Few Questions

[Uriel]

1. Is tahitian black sand suitable for marine use and how deep should it be ?

2. How does the live rock thing work. If i stock a 450l tank like its a 120l tank can i just put in enough rock for a 120l tank. or do i still need enough rock for 450l. If you had a 120l and a 450l tank but only currently had enough cash for live rock for the 120 would you just use the 120 or would you use the 450 and top up with more rock when the opportunity arouse ?

3. I went into Pets at home in cardiff which has a marine section. They had one display tank where the live rock was thin wide pieces that was stacked to be a constant wall of squarish caves. All the live rock i have seen has been well rock shaped. How is this done ? Can you cut live rock or is it just that they have there pick of live rock and have chosen all the pieces they needed to do this ?

4. Are externals any use for live rock rubble and as substitutes for things like phosphate reactors or are they useless when it comes to marine. I have 2 eheim pro 2.

5. Are closed loop systems viable for beginners. I personally dislike powerheads as i think they detract from the look of the reef. No offence to anyone that uses them just a personal taste thing.

6. Is it possible to have a sump that is a lot taller than it is wide.

 

[Donya]

1. Is tahitian black sand suitable for marine use and how deep should it be ?

I don't know what this is mineral-wise, but I doubt it would be ideal. Aragonite sand is the best choice since its surface area makes it useful as a pH/KH buffer. Silicates won't have that capacity. Of course, if you're only planning on a thin cover of it, it might not make that much difference with a large amount of other aragonite rock.

2. How does the live rock thing work. If i stock a 450l tank like its a 120l tank can i just put in enough rock for a 120l tank. or do i still need enough rock for 450l. If you had a 120l and a 450l tank but only currently had enough cash for live rock for the 120 would you just use the 120 or would you use the 450 and top up with more rock when the opportunity arouse ?

You'll get different views and guidelines on this. The question is really whether you'll stick to a light stocking. Most tanks will creep over that as enthusiasm grows, even if the initial goal is set low. Of course, there is no reason you can't add rock as you go along assuming you don't overstock at intermediate points and make sure to leave fragile things for last.

4. Are externals any use for live rock rubble and as substitutes for things like phosphate reactors or are they useless when it comes to marine. I have 2 eheim pro 2.

I'm not going to say a concrete "no" but give a waffley "probably not." It depends on how much of what you need to pull out. If it's not much, then sure, otherwise it might get tough. Also, if you're heading the canister direction, you'll want to either stick on some prefilters or have a habbit of frequent cleaning to make sure you don't end up with big piles of food being sucked away where critters can't get at it.

5. Are closed loop systems viable for beginners. I personally dislike powerheads as i think they detract from the look of the reef. No offence to anyone that uses them just a personal taste thing.

Will have to let someone else take this one since I'm not sure off the top of my head what type of system you're referring to and the oven is telling me I'm about to burn my pizza.

---

EDIT: broken tag fixed.

 

[HappyGeorge]

If by not using powerheads and relying solely on your cannister to provide your flow, then no its not really advisable. You need the powerheads to blow water over your live rock so it can filter the water as I wouldn't think rubble in your cannister will provide enough on its own, if you were thinking of not having LR in your tank. (Anyone feel free to correct me on this). I think almost everyone here will have about 20x turnover with sump pumps/cannisters and powerheads, and many will have nearer 40x. The fish, corals and other little beastys you plan to keep will appreciate the extra and more widespread flow powerheads can provide too. Of course there are always neat little Vortechs if you wanted to spend the money.

 

[Uriel]

I was thinking of having a sump and just wondered if the externals where useful for secondary jobs like carbon and phosphate or maybe live rock rubble. I wasn't think of relying on solely on sump/filters for flow. When i say closed loop i mean the water is taken out of the tank at the wier and then goes through a powerful pump and is returned into the tank through pipes which i was going to hide in the wier and then under the sand.

 

[seffieuk]

Closed loop system is perfectly do-able for anyone as long as the research is done first. I don't think we currently have anyone with a closed loop system in place, they have gone a bit out of fashion, don't know why really.

Seffie x