WMAS Discussion Forum : Deep Sand Bed http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:53:01 +0000 Sat, 06 Jul 2013 12:27:03 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.03 360 www.utahreefs.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=65324 <![CDATA[WMAS Discussion Forum]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/1by1.gif http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/ <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : Aquatic Evolution wrote:I...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529328&title=deep-sand-bed#529328 Author: lskurys
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 06 2013 at 12:27pm

Originally posted by Aquatic Evolution Aquatic Evolution wrote:

I will try and keep it very brief...

Ph problems?

What is you magnesium levels?
What is your Boron levels?
Are you using baking soda?  If so, stop and use a proper buffering compound.
Are you using kalk?  If so, that is probably why you sand bed is hardenng.
It could be hardening for similar reasons, ie: not dosing your tank properly.

IMO your deep sand bed is not your problem.  The problem is that your DSB was not set up properly.  You can have amazing tanks with DSB"S if done correctly.

Feel free to call me.  There is way too much to discuss to type it all.
801-224-1515

Mag was 1400
Boron  I have not tested 
only dosing was BRS 2 part dosing about 100ML of alk and cal, Dosing mag as needed per test.   

]]> Sat, 06 Jul 2013 12:27:03 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529328&title=deep-sand-bed#529328 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : builderofdreams wrote:My...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529326&title=deep-sand-bed#529326 Author: lskurys
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 06 2013 at 12:23pm

Originally posted by builderofdreams builderofdreams wrote:

My apologies. Apparently I was not fully aware of the severity of the sand problem.

Not a problem at all.  This was not a normal problem that we see here, and you was just looking out for the things that live in my tank. Thumbs Up

Thanks Mark for letting me call you and go through my though process. 

Looks like I can upload some picture now.  

This is a pic of what was called ocean sand.  


This is is Utah sand that I collected for my first tank


This is a pic of the very fine sand and Normal sand side by side


what it looked like in the tank.  I used a shop vac to remove the top layer of sand It was about 1.5 to 2" thick.  The fine sand was 1" to 3" thick through out the bottom of the sand bed.  


What the fine sand looks like dried out


The tank all cleaned out. It was about 10:00 pm when we got to this point.  


I got all the rock placed and corals back in the tank around 2:00 am.  Shot of the tank the next morning.  


and here are a couple of the tank this morning. 




]]> Sat, 06 Jul 2013 12:23:50 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529326&title=deep-sand-bed#529326 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : I will try and keep it very brief...Ph...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529324&title=deep-sand-bed#529324 Author: Aquatic Evolution
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 06 2013 at 12:09pm

I will try and keep it very brief...

Ph problems?

What is you magnesium levels?
What is your Boron levels?
Are you using baking soda?  If so, stop and use a proper buffering compound.
Are you using kalk?  If so, that is probably why you sand bed is hardenng.
It could be hardening for similar reasons, ie: not dosing your tank properly.

IMO your deep sand bed is not your problem.  The problem is that your DSB was not set up properly.  You can have amazing tanks with DSB"S if done correctly.

Feel free to call me.  There is way too much to discuss to type it all.
801-224-1515
]]> Sat, 06 Jul 2013 12:09:52 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529324&title=deep-sand-bed#529324 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : My apologies. Apparently I was...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529292&title=deep-sand-bed#529292 Author: builderofdreams
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 06 2013 at 8:36am

My apologies. Apparently I was not fully aware of the severity of the sand problem. ]]> Sat, 06 Jul 2013 08:36:46 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529292&title=deep-sand-bed#529292 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : Scrape it up like a thick sheet...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529288&title=deep-sand-bed#529288 Author: Mark Peterson
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 06 2013 at 6:55am

Scrape it up like a thick sheet - Ugh, that is not sand, it is silica silt - definitely a big problem. Sounds a bit like my experience with the coral pink silica sand of Southern Utah.

Did you keep the gobies? They won't be so much of a problem now.

I have never kept "sand throwing" gobies in my tanks because of how they disturb/eat the life in LS, but they are always interesting to watch in other peoples tanks. Wink

Your tank will be doing 10x better from now on. Thumbs Up

Aloha,
Mark Hug
]]> Sat, 06 Jul 2013 06:55:34 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529288&title=deep-sand-bed#529288 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : Yeah I added about 120 pounds...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529205&title=deep-sand-bed#529205 Author: lskurys
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 04 2013 at 2:44pm

Yeah I added about 120 pounds of Aragonite Reef Sand to replace the super fine sand that I pulled out.  I was looking as some of the fine sand that was dried out and it almost looks like pure white playground sand.   I ordered Nature's Ocean Marine White Sand from Petco.  This is what 90% of the sand in the tank was made of.  

I still can not up load pictures of the and and the process. So far everything looks good in the tank and all the corals seem happy.  



]]> Thu, 04 Jul 2013 14:44:13 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529205&title=deep-sand-bed#529205 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : New sand? ]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529189&title=deep-sand-bed#529189 Author: builderofdreams
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 04 2013 at 10:56am

New sand? ]]> Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:56:48 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529189&title=deep-sand-bed#529189 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : Well I got the tank drained and...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529188&title=deep-sand-bed#529188 Author: lskurys
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 04 2013 at 10:46am

Well I got the tank drained and all the sand sucked out last night. It was crazy the 2 kinds of sand separated in to 2 layers. The very fine sand was mostly all at the bottom. It was so dense that wit a scraper it would come up in sheets? I did take a few pictures of it and what the tank looks like now.   I guess that there is a problem with the site I will try to upload the picture later]]> Thu, 04 Jul 2013 10:46:51 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529188&title=deep-sand-bed#529188 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : I believe that Shelby is on...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529135&title=deep-sand-bed#529135 Author: Mark Peterson
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 03 2013 at 4:28pm

I believe that Shelby is on the right track.

As it turns out, much of this sand is very fine, almost dust, rather than the ordinary round Oolitic sand.

Additionally, there are 2 active Engineer Gobies and a Diamond Goby that stir the sand and move the sand dunes almost every day.

The continual disturbance of too fine of sand is probably the source of the low pH and the rotten egg gas smell. The natural buffering capacity of the system cannot keep pH where it should be. Frequent water changes with instant ocean salt have provided some temporary buffering.

Removal of the dust fine sand and the Gobies would be the direction I would go with this.

BTW, I should mention that one of the best tanks I ever saw had a 7" DSB of Utah Oolitic sand. This hobbyist was growing a coral that had never grown for so long in this area. The tank had been running for about 4 years at the time. If anyone is interested, I'll post some pics of that tank and it's awesome growth.

Aloha,
Mark Hug
808-345-1049 call/text anytime


Edited by Mark Peterson - July 03 2013 at 4:41pm]]> Wed, 03 Jul 2013 16:28:41 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529135&title=deep-sand-bed#529135 <![CDATA[Deep Sand Bed : Have you verified the PH readings...]]> http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529125&title=deep-sand-bed#529125 Author: Mike Savage
Subject: 65324
Posted: July 03 2013 at 4:02pm

Have you verified the PH readings are correct?

]]> Wed, 03 Jul 2013 16:02:10 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65324&PID=529125&title=deep-sand-bed#529125