Carib Sea Arag-ALive Fiji Pink Substrate?!

[brandon4432]

Agreed Bryan, I'm literally stating it's been a decade Fiji was my go to sand



My sand above is ocean direct, demonstrated clumping. Fiji pink was every other reef so far the examples in the thread have been well covered. Cyano never has to take over regardless of salt brand or sand type- begin some export and cleaning work

Anything you do differently should be the preventative of regrowth, not the initial mass remover that's the cleaning part.

I disagree, I think Fiji pink sand is 100% the problem. Unfortunately I think some bags of sand have been manufactured defective and contain elements that cause this abstract growth. I cannot imagine it would be anything else because it is no coincidence that almost everyone on this thread has had the same issue with the same sand. I think if it was a means of better nutrient export the people who have had this problem would of solved it by this point. Some of us have had reefs up for two years with this sand and have had not one day in which this plague hasn't persisted

 

[brandon4432]

There is absolutely NO signs of this "stuff" present anywhere else in my tank aside from the SB. It's not even in my sump, where I used a different non-live CaribSea.
ALL water used has been tested for Silicates, results are undetectable.
I dose BRS 2part via a doser and nothing else. I feed LRS Reef Frenzy 2x daily and nothing else.
Whether I do WC 1x monthly or 1x bi-weekly @ 5g per change of 47g total volume, the reaction is the same.
Lighting intensity has changed over the past year and a half but this "stuff" remains the same. But does seem to diminish when lights are off.
I wash filter socks in washing machine 10 at a time, large load using half cup of bleach double rinse. Air dry for several weeks before using. Socks are changed every 7-10 days.
I've treated tank once with ChemiClean, it had no effect at all.
I've deep cleaned small areas but "stuff" returns within days. Disturbing the SB will distribute the "stuff" but it returns within days.

So yes I believe it to be 100% an issue with this particular batch of CaribSea Arga-Live Fiji Pink. Nothing else explains it.

150% agree. Have had the same problem for so long and the problem always persists no matter what measure have been made to eradicate the problem.

 

[charleslotz]

Anyway no point in further debating, to many users with the same exact issue to many to call it coincedence... Like I said sand is cheap ,.. Take it out put it in a bucket clean and keep it ,... If the problem persists at least you can x the sand of the list and buy another bag or two what you lost... And continue looking for the culprit but by reading your posts you seem to know what your doing and already started removing the sand . Good luck and keep us posted would like to know how it turns out. This post could be helpful to others... To little to say conclusively but perhaps it was just a bad batch as mentioned... Already.

 

[NanaReefer]

 

[brandon429]

After cleaning

Is there a contrast between these pictures

 

[NanaReefer]

right now at nr.com we have a brand new keeper using FP and I linked them here, and showed them how to be invader free the whole time (be detritus free and hands on)


so far we have all given our own usage examples, and now we can move to actual testing of a 3rd party tank using Fiji pink but a totally different waste management approach. ill check back in two mos on that tank and link em up. They were advised to make the sandbed accessible early on in the aquascaping, so that even when invaders come before the waste sets in, they can be easily siphon removed to keep the upper hand. That, and total cleaning/prevention for the waste is the actual test in my opinion.

I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. For me you are very hard to understand.

 

[brandon429]

I'm saying you can take control of the whole bed at any time

 

[NanaReefer]

Doesn't the fact that this issue has been present in my tank since the first week running hold any merit?

 

[bobbyM]

I have that problem with live sand every time. Dry sand, I never have issues with.

 

[brandon429]

it sure might Nana, all I can think of to test was some kind of a different start and a new tank keeper happened to post up the new Fiji bed. also another factor I wondered about was your pre rinse, its common not to pre rinse since people want to avoid bacteria insult, but I always pre rinse before the bed is set up. silt is a very high surface area potential feed, and if there was Si in this bed then high surface area Si particles could be feeding your issue, did you pre rinse?

all the rest of your tank looks fine thank goodness this is only a topical sandbed invasion, those are the easiest to fix with direct sandbed work and are trickier to fix using water only approaches where the sandbed is left in its current state (packed with waste, if you stirred some up a large cloud of danger would be cast into the water)

 

[brandon4432]

it is a simple experiment:

link a new tank keeper from another board here who just put in Fiji pink sand to see the effects of a hands off sandbed technique. see how the invasion persists if left in the tank.


advise them to keep the bed free of waste and topical invaders via hands on method, and check back in two mos between the two tanks.

this comparative approach can be a real test setup for a new tank who is starting waste free with a new Fiji pink bed. if they still have topical invasion issues after keeping it clean, then its a FP problem as you've stated.

