Sand only in part of tank?

exnisstech

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Hey all. I have a 6 ft 180 gal that has 2 large rock islands and one end with no rock for bottom swelling LPS corals. The tank is bare bottom which I like but I miss seeing these corals on the sand. They just don't look great on the bare bottom. Has anyone seperated the bottom so only part of it is sand? I don't want dishes or anything but something more natural looking. I have an idea I think may work but wanted some thoughts as to whether is is a good idea. I'm thinking about building a rock dam out of smaller rock 2-4 inches high to seperate the area then adding sand into that area. Flow is not too crazy, 2 mp40 high enough to make the nems sway. I've added a full tank shot and one where I would like add the sand. The yellow line is where the dam would be. Pics are not good as lights were just coming on and my free hand drawing leaves much to do e desired but I think you can see what I'm proposing. So do think this is doable or not?
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Lost in the Sauce

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I like the idea. I subdivided a 20 gallon quarantine tank, with a piece of 2-in tall glass siliconed in, with silicone sand on one side for quarantining wrasses.

From my observation, the stand does not stay where you want it only. I'm not sure of stocking list but a few of my fish constantly pick up sand and carry it around then dump it. I doubt the bare bottom side would stay completely bare bottom for to long. I would be quite interested to see how it worked for you.
 
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exnisstech

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Sand would be the entire end to the left of the yellow line. Its not a big deal if some gets out. No sand sifting fish unless the Niger decides he wants to move some. Other fish are tangs. No sand sifters. I guess I can try it and if it doesn't work suck it out?
 

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Sand would be the entire end to the left of the yellow line. Its not a big deal if some gets out. No sand sifting fish unless the Niger decides he wants to move some. Other fish are tangs. No sand sifters. I guess I can try it and if it doesn't work suck it out?
A few of my tangs are the worst offenders for chewing on sand and dropping them places. Orange shoulder, whitetail bristle tooth specifically.

When too much of my sand gets on the wrong side of the divider, I use a half inch tube and just siphon it all out into a filter sock and dump it back on the correct side. It only takes a few minutes.

It's definitely worth trying!
 

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Hey all. I have a 6 ft 180 gal that has 2 large rock islands and one end with no rock for bottom swelling LPS corals. The tank is bare bottom which I like but I miss seeing these corals on the sand. They just don't look great on the bare bottom. Has anyone seperated the bottom so only part of it is sand? I don't want dishes or anything but something more natural looking. I have an idea I think may work but wanted some thoughts as to whether is is a good idea. I'm thinking about building a rock dam out of smaller rock 2-4 inches high to seperate the area then adding sand into that area. Flow is not too crazy, 2 mp40 high enough to make the nems sway. I've added a full tank shot and one where I would like add the sand. The yellow line is where the dam would be. Pics are not good as lights were just coming on and my free hand drawing leaves much to do e desired but I think you can see what I'm proposing. So do think this is doable or not?
20220627_093057.jpg
20220627_092255.jpg
Very cool idea it should work especially if u want to pick up maybe a goby or blenny they would hang out over there
 

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I bet you could use flow to control where there isn't sand. My tank usually has bare sections where the powerheads don't let it stay. I think if I really wanted to, I could control it.

It also has a cool beachy slope to it this way

I also recall in an episode of Reef Therapy that Steve Weast says he likes the look of sand but doesn't have sand in his entire tank. His viewing pane is on the end of his tank, so it's the smallest pane but you look down the tank long-ways. He said the areas that you don't see from the viewing pane do not have sand. I didn't hear him say anything about using dividers.
 
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exnisstech

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Ok this is what I'm thinking of. I have e-Marco cement to bond it all together. Once it's all cemented together I'll flip it over and put a thick layer of cement on the bottom and lay a board accross it to get a somewhat flat bottom to keep sand from escaping underneath. I'll wrap the board in plastic and remove it before it's fully set. Maybe try to square up the ends or at least the back where it won't be visible, again to help contain the sand. Then maybe mix sand in with the cement just to cover the joints. Or maybe just cement small rubble over them.
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If you're intent on a rock divider, you could also get one or two of the foundation rocks that are cut flat on the bottom side. Then you could try to chisel those into long strips that you could link up. That would be more minimal in effort and sand definitely wouldn't go underneath
 
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exnisstech

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If you're intent on a rock divider, you could also get one or two of the foundation rocks that are cut flat on the bottom side. Then you could try to chisel those into long strips that you could link up. That would be more minimal in effort and sand definitely wouldn't go underneath
Managed to get it all assembled today. I retired recently so I welcome projects to keep me busy.
This is the cement spread out ready for the rock placement
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This after setting it and letting it cure a little. I think it will work out well. Probably stick a rock on each end once its in the tank to complete the dam so to speak. I'll post pics once it's in the tank.
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exnisstech

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Figured I would update this so it will show up in search results if someone else wants to try it. I just finished a little while ago so it's a little cloudy but it didn't get too bad. I rinsed the sand then put it in a large zip lock bag and lowered it to the bottom and slowly dumped it in. Coral are not happy as to be expected and I'm not sure about their placement yet. This will at least show you how it turned out. I used caribsea aragonite because of the larger grain size. I had a bag6of figi pink here and love that sand but didn't think it would be good to use for this project. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. On to the show!
Full tank
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End view
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Little closer so you can see the dam
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