where about are you? im lookign to remove some live sand from my big tank....
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- Thread starter wongdavidch
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i live in Malaysia, Johor state (near to Singapore), i think is far from your place. thanks for the offer.
Hi David -
Just to answer some of your last questions -
- No, you do not HAVE to remove the undergravel filters, BUT, it would be a MUCH better idea to have at least 12cm of sand on TOP of the U/G filters - then you have a Plenum system (search internet: plenum, jaubert filtering method)
- As Hennie has said - you can use any beach-type sand, as long as the sand grain size is between 0.5 and 1.5mm in size..... it is also better to have a different grain size, as different micro organisms prefer different grain sizes.
The idea is to have a whole little micro-cosm/ecosystem, for the tiny micro-organisms to live in. They assist greatly in the movement of water through the sand bed (DSB) and also assists with the removal of detritus (if there's a lot of detritus in the tank, then the nitrates and phosphates can be high, leading to uncontrollable nuisance algae growth)....
Hope that this sheds some more light on the subject.
Kindest regards.
Just to answer some of your last questions -
- No, you do not HAVE to remove the undergravel filters, BUT, it would be a MUCH better idea to have at least 12cm of sand on TOP of the U/G filters - then you have a Plenum system (search internet: plenum, jaubert filtering method)
- As Hennie has said - you can use any beach-type sand, as long as the sand grain size is between 0.5 and 1.5mm in size..... it is also better to have a different grain size, as different micro organisms prefer different grain sizes.
The idea is to have a whole little micro-cosm/ecosystem, for the tiny micro-organisms to live in. They assist greatly in the movement of water through the sand bed (DSB) and also assists with the removal of detritus (if there's a lot of detritus in the tank, then the nitrates and phosphates can be high, leading to uncontrollable nuisance algae growth)....
Hope that this sheds some more light on the subject.
Kindest regards.
thanks very much for the clearing up. this really help me understanding the matter.
the only thing i need now is to settle my tank bottm flow to convert to top flow, if not the sand will be suck to the bottom sump filter.
OK- sorry I did not answer that question - you do NOT use bottom flow with a DSB anymore.... As this will render the DSB useless..... You can disconnect the pumps from the undergravel filters completely....
You can get a external over-flow box, which you can connect using pipes, to the sump....
Do you actually mean you have a pipe that goes down right through the bottom of the tank, and into the sump? Can you post some pictures of this?
Many thanks.
Jacques
You can get a external over-flow box, which you can connect using pipes, to the sump....
Do you actually mean you have a pipe that goes down right through the bottom of the tank, and into the sump? Can you post some pictures of this?
Many thanks.
Jacques
I have just e-mail some photo to dean for posting. please comment.
David - that anemone in the middle picture above DEFINITELY looks like a bleached aptaisia to me... And if that thing starts to spread - it will take over your whole tank!
The broken pieces of coral could definitely cause you problems... You should indeed replace that with at least 12cm of sand, of which the granules are no larger than 1.5mm...
You already have a sump and over-flow, don't you? So you do not need the pumps connected to the undergravel filter.... disconnect them and use them for "power-heads" in the tank to provide water flow...
The broken pieces of coral could definitely cause you problems... You should indeed replace that with at least 12cm of sand, of which the granules are no larger than 1.5mm...
You already have a sump and over-flow, don't you? So you do not need the pumps connected to the undergravel filter.... disconnect them and use them for "power-heads" in the tank to provide water flow...
As u n see on the first picture inside the tank, there is still suction below, if i cover with sandbed, sand will be suck into the box and down to my bottom carbonet sump tank, and the DIY pipe overflow some time the suction will not suck that well taht i have to re pump the pipe.
Hello David - OK - you can just get a piece of glass/plastic/perspex or acrylic to insert here at your "inlet" to your pump. The piece should just be high enough (15cm) to allow your DSB to lie against it. Then you should be able to replace the coral pieces with the sand.....
Oh yes, thanks for the idea. How aabout the overflow DIY pipe, is there a better design for garranty result or i need to purchase the overflow box which is very expensive?
welcome
hi jacq, i have already posted some photos to dean but still not out yet, later u can comment more idea for me. I even have change the subtrate to sand.
viper, is there any problem in the photo posting, i have already send photos almost 2 weeks but still not posted. can u please help to check what is the problem. thanks.
thanks jacq. I just came back from my chinese new year holiday. hope everyone is doing well.
As the photos were posted, does anyone know what worms is that on the first 2 photos?
Is very hard to see it, i seen it when i was doing the subtrate changing and it dug in back to the sand some where.