With the mix of pro/con listed here, readers can't determine if there is a risk in using Fiji pink, am trying to get to the bottom of that. being able to chart what a new tank does using Fiji pink is helpful in comparison after a little bit of aging time.

That experiment could work but it could also yield invalid results as i have concluded and observed that not all of the packages of Fiji pink are doomed defective.

 

[NanaReefer]

No I did not pre-rinse. Being live sand and all. Otherwise I would have bought non-live sand-lol.

 

[brandon429]

Rinsing still keeps it live, though. Pre-rinsing is not antibacterial and since the live sand doesn't come with worms/pods/brittle stars it's ok to rinse, you bought wet sand and silt and not much else that rinsing would harm. Silt can cause problems clearly, is OK to eliminate that variable as well.

 

[NanaReefer]

You know brandon429.....I read 2-4 books a week. Never having an issue understanding nor comprehending the words on the pages. But I have to say....very little of what you have put down in this post do I understand or comprehend. I don't know what the heck you're saying!!

 

[brandon4432]

Rinsing still keeps it live, though which is why I asked. Rinsing is not antibacterial and since the live sand doesn't come with worms it's ok to rinse. Silt can cause problems clearly. my Fiji pink always will work great and pre rinse is a critical planning step.

I'm seeing a trend here...pretty certain sounding events regarding sand planning and dynamics for your tank, but a polar opposite outcome having followed those events, that's significant. The sum total of this example's sandbed prep and care = invaded, keeper stressed looking for fixes and no gain in five pages. The only contribution was that Fiji puts out bad batches occasionally, nope.

It's fair to say as the thread goes longer, you are getting an opposite idea of causation that part is clear, tank is holding state.

Still, if you disregard what those with Fiji pink do to make it work it's not an open and shut case at all, it's just options not being seized. If you did what those tanks did and still had the issue, that would help to know

Let the record stand that if this actual sand was bagged and sent to me, I could change out my whole current sandbed with yours and be invader free, all the time. I'd simply rinse it first and peroxide it really nicely then swap it all out instantly with no cycle. I'd then care for the bed oppositely and that would give the same results from my prior decade, using Fiji pink. There's no bad batches at all, that's just y'all reaching. All Fiji pink complies with my wishes as I give zero other options. See ya in two mos with a comparison link

First of all I pre-rinsed my sand thoroughly before introducing it to my tank. Still, I've had the same issue as NanaReefer and many others who coincidentally have the same sand, same problem, and all agree as to what the problem is caused by. Now I'm not here to bicker and debate BUT I have to say I don't agree with what your saying at all, I think your very insightful on this forum as I see you post in many threads but on this topic I think your incorrect. So if you don't want to agree with the 20+ people I've found have the same problem for years only on their sand bed than please stop commenting on this thread. I'm sorry to sound harsh, as I think we all agree this forum is supposed to be a friendly place to gather helpful, intuitive, and grammatically correct information. Happy Reefing

 

[brandon429]

Fiji is ok here, a fish picks through the sand taking care of topical pickings:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bored-heres-my-tank-lol.226887/#post-2628157

 

[Congaken]

I do use the Fiji Pink in my 32 gallon, and I have had similar problems. Tank is going on a year and a half old now. I recently started siphoning out the top layer as part of my water change. I rinse the removed sand many times in RODI until it is clear, and then add it back the next time I need to siphon the top layer. This ends up being about 1/2 cup of sand per siphon session. It is helping the sand look better and does not seem to be doing any harm.

I don't know if this will help...but ever since I got a tiger pistol shrimp my sand bed is pure white...I have snails and other such but IDK is it a coincidence? I suspect he comes out at night and eats...he's doubled in size in a month or so...

 

[Congaken]

I don't know if this will help...but ever since I got a tiger pistol shrimp my sand bed is pure white...I have snails and other such but IDK is it a coincidence? I suspect he comes out at night and eats...he's doubled in size in a month or so...

I'm wondering if some of yu more experienced reefers agree with my shrimp theory?

 

[brandon429]

in the link posted above, the large tank with fish had some sifters and the direct physical action they cause is helping to keep invaders that don't use a holdfast system cast into the water, so skimmers and filters and other floc can aid in removal (along with directly eating them in some cases)

lots of gobies aren't eating the invader as much as they'd like worms and pods, but the action of sifting is a thorough separation of grains, turnover, on a 24x7 basis its easy to see why simple direct action however that may be can have opposite results of not touching the bed at all for a couple years or months. if your shrimp works the bed in a constant manner, that's a contribution to your cleaner bed.

 

[charleslotz]

Perplexed...... at rinsing live sand ,... How mush rodi would you use for say .... 80 lb... Mmmmm ... Or do you use tap water ?

Confused,...makes little sense to wash away the bacteria etc etc ....