# Sand bed



## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Deep or shallow? None of the fish I'd get would burrow.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

even if they dont burrow its still good to have a significant ammount in there but idk how much. you just have to make sure u keep up on keeping the sand stirred up.


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## Corwin (May 23, 2010)

as far as I know you have to stir shallow sand and deep sand so yeah, if your not getting any burrowing/bottomfeeder fish then its really an asthetic choice.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

Corwin said:


> as far as I know you have to stir shallow sand and deep sand so yeah, if your not getting any burrowing/bottomfeeder fish then its really an asthetic choice.


i think he is talking about a saltwater tank so more sand is better i believe as for what benifits it has on the tank but im unsure.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

*Reef*

Yeah, that's what I meant. I want a reef tank, and I'm doing ALL of the planning now. If deep bed, are there any inverts that keep it turned over that won't get eaten by a humu trigger?;-)


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

*Argonite*

Could you elaborate on squeekee35 's post? I'm probably going to go with crushed argonite of about 1/4 in. of diameter.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

funlad3 said:


> Yeah, that's what I meant. I want a reef tank, and I'm doing ALL of the planning now. If deep bed, are there any inverts that keep it turned over that won't get eaten by a humu trigger?;-)


nasarius snails pretty much stay under the sand all the time except when u dump food in the tank so idk if they would get ate. as for anything else idk what would work. you could build a plenum underneath it allows water to pass through the sand its basically like an undergravel for salt water but u dont have to manually push water through it does it on its own.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Most of the "action" going on in the sand takes place in the top inch of it. Shallow sandbeds are thusly the most efficient and cost effective, and have no dead zones or foul pockets.

Deep Sand beds are grossly inefficient and costly, BUT they are very simple and work just fine. Stirring the sand is NOT something you want to do, either. It's okay if various critters churn up the top inch or two, but after that, leave it alone.

The biggest question to help you decide which to use is-- How big is the tank? A smallish tank with a six-inch deep sandbed in it would look awfully silly.

And forget the humuhumu. It's just not gonna work in a reeftank.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

*Humu*

Fine, I'll forget the humu on this tank, but what about a blue throat trigger? One of my lfs's said that they were reef safe, and yeah, one inch sounds good.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

lol my idea of a deep sand bed is around 1 to 1 1/2 inches maybe i shoulda specified lol


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Redtooths and bluethroats are among the best triggers to get for a reef, but still, no trigger is a really great idea. They're mean, they chew on everything, they're clumsy, they get big, they get *stuck* a lot... just a pain. Very cool to watch, though, I'll give 'em that.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

*Well...*

My lfs said that a blue throat would be fine in my species list, so again, 


Fox face rabbit fish

Blue Tang

Long Nosed Hawk fish

1-2 Black Ocellaris Clown

Maybe a Harlequin Tusk Fish

Maybe a Garden Eel (how deep of a sand bed would I need, and would it "settle" if I added it first or after the blue tang?)

Blue Throated trigger 



If I would need to ditch the Harlequin for the trigger I would, but I would rather have the Eel than the Trigger.

Simply put,

1. Garden Eel
2. Blue Throated Trigger 
3. Harlequin

These would all be in a 125 gallon tank W/ large sump. 

Thanks!

If there are any other problems with this list, please post! I'll also post this list in Reef for more attention.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You eel will need very deep sand, and it will never settle down with those bruisers in the tank with it. Garden eels are very, very hard to keep for any length of time because they are SOOO nervous that they are very hard to feed, and you'll hardly ever see it because it will duck down every time you approach the tank. You have to keep them in a group to have any real hope at all, because they use each other as lookouts and dithers and go crazy without them. I don't know how your uncle did it, but his luck was the exception, not the rule.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

*Okay*

So now the harlequin or the trigger? If you have any other stocking ideas tat would work with the other fish, What are they?:fish:


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