LF bucket of sand

I do. But im a ways up here ;)

I don't quite understand what you are suggesting. The link "bucket of sand" goes to an old page where Calfo lauds the DSB. I'm just curious about your why, what and how?
This is just my opinion but I would not fill a 5 gal bucket with Oolitic Sand and expect too much from it.
 > little benefit to an Oolitic DSB over 3"
 > extremely little water exposure in a 5 gal bucket

BTW, I have all the sand you need if you want to come as far north as Murray. We can watch my tanks check out their DSB's and talk reef. (BTW, Dions system and display are awesome. I was there just this week.)

Aloha,
Mark




Edited by Mark Peterson - November 12 2013 at 5:34pm

So you need live sand or would my bucket of old sand work? (Sand you'd need to rinse)

Aloha Brian,

That's some crazy talk. Come on. The worst thing we could do is to encourage hair algae growth anywhere in the system. Sure sometimes we talk about not worrying about a little hair algae or cyano in the Refugium because we would rather have it there than in the display, but to encourage its growth is crazy. Recently I completely remodeled a Refugium where the Hair Algae had grown out of control. It was causing outbreaks of Hair Algae all over the place in the display.

Old sand may not work. Read this thread: http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=41514

Rather than a tall bucket of sand, believe me, it would work better to use a 3" - 6" DSB in a larger container like a shallow plastic storage container providing more surface area across the sand.

Okay, let me propose a positive and easy solution rather than being critical of your ideas. Sorry.
Okay, you are trying to reduce Nitrate pollution in a 90 gal where there was no coral, but you would like to add some, right?  It's a misnomer that a FOWLR tank should be treated differently than a reef tank. Those fish come from the reef, right? LR comes from the reef and has invertebrates, bugs and bacteria living on/in it, or it should have. So lets give them the same consideration we would give a regular reef tank. Let's encourage biological filtration the same as in a reef. Let's maintain Alk, Ca and Mg the same as in a reef tank. Of course, fish can live in less favorable conditions, but why should we subject them and their micro-invertebrate tank mates to that? It's not difficult to improve. It's better for them. It's better for us.

Here is a simple change I have suggested to others when they had a Nitrogen pollution problem. It works like a charm. Place Oolitic sand in several places underneath the existing substrate. It's simple and it works extremely well for any marine aquarium. Here is how to add the Oolitic to an existing tank to minimize the dust storm:
1. Rinse the Oolitic sand and leave it wet;
2. Push aside an area of sand large enough to place about a quart of the wet Oolitic sand;
3. Set the container slowly in the water and lower it down to the depression;
4. Slowly pour it into the hole; and
5. Push the existing sand back over to cover the Oolitic sand.
Do this in three or four places and then sit back and watch the N pollution fall to acceptable levels within a week or two.

Biofiltration is my expertise. At your request, I can provide more simple ways to enhance and improve biofiltration.

Mahalo,
Mark


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 15 2013 at 12:02pm

Ahh, I see, or at least I believe I see. 

Yes, the N pollution will disappear fast as the feeding is reduced. Actually, Nitrate does not hang around in sand and rock. Once it's processed, it's gone. Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate -> Nitrogen gas and H2O The great thing about Oolitic sand is that it harbors more bacteria per volume of sand so we need to use much less of it to do the same job as larger particle sand. Oolitic sand because of its small particle size naturally falls to the bottom level of the substrate. In that low O2 area, Oolitic sand is in an ideal environment to harbor a large population of nitrifying bacteria which eat Nitrate, breaking it up into water and Nitrogen gas.

To change the FOWLR into a full reef, try this:
1. vacuum the substrate to remove as much detritus as possible (to avoid problems with disturbing too much of the biofiltration at one time, do weekly vacuuming of different small sections until the entire tank has been completely vacuumed)
2. add Caulerpa and allow it to grow and take over as much as you can handle.( I like the look of Caulerpa and when Tangs are added they absolutely love the environment and will eat it up.) Algae is the fastest Nitrogen consumer I know of. It can clear up N pollution in a couple of days. During emergency pollution situations, illuminating algae 24/7 is essential.
3. Add some Oolitic sand as described above.
4. Use PO4 remover in a small bag in the Refugium. I use Phosguard but I buy it as bulk Activated Alumina. It's much cheaper than GFO, especially because I buy it in bulk. When Activated Alumina, which is very white initially, turns dark tan it's full. Discard and replace. I have enough to share if you want some.

Again, there is no need for a remote bucket of sand, which hardly works anyway, because just a little Oolitic sand on the bottom and algae growing in the display will give the tanks biofiltration the boost it needs.

BTW, the sump could be the ideal place for a "remote dsb". If the sump is not set up with a space for sand, make a holding space by using a small storage container that fits in a sump chamber. Put any amount of Oolitic sand in that storage container and it will do the job without extra pump and a five gal bucket.
*Note: Whenever Oolitic sand blows around, simply place a layer of larger particle sand on top of it or LR rubble or a bunch of Chaeto in the path of the swift water.

Aloha,
Mark
808-345-1049 call/text anytime