Live ocean sand regrets

[DmitryB]

I got live ocean sand for my 40 gallon and thought I'd definitely do the same for my upcoming 170. But I'm having second thoughts because the sand is basically invisible under a layer of broken shells, etc. I might as well have gotten crushed coral. It looks like a mess on this sandbed. I definitely don't want this same look in my 170. But 170 is anticipated to be high now because I want a bunch of SPSes there.

 

[56longroof]

Where did the shells come from? I got some luve sand from TBS and it was really nice. Not many shells at all.

 

[slingfox]

You want sift out the shells if you don’t like that look.

 

[DmitryB]

Where did the shells come from? I got some luve sand from TBS and it was really nice. Not many shells at all.

The shells were just part of the sand mix. There's sand in there but it's all sifted down.

I've even removed a top layer of the sand as much as I could, but the rubble is growing like algae it seems. It's too late to fix it in this tank, but I'll need a plan of action for the 170. How hard is it to sift wet live sand?? What tools do people use?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m not understanding the concern. Do you just not like the look of the natural ocean sand? I like it.

You can see what my tbs sand looks like in this picture. The larger shells came from hermit crabs and snails.

 

[slingfox]

The shells were just part of the sand mix. There's sand in there but it's all sifted down.

I've even removed a top layer of the sand as much as I could, but the rubble is growing like algae it seems. It's too late to fix it in this tank, but I'll need a plan of action for the 170. How hard is it to sift wet live sand?? What tools do people use?

Where did you purchase the ocean live sand from?

It is definitely not too late to fix the sand bed. You can just siphon out the sand with a hose or suck it up with a wet dry vac. Run the sand through a screen. You can use a metal kitchen colander or soil sifter from Amazon. All very easy to do with a small 40 gallon. I have replaced my sandbed multiple times (had a seam failure a few months ago so I had to move everything) and that is a 5 ft wide tank.

 

[BryanM]

I'm with ya on this one, I just don't like the look of live sand due to all the shell pieces in it.

Personally I'd carefully net out as much of that stuff as I could.

 

[DmitryB]

The shells were just part of the sand mix. There's sand in there but it's all sifted down.

I've even removed a top layer of the sand as much as I could, but the rubble is growing like algae it seems. It's too late to fix it in this tank, but I'll need a plan of action for the 170. How hard is it to sift wet live sand?? What tools do people use?

Where did you purchase the ocean live sand from?

It is definitely not too late to fix the sand bed. You can just siphon out the sand with a hose or suck it up with a wet dry vac. Run the sand through a screen. You can use a metal kitchen colander or soil sifter from Amazon. All very easy to do with a small 40 gallon. I have replaced my sandbed multiple times (had a seam failure a few months ago so I had to move everything) and that is a 5 ft wide tank.

Would the regular python pick up those pieces?

 

[Double monti 61]

Looks like they got it from the west coast of Florida!

 

[DmitryB]

Looks like they got it from the west coast of Florida!

lol GLR.

If I can sift it, I'll keep all the big pieces in my 170 refugium.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Remember that awesome Net thread @revhtree posted earlier. Here’s a great use to scoop the shells!

Personally I’d still use live sand— personal preference.

 

[DmitryB]

Remember that awesome Net thread @revhtree posted earlier. Here’s a great use to scoop the shells!

Personally I’d still use live sand— personal preference.

I already did that! A few days later the big pieces multiplied. I guess I can just keep doing it until they're all gone, but it just means moving all the frags around back and forth.

 

[slingfox]

Would the regular python pick up those pieces?

I have used a Python hose to remove my entire sandbed multiple times. For very large pieces you can just net them out ahead of time. With a 40g that should not be too difficult.

 

[DmitryB]

Alrighty, wish me luck! LOL

 

[Reef Jedi]

Alrighty, wish me luck! LOL

Good luck!

A collector urchin would help you too lol

 

[DmitryB]

Alrighty, wish me luck! LOL

Good luck!

A collector urchin would help you too lol

I'm always angry at my snails for knocking things over. I think I'd hate an urchin!

 

[BeanAnimal]

Fine sand is a mess.. I prefer the larger stuff and mix of shells.

 

[DmitryB]

It doesn't have to be fine, but I'd like to see some sand in there! lol. Right now the top layer is completely shells and similar.

 

[overhead]

When all the large stuff gets to the top of my sand I syphon the sand bed. Fine sand stays in the large tube longer, large stuff drops first. So, for a while I have the fine stuff on top and the larger stuff under. After a while the smaller sand goes back to the bottom, large stuff come to the top and I do it again.

 

[t5Nitro]

I'm with Randy on this one- looks nice! However, if you absolutely dislike the look and need it out of your tank, I might consider even something like a cat litter scooper. You can likely find them with varying size of slits in the scooper to screen on some smaller to larger spectrum based on your preference. You could do a few scoops through the front of the tank bed each day, gently screening over time until it's gone but not overly disrupting the total sand bed and tank all at one time.