Ryan's Favorite For LPS Tanks and Easiest To Cycle - Ocean Direct Original Grade.Best For Really High Flow - Florida Crushed Coral.Best Seller and Randy's Favorite - Caribsea Special Grade Arag-Alive.Let's take a look at some of the top performers in various categories across the board. Now that you understand how to wisely choose the best sand for YOUR tank. The contrast the dark sand creates can be attractive, its just not all that practical. That means it tends to look dirty almost right away and can also attach to your magnet cleaner causing you to scratch the tank walls. Pure black sand may seem attractive to some but consider this, black sand will not easily mask detritus and may have magnetic properties. Natural white is best because not only does it look nice and compliments the colors of your fish and coral, but it also tends to mask debris or detritus very well. It tends to take away from the ultimate goal of creating a natural-looking reef. You can also get brilliant colored sand options like neon green and hot pink but for the most part, you won't find this kind of sand in modern reef tanks. There are also black varieties and various mixes that will contain a majority of your natural white sand with black or pink particles mixed in. Most reef tank owners opt for very natural-looking sand in some shade of white or beige. It's the best of both worlds, is very uniform in grain size, and tends to work out great no matter what kind of tank you end up with. It is also suitable for most all wrasses, gobies, and many of the sand-sifting inverts we rely on to keep the tank clean. Being sand is natural, the bags will often contain a mix of different sizes but are sifted during packaging using a maximum to ensure you're not getting anything larger than what you desire.Īll things considered, a majority of hobbyists choose a medium grain size like Caribsea Special Grade (1.0 - 2.0mm) because it is small enough to look very natural but will also stay put in most reef tank flow conditions. Small grain size sand (Sugar-size" or "Oolitic") is often a real pain when used in your typical mixed, LPS or SPS dominate style reef tank where adequate internal water flow is critical for the health of the corals.Ĭaribsea is the leading manufacturer of sand used in saltwater aquariums and provides grain size measured in millimeters. This strong flow benefits the tank in many ways but also can stir up and move around your send particles should you use a grain size that is too small. In reef tanks, we create strong currents to mimic what corals and other reef animals would experience naturally. Sand sifting gobies and inverts should have smaller grain sand to ensure they can successfully sift and find food amongst the sand. Jawfish will benefit from medium-grade sand with larger crushed coral pieces and shells mixed in to create a burrow as they would naturally. For example, many Wrasse species should have small-medium grain sand beds to burrow into at night. For starters, there are some animals that prefer larger or smaller grain size sand so be sure your researching appropriately. The grain size or particle size is important for two reasons beyond the aesthetic. To learn more about using dry sand and how to rinse it, check out our video " Why Choose Dry Sand for Your Saltwater Aquarium Sand Bed?". Most dry sands should be rinsed prior to use in your display to help reduce the dust/sediment content. It is typically more affordable but requires a little extra work. Within the Caribsea live sand options, you have the "Oceans Direct" which is collected directly from the ocean and contains the natural biodiversity that comes along with it, and the "Araga-Alive" which is dry sand that is then combined with water that contains live beneficial bacteria before it is packaged.ĭry sand is exactly that, it is packaged dry and does not contain any living bacteria. It is packaged wet, has a low dust/sediment content and is designed to be poured directly into your display without any sort of rinsing or pretreatment required. Live sand is alive with beneficial bacteria that will help initiate or seed the nitrogen cycle in your display aquarium. After that, you should make your final choice based on grain size and color, both of which will affect the overall aesthetic and function of the sand in your reef tank.Ĭalculate how much sand you need using our Sand Bed Calculator. Having said that, you will first choose whether or not you want to use live or dry sand. Since sand is a large part of your tank's aesthetic, we always like to advise you to choose sand that looks good to you.
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