substrate question (added pics)

[naesco]

Originally Posted by randy123

Update: Whatever it is on the sandbed looks light and flaky...asked caribsea customer support what it might be and they don't seem to know...

Other than salt did you add any other additive?
Flaky is not organic.

[randy123]

No, just RO water mixed with IO salt...and the water clarifier

[randy123]

[naesco]

Originally Posted by randy123

No, just RO water mixed with IO salt...and the water clarifier

What water clarifier?

[lastlight]

As in some sort of flocculant?

Wouldn't you need a skimmer to make that method work?

[reefwars]

a hob filter will work also to help when using a water clarifier.

did you mix saltwater or did you add salt directly to the tank.if you add alot of salt at once some will bond to your sand and will take longer to dissolve than if it were added in smaller amounts and dissolving before it hits the bed.

[randy123]

Originally Posted by naesco

What water clarifier?

The packets that come with the sand...I believe it is Caribsea's own brand. I also tried seachem clarity.

Originally Posted by lastlight

As in some sort of flocculant?

Wouldn't you need a skimmer to make that method work?

I don't believe so...when that stuff works it will make a foam around the waterline...the clarifier seems to have no effect on this stuff. Running a skimmer isn't an option right now because the new setup doesn't have sump or skimmer yet, and the eurobracing doesn't allow for my to put on my HOB.

Originally Posted by reefwars

a hob filter will work also to help when using a water clarifier.

did you mix saltwater or did you add salt directly to the tank.if you add alot of salt at once some will bond to your sand and will take longer to dissolve than if it were added in smaller amounts and dissolving before it hits the bed.

I dearly wish I could run my old fluval 404, but I can't get the POS to work. The hoses were cut for an old setup, and I can barely get the discharge pipe into the tank...the eurobracing doesnt allow for clamps..I tried for an hour to get it to prime and made a mess and had a minor meltdown in the process...

[randy123]

The best that Caribsea could figure is that there was "an excess of bacteria" in that batch of sand. They were really nice about it and sent me 140 lbs of new sand Except I already got the problem licked with a 100% water change while stirring vigorously...so now I have 120 lbs of sand without a purpose...oh what to do...maybe start another tank