How much sand?

[35delivery]

How much is a good layer 2-3-4 inches? How do I know what amount will make up this layer in my 29 gal biocube?

 

[revhtree]

Go to the bottom of this page and there is a calculator. We need to add one of our own here at R2R.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/calculator.php

 

[ahayes13]

generally i think its up to the person. as rev said you can use the calculator. but personally i have a prob. about 1 1/2 inch bed--- the deeper sand beds in my opinion seem to hold too much crud and nitrates... but it also depends on the fish you keep... some fish require a deeper sand bed to burrow and to sleep...

 

[reef-nut]

That calculater does not tell you how many inches to use for a certain tank. You have to know how many inches already and it tells you how much sand you will need to use to get the desired inches.

 

[Nate82]

i agree with amanda an 1 to an inch and a half seems to be a great depth

 

[Zombo]

For my CAD 22, I'm going with a bed of 1 1/4" inches; deep enough for the G. chiragra to burrow in (under the LR), but not so deep as to be a nitrate factory

 

[35delivery]

Thanks for the help..obviously I'm going to learn a lot as I go along...

 

[Lytehouse]

The calculator is great once you decide what depth you desire. Thank Rev, cool calculator.

The first question, seems to me, is what is your purpose?

Is is simply appearance, do you need it for filtration, do you have certain fish that need it as stated?

Opinions you get here will go a lot on preference. Some don't care much for sand beds and will tell you minimal, I like the look of deeper sand beds but will warn you not to disturb it once it is in place.

So, past the rambling..... what is the purpose you are trying to achieve?

 

[returnofsid]

Deep sand beds are much more maintenance intense. A deep sand bed IMO, is anything greater than 1". However, deep sand beds are useless until they're about 3" deep. Sooo...I'd suggest a shallow sand bed of 1" or less. That being said, I started my 75 with about 1 1/2" and from flow, my pistol shrimp and my shrimp goby, it's now about 5" deep in one area...lol.

 

[fishes2889]

I keep a 3 inch SB for my Jawfish and my Goby. It all depends on what your using it for like stated above. Filtration, fish, etc..

 

[Hypertek99]

It all depends on what you want out of the bed. If you want more filtration then a deep sandbed. 4-5inches but looks ugly to me. If you want the looks then about 1 and a half inch (that's what i have). I have a deepsand bed in my refugium.

 

[35delivery]

I'm looking to get set up with corals and some fish..a blennie,a couple of clowns, a mandarin (I just love the look of them!) and just expand from there...I think the 1 inch rule seems to be a good base number :smile: Thanks!

 

[returnofsid]

Not to derail this thread, but make sure you research the needs of your Mandarin very well before getting one.

 

[35delivery]

I'm definately going to keep that in mind..I'm sure I'll need to find out about compatability also...thanks!:smile:

 

[Kaptain]

I would also recomend a shallow bed. My 220 has less than an inch - basically for looks. If you would like to get any burrowing fish, then you will have to go deeper. That being said, I guess you could start off shallow, and always add more later if you desire.

Also, the 29 biocube is way to small for a Mandarin. The only possible exception might be to find the RARE one that eats prepared foods. Most of the people I talked to have recomended at least 100 gallons + per Mandarin.

 

[Hypertek99]

I have kepted a mandarin in a 29gal and it was fat and healthy. I think the trick is to have a refugium from them. So the pods can grow and have a safe place to live.