cause problems?

sassyfrassy · 03/15/2010, 11:08 AM

currently my rockwork sits on top of my sand, tank set up around Oct.'09. I want to get a watchman and was told I needed rocks on bottom or he might tumble them digging. If I rearrange my rock work, which will stir up the sand, will it create problems w/ water parameters? My PO4 is already 1.0 and my NO310-15ppm.

gkb · 03/15/2010, 11:11 AM

This depends, in part, on how dirty the sand is.

Also, how deep is the sand bed? If you have a deep sand bed, you will not want to disturb certain regions of it.

sassyfrassy · 03/15/2010, 11:26 AM

The sand bed has a dusting of diatoms at present - 2/3 of tank is about 2", the other 1/3 is 4" w/barrier to keep sand from shifting. It shouldn't be too dirty - fish were only added about 3 weeks ago.

gkb · 03/15/2010, 11:32 AM

Given your arrangement, you technically do not have a deep sand bed.

Given that it is not a deep sand bed, you have quite a lot of sand. It seems to me that keeping that amount of sand clean would become cumbersome.

To address the question...if the sand is not too dirty, you could disturb the sandbed without issue. Actually, I stir mine as frequently as possible (often daily).

sassyfrassy · 03/15/2010, 11:40 AM

The idea was to have one side deeper for a watchman to play in. Given that it's not a DSB (that will be in my fuge) should the sand be more like 1"? I'm setting up the fuge in a day or so - as soon as the silicone cures, and I could add excess sand, along w/bacteria, on top of aragonite I'm putting in fuge. Would that be better? How much sand do I need to make the watchman happy?

03/15/2010, 11:08 AM	#1
sassyfrassy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kings Mountain, NC Posts: 912	cause problems? currently my rockwork sits on top of my sand, tank set up around Oct.'09. I want to get a watchman and was told I needed rocks on bottom or he might tumble them digging. If I rearrange my rock work, which will stir up the sand, will it create problems w/ water parameters? My PO4 is already 1.0 and my NO310-15ppm. __________________ Faith, hope, and love abide; but the greatest of these is love. Current Tank Info: 40g breeder DT LR & Macro Algae - 2" sand, 6 T5s & 2 fans in hood; 30gL sump/fuge w/MSX 200 skimmer & other equip.; (mangroves in DT - roots are great look)

03/15/2010, 11:26 AM	#3
sassyfrassy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kings Mountain, NC Posts: 912	The sand bed has a dusting of diatoms at present - 2/3 of tank is about 2", the other 1/3 is 4" w/barrier to keep sand from shifting. It shouldn't be too dirty - fish were only added about 3 weeks ago. __________________ Faith, hope, and love abide; but the greatest of these is love. Current Tank Info: 40g breeder DT LR & Macro Algae - 2" sand, 6 T5s & 2 fans in hood; 30gL sump/fuge w/MSX 200 skimmer & other equip.; (mangroves in DT - roots are great look)

03/15/2010, 11:40 AM	#5
sassyfrassy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kings Mountain, NC Posts: 912	The idea was to have one side deeper for a watchman to play in. Given that it's not a DSB (that will be in my fuge) should the sand be more like 1"? I'm setting up the fuge in a day or so - as soon as the silicone cures, and I could add excess sand, along w/bacteria, on top of aragonite I'm putting in fuge. Would that be better? How much sand do I need to make the watchman happy? __________________ Faith, hope, and love abide; but the greatest of these is love. Current Tank Info: 40g breeder DT LR & Macro Algae - 2" sand, 6 T5s & 2 fans in hood; 30gL sump/fuge w/MSX 200 skimmer & other equip.; (mangroves in DT - roots are great look)

03/15/2010, 11:11 AM	#2
gkb Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 118	This depends, in part, on how dirty the sand is. Also, how deep is the sand bed? If you have a deep sand bed, you will not want to disturb certain regions of it.

03/15/2010, 11:32 AM	#4
gkb Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 118	Given your arrangement, you technically do not have a deep sand bed. Given that it is not a deep sand bed, you have quite a lot of sand. It seems to me that keeping that amount of sand clean would become cumbersome. To address the question...if the sand is not too dirty, you could disturb the sandbed without issue. Actually, I stir mine as frequently as possible (often daily).