lets talk about TBS sand & Biodiversity when stating a new system.

[Devaji]

so I have been dragging my feet on a 200 gallon peninsula build, thought about going FW for a few months went down a rabbit hole there.

WOW SW peeps are so much nicer ,info is talked about and easy to find. I found that not to be the case with FW
anyway back to the post....
i'll be setting up a FOWLR using dry rock. I am a huge fan of biodiversity...

I am thinking of adding TBS sand.

The questions /thoughts are:
1.lets say I am going to use 80# of special grade sand think 10# of TBS to seed it would do the trick?

2.would it have the same effect if i added it to my fuge section of the sump? or would it take longer to spread to the DT?

3. I like the look of special grade sand over the TBS but willing to add 20# to the DT do you all think it would be best to mix it in to the sand or have a pile in the back? wondering what would work best to seed it.

4. the shipping is quick high on the stuff any other options out there? what about AF life source or miracle mud

5. would using direct ocean sand bring in parasites? was thinking of only QTed fish for this build, from 2 trusted sources . would that defeat the whole process?
I will cycle the take for one month with out fish to let the mico biome get rolling and strong.


curious to see what others thoughts are...

 

[Spare time]

1. That is probably fine.

2. Add it to the display

3. Not sure I haven't mixed those two

4. Not sure since it depends on what you want from the material

5. Ocean direct won't bring in parasites

 

[Devaji]

Oops just saw the typo in the title…haha
Should read let talk about…
#mod#MODS you change that for us??

 

[Devaji]

1. That is probably fine.

2. Add it to the display

3. Not sure I haven't mixed those two

4. Not sure since it depends on what you want from the material

5. Ocean direct won't bring in parasites

I was wondering about the ocean softest stuff.
Anyone know which is better?

 

[JoJosReef]

1. That is probably fine.

2. Add it to the display

3. Not sure I haven't mixed those two

4. Not sure since it depends on what you want from the material

5. Ocean direct won't bring in parasites

Still might want to sift the sand on the way into the DT. I pulled out a few isopods. Think they were Spheromatid isopods and not cirolanids, but that was well before I knew how to ID them, so I'd still use a bit of caution.

Lancelets and other creepy crawlies are most likely non-issues, although you could find a gorilla crab hiding in a particularly large piece of shell/rubble that gets mixed in.

 

[Spare time]

I was wondering about the ocean softest stuff.
Anyone know which is better?

Ocean softest? Do you mean ocean direct? If so, both will bring in a bunch of microbes but the tbs will have zooplankton and other small inverts.

 

[ptrick21186]

I'm about 16 months into my 48 gallon build. I started it with dry rock and live sand. I'm currently battling dinos despite my nutrients never bottoming out so in my opinion I would use as healthy mixture of everything to get that biome off to a good start as quick as possible. If I could go back I'd add ocean live rock from the start as opposed to just adding it last week as I did with my tank lol.

 

[Devaji]

Ocean softest? Do you mean ocean direct? If so, both will bring in a bunch of microbes but the tbs will have zooplankton and other small inverts.

Yes sorry on mobile and fell victim on the auto correct.

 

[jda]

It looks like you are on a good track. If you want all of that diversity to live for long, you will need to keep the no3 and po4 relatively low. In general, if you can keep coralline growing well in a FOWLR, the microfauna can do well too. no3 under 10 and po4 under .1 is a good idea, IMO.

 

[Devaji]

I'm about 16 months into my 48 gallon build. I started it with dry rock and live sand. I'm currently battling dinos despite my nutrients never bottoming out so in my opinion I would use as healthy mixture of everything to get that biome off to a good start as quick as possible. If I could go back I'd add ocean live rock from the start as opposed to just adding it last week as I did with my tank lol.

Years ago I started a 90 cube with TBS and a few # of LS mixed in it did very well.
Always been a fan of real ocean LR
But man that stuff was heavy and not very easy to scape with.
Might add some tbs rubble to the mix idk yet.

 

[Devaji]

It looks like you are on a good track. If you want all of that diversity to live for long, you will need to keep the no3 and po4 relatively low. In general, if you can keep coralline growing well in a FOWLR, the microfauna can do well too. no3 under 10 and po4 under .1 is a good idea, IMO.

ah good point. One challenge with fish only systems the no3 and po4 can get high as snoop dog!!
I’ll keep an eye on that for sure.

 

[jda]

You can still use a DSB in a FOWLR which will take care of nitrates over time. You can be pretty aggressive with Lanthanum Chloride without coral, just use a filter sock.

If you have room, multiple skimmers helps too.

 

[Devaji]

You can still use a DSB in a FOWLR which will take care of nitrates over time. You can be pretty aggressive with Lanthanum Chloride without coral, just use a filter sock.

If you have room, multiple skimmers helps too.

Hopefully that will not be a problem.
I will run filter floss changed every 3 days, skimmer ( undersized tho)
Ozone , ATS and still deciding what I want to do with the fuge area. Thinking of a cryptic zone but open to options.

If there are high I will upgrade the skimmer but I think with the large ATS 4 cubes per day if I remember right I should be fine?

 

[Devaji]

anyone else want to chime in on TBS sand vs ocean direct for biodiversity when started a new tank?
sadly there are no LFS that are with in 1.5 hr drive each way to get seeded LR or LS...

 

[JoJosReef]

I misread that you are comparing TBS to another brand, thought you meant ocean direct, as in directly from the ocean. I'm not familiar with Ocean Direct, just TBS, and I think the "direct from ocean" sand and rocks are a huge benefit to a reef tank.

 

[Devaji]

I misread that you are comparing TBS to another brand, thought you meant ocean direct, as in directly from the ocean. I'm not familiar with Ocean Direct, just TBS, and I think the "direct from ocean" sand and rocks are a huge benefit to a reef tank.

that is my belief too. I have used there rock and sand in the past tank was great. other that the rock where heavy bowling ball size and scaping was very hard to comeup with something i liked.

the trick is tho. i would/should QT the rock and sand if I am going to get QTed fish. kinda leaning towards the all natural path with LS/LR and no QT but IDK keep going back in forth.

 

[ptrick21186]

Years ago I started a 90 cube with TBS and a few # of LS mixed in it did very well.
Always been a fan of real ocean LR
But man that stuff was heavy and not very easy to scape with.
Might add some tbs rubble to the mix idk yet.

Mine is definitely not staying in the tank. It doesn't go with my shelf rock scape at all. Just using it for awhile until I can get these dinos under control

 

[Devaji]

Mine is definitely not staying in the tank. It doesn't go with my shelf rock scape at all. Just using it for awhile until I can get these dinos under control

are you gonna add it to the sump then? or just take it out completely?

 

[ptrick21186]

are you gonna add it to the sump then? or just take it out completely?

Most likely add it to the sump. There's one with a lot on it that I can hide in the back though

 

[RBarth]

Curious as to what u ended up with??? Deciding between TBS and Ocean Direct as well.