filled in with rocks completely).

My thoughts are that the sand will help buffer the water, etc.

What are your thoughts?

Thank you

I've never seen an ocean bottom without sand.

Just saying . . ..

House

 

[jaBX1]

i agree, personally i like a sand bed on any tank. but that is just personal preference, with the small amount of sand you would be using it wouldn't really be too beneficial.


and i agree with the others, 85% is much larger suggested. In a nano its necessary to make frequent water changes but usually 15-25%.

depending on what you have in your tank you could be taking the stuff that corals eat out of the water. soft corals for example thrive in "dirty" water with phosphate and nitrate levels higher than in an SPS only tank. Fish also probably dont like these huge water changes because they have to aclimate to the new water conditions every week. thats a lot of unnecessary stress your putting on your tank inhabitants.


I would start doing 1 gal per week water changes and see how your tank reacts

best of luck

 

[rookie07]

I do not have corals in tank (a few zoas, but i dont care about them). I am not concerned with coral.
The tank is 4 gl, which means it has like 2 gls of water in it. I change 1 gl weekly.
This thread got way off topic.
I want to know if i can get rid of my sand bed without any negative effects.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

If you are filling the sand with more rocks, I see not much difference in the buffering ability.

If you are just removing the sand, the buffering ability will greatly depends on the filter floss. I have a small setup that has 1 rock, 1 bubble filter from the 10G kit and an in-tank filter from the Fluval EBI. The volume of all the media combined is relatively little and they handle 2 paired clowns very well.

 

[House of Laughter]

I agree with Wingo - if there are not animals in there but zoos, then buffering isn't a major problem and the reduction of the bio-capability isn't a problem. I would worry more about clouding etc.

I would:

1) remove all water and animals into a bucket with temp and salinity water the same as tank
2) remove rock and sand from tank - be sure to have an extra bucket of like water to shake off the rocks (clean them of debris and sand)
3) rinse tank with like water
4) put rock back in tank
5) pt animals back in tank
6) do water change next day or day after.

That's how I would approach it.

Jim

 

[rookie07]

I agree with Wingo - if there are not animals in there but zoos, then buffering isn't a major problem and the reduction of the bio-capability isn't a problem. I would worry more about clouding etc.

I would:

1) remove all water and animals into a bucket with temp and salinity water the same as tank
2) remove rock and sand from tank - be sure to have an extra bucket of like water to shake off the rocks (clean them of debris and sand)
3) rinse tank with like water
4) put rock back in tank
5) pt animals back in tank
6) do water change next day or day after.

That's how I would approach it.

Jim

Thank you Wingo & Jim!

 

[stevemason]

I do not have corals in tank (a few zoas, but i dont care about them). I am not concerned with coral.
The tank is 4 gl, which means it has like 2 gls of water in it. I change 1 gl weekly.
This thread got way off topic.
I want to know if i can get rid of my sand bed without any negative effects.

did u say you dont care about coral, on a site that revolves around coral?? just curious- i'll take those zoa and take good care of them if u dont care about them. as far as your question regarding sand... you dont need sand providing you have proper filtration and is it me or do you have your tank half full?