howdy!

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

just signed up, seems like a neat place. ive done salt before, just starting out again. got a small 10 gallon on my bar.. not sure if ill upgrade from there or not.

it did come with some schnazzy black sand (guy said it was tahitan?). never thought id start a tank w/ black sand. im the more traditional type, white sand on the bottom. this looks great though..

anywho, j ust sayin hi. ill post more pictures once the sand settles down.

today is day 1!

[MRSBIGBIRD123]

Welcome to MAAST!

[ErikH]

Welcome! "Tahitian Moon" would probably be accurate.

[Mr Cob]

Welcome....great site with tons of knowledge and experience everyone!

[chumbucket]

Welcome!! I'm sure you will upgrade, reefkeeping is an addiction, it won't take you long and you'll want a bigger tank, i know i did and already have.

[gjuarez]

Welcome, cool screen name

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

Welcome! "Tahitian Moon" would probably be accurate.

that sounds alot better. pretty sure thats what it is. will this stuff go live like the sugar-grade sand ive used before? the pieces are pretty small.. bout as small as that live sand in a bag arragonite stuff i saw at petco.

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

Welcome!! I'm sure you will upgrade, reefkeeping is an addiction, it won't take you long and you'll want a bigger tank, i know i did and already have.

my space is limited where im at currently. i know ill want to upgrade, but the space limitations will prevent that. so, ill probably upgrade things like the lighting, filtration, ect ect.

tank size? naw. maybe a 20 long after i put in some support bracers underneath the bar, but thats it i swear!

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

Welcome, cool screen name

thanks!

i play WoW. pretty sure people know what that is...

realm - terokkar if anyone else here happens to be there...


for the alliance!

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

ok, so its later in the day, was wondering if anyone could give me the answer to my question of wether or not the black sand i have will turn into 'live' sand eventually... or am i going to have to get alot of rock to make up for this neat looking sand?

[hobogato]

yes, it will provide a home for bacteria and other living inhabitants just like any other sand will.

[Kristy]

Welcome and it should is the answer to your question. It helps to start with live sand, either bought from a LFS or from someone else. It may take a while. It is just like starting with dead rock and having it become live rock, it will eventually. You could possibly seed your sand by taking a cup from some existing live sand, but l don't think you will find many with your cool Tahitian Moon color sand. :)

How deep is the sand bed? I favor more live rock for natural filtration, but you only have a small tank there, so I know space is limited.

Anyway, welcome to the club. Good group of people on here.

-Mike (& Kristy)

[Kristy]

Ace beat me to it! I knew I was typing too much... :)

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

sweeet.

i bought the sand dry. i just added about 12 pounds of live rock to it. i figure in a months time it should be good enough that i can start adding small things.

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

oh, the sand bed is about 2.5" deep all around. i smoothed it out to get an accurate measurement.

should i add more?

[marshall.read]

a deep sand bed, shallow sand bed, or bare bottom is not a topic everyone will agree on. from my experiance, i've always done a deep sand bed (5" or so) and had good luck with it. when i stir up the sand i've noticed my nepthea comes out a lot more, probably eating something i stirred up. that being said, a 10 gallon is already relatively shallow and i don't think its worth taking up that much space in the tank for the benefits you'd get out of it. i'd say just stick with what you've got.

[hobogato]

actually, if you dont have a functioning dsb (4"+) anything over 1" turns into a detritus trap and can cause all kinds of water quality issues and cyano/diatom/hair algae issues.

[jhj159]

Welcome,hope to see some pictures

[corkyGramma]

ok, so its later in the day, was wondering if anyone could give me the answer to my question of wether or not the black sand i have will turn into 'live' sand eventually... or am i going to have to get alot of rock to make up for this neat looking sand?
I've had black sand before. You can buy live black sand too; I got mine @ Aquarium Designs. I've read that you should mix dry with live.

[gjuarez]

As Ace said, if you plan on having a DSB it be best to keep it over 4-5 inches deep, of course the size of the grain of sand counts. A DSB must be deep enough so that at the bottom you get very poor oxygen levels. This causes anarobic bacteria to grow, once again it only grows in places where the oxygen levels are very low. Detritus and other gunk gets imported and processed through that bacteria. If the DSB is not deep enough, the anarobic bacteria will not grow which then of course the detritus wont be processed. Being that the detritus and all decaying matter cant be processed, it will then be trapped and eventually go back into your water column.

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

well, ive only got about 2 and a half inches. i guess ill head to aquarium designs tomorrow and pick up a couple more inches of live black sand if they have it.

also, that kind of light would grow whatever i want? i was looking at the clip on metal halide lights, or a small strip of 4 or 6 t5 lamps

[gjuarez]

BOth MH and T5 are good, although on tanks deeper than 24" I would go MH

[beerguy]

you need no more sand. if anything you will need less. the solution to pollution is dillution; you need as much water as you can get in a 10g. at the same time stay away from the viper clamp on MH light. The price is good but the lumen is not. If your going the MH route get something a little nicer. In your case Id go with T-5's, not only for the corals but for the alliance! :) couldnt help my self.... Seriously T-5's. Do it.

[gjuarez]

I wasnt aware that you had a 10g aquarium, live beerguy said you dont need more sand. Keep a very shallow sand bed that can be maintained periodically. When i had a 10g tank i only did aggresive water changes, it was one of the best tanks i have ever had. MH will overheat the tank, and if you evaporate alot of water it will be very difficult to stabilize salinity, not good for corals.

[corkyGramma]

the simple guide to mini-reef aquariums is a good buy goes over everything they've said in detail so you can absorb it.

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

i read that t5 lamps stay alot cooler than metal halide lights do, so i guess thats the route im gonna go. since im going to build a canopy, i can use some of the surplus computer fans i have to provide airflow in the canopy and assist in keeping the lamps as cool as possible.

[corkyGramma]

Sounds good. Just keep in mind the drawbacks of a nano tank like that. Your limited to how much livestock you can have and if a spike in pollution occurs you must act immediately, thats why when your starting- more water is your friend. Just a heads up before you start a DIY. I myself have a 3gal pico tank thats 7months with soft coral in it, I went larger before I went smaller.