Travertine or similar tile under thin sandbed, with deeper sand around edges?

[Tired]

I like the look of a sandbed, but I don't want to have to worry about anything nasty building up in there if I don't stir for awhile. Two solutions to that are to cover the bottom in tiles, or to have a really thin sandbed, 1/4" to 1/2" deep.

What if I do both? I could stack tiles (large floor tiles to minimize crevices) to an inch or so deep, with an inch of clearance between the outer edges and the walls of the tank. Then I could pour in enough sand to fill those gaps around the edges, with a thin layer on top of the tile. The sand 'moat' would hide the sides of the tiles and give larger ceriths somewhere to bury completely, but it wouldn't be much square footage, so it would have limited opportunity to build up gunk.

Would this work? I think it might look better than just having a really thin layer of sand, since it would give the impression of a slightly deeper sandbed. I have a really thin sandbed in my pico, and it looks fine, but I think it'd look silly in a bigger tank. Besides, it can expose the glass bottom if the sand gets blown around.

I am definitely going to get some really thin tile, maybe 1/4", to put under the sand no matter what. Then any exposed areas will blend in reasonably well. But I was wondering about the possibility of using thicker tiles to bulk things out.

 

[WheatToast]

I've never tried to do this, but I feel as though the tight crevices would accumulate more concentrated detritus than a normal sandbed. Also, do you know what the tiles are made of?
As for a thin sandbed, glue can be applied to the bottom pane of glass to keep the sand in place, though this would not make the sandbed look any deeper.

 

[Tired]

I know there are natural stone tiles that people use for this sort of thing, or tiles that are similar in material to frag plugs. I'd have to research exactly what people do.

It'd be pretty big tiles, and I can't picture that 3-6 tiles, fitted together really tightly, would be able to hold that much detritus between them. Particularly not compared to a sandbed. I could also put some silicone over those gaps, to mostly keep stuff out.

Gluing sand does work, but at that point, that's just bumpier tile. Plus, a pistol shrimp can't tunnel in it.
(Candycane pistols don't need much sandbed depth as long as they have nice rocks to go under, they build up a little depth of their own accord, but they do need /some/ sand.)

 

[JumboShrimp]

Would sand on the slick tile tend to be blown away by wave makers/flow (causing bare spots) too easily?

 

[WheatToast]

Would sand on the slick tile tend to be blown away by wave makers/flow (causing bare spots) too easily?

+1
I was thinking earlier that MarinePure might be a better tile option, in terms of appearance, if the sand got blown away (and probably weighs significantly less). Detritus could get stuck in the pores, though:

 

[JumboShrimp]

IMO, when that stuff breaks down— and in your tank, not merely your sump at that!— you will cry real tears.

 

[Tired]

Sand is going to get blown around on a smooth surface, sure, but that would apply to the tank bottom if there wasn't any tile involved. This is for a mixed reef, possibly with some blue-eye rainbowfish, so the flow's not going to be ridiculous.

 

[WheatToast]

Update?

 

[lion king]

I have travertine in my house, it's a neutral base ph 7 softer stone. It will break down in the alk based salt water.