Sand bed or no?

yogoshio

yogoshio

New member
Ok, for the 110, I'm still debating on what I want for the bottom. First off, NO BARE BOTTOM. I know a lot of people like it, but its just not my taste, lol.

I have really been interested in black sand, and I saw Rob's tahitian moon sand that even sparkles but its $30 a 20 lb bag, which means $150 just for a 3" sand bed.... No thanks...

However, I've seen more and more people using styrofoam or other mediums, roughing up the surface, throwing epoxy on and then throwing sand on that so there's the appearance of sand, and I'd run a DSB in the fuge.

When I make the switch, the sand in my tank now will be rinsed (save a few cups I'll pull out first) and then put in the fuge. I will seed both the tank and DSB with those cups, but I don't want to risk any release issues with stirred up sand in the new tank....

So, thoughts? I feel I could use the tahitian moon sand on the styrofoam and it wouldn't cost much at all, even less than 120 lbs of white sand for sure.
 
You may still have issues with nutrients build up, stuff that fall under the styro, you know like the outdated FW gravel filters. If you sealed it that might resolve the problem.

Or you could do a plenum like Dre does, use inexpensive sand for the under laying area and use you fancy sand for the top. It seems to be working for Dre's tank, it stunning!
 
Yeah, but he has a foot deep sand bed, lol, not looking for that. And I would seal it. If water was getting down there that would be a big no-no long term. And if it's still on sale, DFS even has the black tahitian sand for $15 for 20 lbs too. Hopefully they'll have that again later!

I just like the idea of an easy clean up, no substrate stirring from powerheads, etc. I really like this idea... I think it's the route for me.
 
No, I mean water. If water got beneath and in the stryofoam it would be a huuuuge dead spot basically, causing all kinds of ill issues. I'll seal the stryofoam onto the bottom and sides, and it'll give me another inch or two of visible tank, lol.
 
It's is a great idea! Sounds like another interesting build thread!

Can you imagine the possibilities of crafting your own sand bed!!
 
Yeah, having done a good amount more research, this is the way to go. With the amount of flow I'm going to have, I want sand, but don't want a sandstorm, so this works out the best. Going to use sintra sheets (like what some BB people use) and rough it up, coat it with a thin layer of epoxy, and then sand, let dry, and then do it again until it looks good. I'll try it with play sand firs to see how it works, but I've seen many tanks where it works well.

I am actually really excited about how this will turn out. If it works, I can cut the sintra boards into whatever shape I need to fit the tank, and then silicone them in and even sprinkle that with sand. Now I can have mega flow without the lack of sand!
 
yogoshio said:
Yeah, having done a good amount more research, this is the way to go. With the amount of flow I'm going to have, I want sand, but don't want a sandstorm, so this works out the best. Going to use sintra sheets (like what some BB people use) and rough it up, coat it with a thin layer of epoxy, and then sand, let dry, and then do it again until it looks good. I'll try it with play sand firs to see how it works, but I've seen many tanks where it works well.

I am actually really excited about how this will turn out. If it works, I can cut the sintra boards into whatever shape I need to fit the tank, and then silicone them in and even sprinkle that with sand. Now I can have mega flow without the lack of sand!
Click to expand...

This has worked quite well for folks.
 
you should make imprints in it for your rockwork yogo. make it super strong if you already have an idea of what your making for it?
 
Not yet. I plan on using JB weld to keep the rocks on whether or not I fit them for it. Between this and my rockwall, my tank will look filled even without water, lol.
 
It's looking that way for sure. The sintra boards are pretty cheap, and using a calculator from marinedepot.com I should only need roughly 35 lbs of sand to cover the whole thing! If I do white sand, I'll cover the bottom for less than $40. If I go tahitian moon sand (which is all Rob's fault for having a bucket of it in his basement...) it'll still be maybe be $60.
 
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