Aquaforest Bio Sand --- Super Bright White Sand!

[slingfox]

I started my 8 month old tank with CaribSea Special Grade but got tired of rearranging the sand every morning due to flow form my two MP40s. I switched to Tropic Eden Reef Flakes which both looked nice initially and did not move due to the larger grain size. Unfortunately, after about six months a noticeable percentage of the Reef Flakes grew dark green algae. This was an eye sore.

I just swapped in Aquaforest Bio Sand. The sand is fine grain and super white. My kids love the new look!

The white sand reflects a lot of light which makes the tank glow. This makes the green algae on the rocks much less noticeable and my fish all look brighter---most notably my chromis appear to be a lighter shade of blue. The sand has only been in the tank a few hours but it has not moved much---I hope that holds up. If I do get bare spots in the tank I will use those areas to place corals.

There are not many reviews of this sand around. I have inserted tank pictures below for reference. I got the idea for this sand from Viking Reefer on YouTube. His tanks are beautiful and an inspiration.

So far I am loving this sand. I hope I will not have to do another sand swap. If I do, it will be live sand from the ocean from Tampa Bay Saltwater...

 

[crazyfishmom]

I started my 8 month old tank with CaribSea Special Grade but got tired of rearranging the sand every morning due to flow form my two MP40s. I switched to Tropic Eden Reef Flakes which both looked nice initially and did not move due to the larger grain size. Unfortunately, after about six months a noticeable percentage of the Reef Flakes grew dark green algae. This was an eye sore.

I just swapped in Aquaforest Bio Sand. The sand is fine grain and super white. My kids love the new look!

The white sand reflects a lot of light which makes the tank glow. This makes the green algae on the rocks much less noticeable and my fish all look brighter---most notably my chromis appear to be a lighter shade of blue. The sand has only been in the tank a few hours but it has not moved much---I hope that holds up. If I do get bare spots in the tank I will use those areas to place corals.

There are not many reviews of this sand around. I have inserted tank pictures below for reference. I got the idea for this sand from Viking Reefer on YouTube. His tanks are beautiful and an inspiration.

So far I am loving this sand. I hope I will not have to do another sand swap. If I do, it will be live sand from the ocean from Tampa Bay Saltwater...

Love the look!!!!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

love it!!

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Beautiful sand!
I’m having same problem with Carib Sea Ocean Direct Oolite. The grains are too small and move everywhere with the MP40s.
Question: did you remove the old sand or left it below the new one?

 

[TheStrangler]

Are you still liking the sand? I'm currently in battle with finding the finest sand that I can for a new build without it being a snowstorm and am considering the AF Bio sand. My current tank has some assorted blend of sand that worked out well, but I could never hope to replicate it. Big fan of sand sifters, not so much of sand clouds in the water column.

 

[slingfox]

Beautiful sand!
I’m having same problem with Carib Sea Ocean Direct Oolite. The grains are too small and move everywhere with the MP40s.
Question: did you remove the old sand or left it below the new one?

Sorry for delayed reply. I have used three types of sand. Each time I used a new sand I siphoned out the old sand completely. Therefore the sand in the picture is 100% Aquaforest Biosand. I have been using it for several months now and could not be happier. Even though the grains are smaller than CaribSea Special Grade, the Biosand moves around a lot less. I have two MP40s running at 80% and have no issues with sand moving around.

 

[slingfox]

Are you still liking the sand? I'm currently in battle with finding the finest sand that I can for a new build without it being a snowstorm and am considering the AF Bio sand. My current tank has some assorted blend of sand that worked out well, but I could never hope to replicate it. Big fan of sand sifters, not so much of sand clouds in the water column.

Yes, I am still using the sand. It is the best I have used by far. As stated in my response directly above, this is very fine grain sand but also does not move around despite two MP40s blasting the tank at 80% power. This is in contrast to the larger grain CaribSea Special Grade I started the tank with---I would make up every morning to bald spots on the bottom of the tank due to the MP40 flow. I hypothesize the reason why Biosand does not move as much: the sand granules are smaller but more crystalline in structure. This causes the grains to lock into each other more which makes them harder to blow around with flow.

 

[Aquagasm]

Hey, hope all is going well with the sand. Question for you.. Did you have to rinse the sand heavily? I've used about 30 litres of RO water just to prerinse it and it's still cloudy

 

[slingfox]

Hey, hope all is going well with the sand. Question for you.. Did you have to rinse the sand heavily? I've used about 30 litres of RO water just to prerinse it and it's still cloudy

Yes, one great thing about the sand is the bottles bacteria is packaged separately. Therefore, what I did was rinse the sand extensively with my garden hose. I then did two rounds of rinsing with RODI. Then I added the bottled bacteria, let it sit for a day, and then added the sand to my tank.

 

[Aquagasm]

Yes, one great thing about the sand is the bottles bacteria is packaged separately. Therefore, what I did was rinse the sand extensively with my garden hose. I then did two rounds of rinsing with RODI. Then I added the bottled bacteria, let it sit for a day, and then added the sand to my tank.

Awesome, thanks for that info I'll give it a rinse through tap water until it runs clear then I'll do the rodi. Thanks