Calc Reactor media (Reborn) instead of a sand bed, anybody doing this ? Results ?

[siggy]

Im thinking of changing out my sand bed with Two Little Fishes Reborn media. I have seen some coral farmers (pic's) doing this.
So I'm worried about the uglies and getting a handle on algae.

 

[Biglew11]

Sounds like a bad idea. Very course media for bottom of tank, very bad detritus trap. Unless you don't mind cleaning it every day.

 

[siggy]

Sounds like a bad idea. Very course media for bottom of tank, very bad detritus trap. Unless you don't mind cleaning it every day.

I wonder how the PRO's deal with it

 

[Biglew11]

The pros have people there to clean the tanks all the time and probably very few fish to feed. The courser the substrate on the bottom the worse it will trap detritus.

 

[Saltyreef]

Neptune aquatic uses large crushed coral media on most of their tanks.
Some of the nicest tanks ive ever seen...
But again. Staffed to clean daily

 

[manderx]

i do this in my 25 lagoon (transferred from a 30 cube that i ran for at least 10 years). mine isnt the official reborn media, but it's same stuff that was sold at least 15 years ago dirt cheap by diff supplier.

i always figured it would, but it doesn't really seem to trap more detritus than any other substrate (maybe the bugs have an easier time eating it), and i don't have any problem algae, the pieces simply get covered in coralline algae.

-it gives the bugs more places to live.

-no chance at any funky anaerobic zones (i dose nitrates, don't need or even want any more denitrification than i'm already getting).

-the pieces dissolve over time (mebbe 10-15% of it every year or so), adding their goodness back to the water. not much of course, but a little, and a diff flavor of goodies than i otherwise dose (kalk + 2-part).

-zoanthids and encrusters spread onto the pieces, making it super easy to pull frags off

-mutes the disco ball effect from my lights that would annoy me on white sand

-white sand has to be kept perfectly clean to look good.

 

[jda]

Carib Sea used to make this stuff called Sea Floor. It was similar large hunks and chunks of old coral and shells. It was great for fish only substrate where fish would move the sand around. The stuff will house all kinds of pods and give shelter. Like any substrate, it will collect detritus and render it benign after the fauna and bacteria get to it, but it does need removed eventually - sand, this stuff, bare bottom... it does not matter, the detritus gets converted into something by something and never just sits there unimpeded.

There is not much downside to it except that it would not likely have much denitrification value nor allow sand-type critters to live in it.

 

[Bacon505]

Im thinking of changing out my sand bed with Two Little Fishes Reborn media. I have seen some coral farmers (pic's) doing this.
So I'm worried about the uglies and getting a handle on algae.

Where do you find the luxury to use TLF reborn media as sand bed. Stickhead are scrambling to find the reborn for their calcium reactor and here you are using it for sandbed. Shame on you

 

[siggy]

i always figured it would, but it doesn't really seem to trap more detritus than any other substrate (maybe the bugs have an easier time eating it), and i don't have any problem algae, the pieces simply get covered in coralline algae.

NOW thats what Im talking about!
Great tank and example of a "Real Reef" growing on a coral skeleton tkx

 

[siggy]

Where do you find the luxury to use TLF reborn media as sand bed. Stickhead are scrambling to find the reborn for their calcium reactor and here you are using it for sandbed. Shame on you

Should I not do my water changes so the stick heads have enough salt TM-pb is getting tough to find.

 

[smiley28]

ARC had this and I remember Randy telling me how it was a bad idea for the exact reason @Biglew11 mentions.

 

[NeptunePaul]

My Red Sea 170 using TLF media as for the substrate 1-1.5" in most spots. It was setup in Dec/Jan of '17. I initially would vacuum it regularly with the gravel siphon, but now (for the last two years) there is way too much SPS growth to do that. No issues with detritus build up but will occasionally stir up the spots underneath power heads during a water change. I love it too because I don't have to worry about the flow patters kicking up sand or anything like that. Only down side is that your bottom dwelling gobies (my favorites like the Yashia), don't tend to fair to well long term with it. Longest I've been able to keep one alive is about 6-8 months and after seeing 3 now come and go, I know they just don't work.

Otherwise, fully recommend this method that Neptune Aquatics in San Jose also endorses (beyond excellent LFS if you have never been there).

 

[jda]

What does everybody thing happens to the stuff that hits the sand or substrate? What exactly is a detritus trap? How is that bad, or good? What are people meaning when they type this stuff?

 

[Biglew11]

small grain substrate any uneaten food and fish waste kind stays on the top of the substrate. with sufficient flow the water is able to blow this detritus off the bottom and keep it suspended, with larger grain sand this detritus will be able to fall in between the grains and no amount of water flow can get this out of the grains. without sufficient vacuuming or cleaning this larger substrate particles will stay trapped and can cause issues with excess nutrients, cyano may also take hold in spots that have accumulated nutrients.

I'm not gonna say you can't have a nice tank using large substrate. if you know that you will have to be extremely diligent deep cleaning your substrate to keep accumulated detritus to a minimum then go for it.

 

[ca1ore]

I’ve used the old reborn as substrate in part of my tank .... mostly as a bolster to prevent the finer stuff getting shifted around.

 

[siggy]

I'm not gonna say you can't have a nice tank using large substrate. if you know that you will have to be extremely diligent deep cleaning your substrate to keep accumulated detritus to a minimum then go for it.

Of course, it will trap the stuff floating around. Don't you think a proper Clean Up Crew can handle the load?

Otherwise, fully recommend this method that Neptune Aquatics in San Jose also endorses (beyond excellent LFS if you have never been there).

I have seen several videos of the place. Wish we had one here......... Follow the leader

 

[jda]

Almost anything that hits the substrate is a goner - not always, but mostly... especially if it gets behind the rocks or you have a good clean up crew. Wherever it ends up, it is quickly consumed of all value and becomes benign. If you are getting too much food into the substrate, then change the way that you feed - more often and less amount is good.

If this type of substrate becomes a food trap, then feed differently. Detritus trap is a joke of a term - any leftover energy or building blocks in detritus are scavenged and what is left over is just benign stuff. I do like to get the benign stuff out since it can gum up the works for the microfauna and cleaners, but there is no huge hurry... it is not like it is rotting or doing any further damage as long as there is not so much of it that nothing can get down in there.

 

[Spieg]

Back in the day (30+ years ago), this was pretty common practice (usually no more than .5" deep though). If you increase flow, it can wash a lot of detritus out and carry it to your filtration (not unlike bare bottom tanks). Major downside would be lost habitat for Wrasses or sand sifting critters.