What size grain do you prefer for your substrate?

[thomasdo87]

I am planning to get some Tropic Edens substrate but not sure which size I want. I like the look of the ultra fine grain but have had problems with it being stirred up by my flow. Should I get a combination of 2 different sizes. The sizes available are .5mm, 2mm, 3.5mm.

 

[Bruder]

Stunreefer just put this, the largest size, in his new tank and that stuff does not move at all. He said he put it in a 10g with a MJ mod and it STILL didn't move. I would try that stuff if I had to pick!

 

[eggie]

2mm to 3mm is perfect

 

[Tomasz]

If you can get something with 2.5 to 5 it would be great. Anything smaller will float everywhere.

 

[Bruder]

Let us know how that Tropic Edens works out. It is supposed to be great.

 

[thomasdo87]

ahh cool thanks. yeap i've have heard great things about the substrate. might mix it but probably wil just go iwth the 2mm at least.

 

[Gimili the Great]

i like the thought of sugar fine but it just ends up getting blown around or the fish kick it up.

i am going for 1.5 to 2mm for my next tank setup choice

 

[thomasdo87]

ahh thanks. my current tank has the ultra fine sand but the flow is only moderate, but I am planning to kick it up a notch so I guess I have to go with the heavier stuff

 

[sucker_fish]

I think you were on track to start off with, especially if you are gonna be running a deep sand bed. I would put a layer of sugar fine sand on bottom covered by larger grain sand to hold it down. I have about 2.5" of fine sand covered with about 1.5"-2" of larger grain sand crushed coral mix and it stays put pretty well. this is in a 50 gal bowfront with about 550 gph flow.

 

[FiReBReTHa]

how much are you dropping?

I am going to top layer my sand with larger grain but dont want to get killed on costs, how much is it on average? etc

 

[stunreefer]

Stunreefer just put this, the largest size, in his new tank and that stuff does not move at all. He said he put it in a 10g with a MJ mod and it STILL didn't move. I would try that stuff if I had to pick!

+1...

Honestly though it does move a bit before the bacteria sets in... but it'll hold still over time... my single return inlet is a much stronger direct flow than the MJ was in the 10 gal... Bruder saw this first hand last night :neutral:

I highly recommend going with the "reeflakes" at 3.5mm.

FWIW, the "3.5mm" isn't quite 3.5mm...

 

[AZDesertRat]

My vote is for the finest you can get if you are wanting a fully functioning deep sand bed. The fines play an important part when it comes to colonizing bacteria and critter production.
I have 330 lbs of unrinsed Southdown sugar sized sand in my 100G fines, dust and all and it does not move even with 2xK4 Koralias, a OR3500 closed loop through a OM Squirt two way and OR3500 return pump for like 36x turnover. Once I seeded it with a few cups of donated sand from friends tanks the bacteria took off like crazy and it stays put.

 

[Chad]

I really like how clean the fine sand looks but I use coarser sand in my frag system because plankton seem to like to grow in the coarse stuff better.

 

[stunreefer]

My vote is for the finest you can get if you are wanting a fully functioning deep sand bed. The fines play an important part when it comes to colonizing bacteria and critter production.

Yes... do NOT use the sand I recommended in a DSB... only SSB, or SSSB

 

[Yellowtang]

If your headed for a DSB I would youse the finest you can get and then put some coarser on top. The finest sand has the most suface area for bacteria, the coarse just to keep it from blowing around. The coarser stuff will also grow different animals as Chad posted.

JR,

 

[thomasdo87]

does DSB mean deep sand bed and does SSB mean short/small sand bed? The Tropic Eden substrate comes in a 30lb bag and I am planning to use it in a 40 gallon breeder tank. Not sure how deep of a sand bed I want maybe 2 inches or so. The breeder is going to have a 1000gph return with penductors so not exactly sure if the fine will move alot. So will my best bet be fine on bottom and coarse on top?

 

[stunreefer]

Yep, DSB=Deep Sand Bed, SSB=Shallow Sand Bed, and I run SSSB=Super Shallow Sand Bed

2" is not deep enough for an effective DSB, so you could use whatever sand you want. IME, unless your runing a DSB (~4"+) all the layers would mix up over time so I wouldn't stress about mixing sand grain sizes.

 

[thomasdo87]

ahh k, guess I will try a coarse one since I've always used very fine sand

 

[Paul_N]

I have a DSB (5") and was having issue with the the sand in the front center section getting blown away. I didn't want to change my flow since all the coral seemed happy. I got some of the more coarse crushed stuff and placed it in that section and it worked perfect. my barred goby still cleans it and everything. I thought for sure it would be too coarse for him.

 

[blaze98]

I like the sugar sized grains