Too much sand??

S

Slschmidt

I just setup a 10gal reef tank 2 weeks ago, and while I was at Petsmart they had a 20lb bag of live sand on sale so I grabbed it and put it in the 10. I knew it would be a lot but the more that I look at it the more it seems like way too much. I am sort of beginning to like the look of a lot of sand but I was just wondering if you can have too much sand, or if there were downsides to having too much sand?
 
10 gallon reef tank is gonna be tough and sand is prob not gonna be the problem. Keep up with chemical parameters and limit as much bioload (fish mainly) as possible.
 
Yeah this is going to be mainly just for corals and shrimp I'm not planning on putting any fish in it. It's prolly more like around 3", think it will hurt to just leave it all in there or should I take some out?
 
I'd be careful with that much sand in a 10 gallon. A DSB (deep sand bed) can really convert a lot of nitrate, but it will also hold a lot of tank waste and may become anoxic over time. You won't be able to maintain a whole lot of flow in your tank, so you could experience a problem with hydrogen sulfide after six months or more. With a DSB it is important to not mess with the rocks and stuff that can disturb the sand. That is how the hydrogen sulfide is released.

I'm not saying it is a bad idea, but you'll want to think about the long term potential. In such a small tank I think you would be better off with less than 1" of sand and rely on your CUC and occasional cleaning to keep the sand healthy and nice.
 
If I was doing a shrimp tank I would add plenty as they do seem to enjoy digging in it, so long as you keep the sand stirred and do regular WC I don't see a problem. A buddy of mind had a full SPS 10 gallon that ran for a while til he upgraded to a 20. Nano's are fun and can turn out much better than expected so long as you change a few gallons twice a month.
 
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