CaribSea Arag-Alive Live Aragonite Reef Sand – Special Grade Reef Sand Caribsea

About the Product:

CaribSea Arag-Alive Saltwater Gravel – Special Grade Reef Sand was originally engineered to be used in Jaubert (plenum) systems. It may also be used in Berlin systems as a static bed. It is “soft belly safe” as well as “sifter safe”.

Directions: General Use: For best results, use at least 1 pound of AragAlive! per gallon of seawater. For deep sand, beds use 2 pounds per gallon. Do not rinse. AragAlive! may also be used to seed CaribSeas dry aragonite products. AragAlive! compresses new tank cycle time and suppresses initial ammonia spike. Live rocks and most invertebrates may be placed in an aquarium immediately. However, gradually introduce fish within the first 3 weeks, and do not exceed one inch of fish per gallon of water during this time.

Plenum Systems: After placing the plenum plate in position, add 2 pounds per gallon of AragAlive! Special Grade Reef Sand (#00790) or a split layer of AragAlive! Florida Crushed Coral (#00795) at 1 pound per gallon for the bottom layer and then a top layer at 1 pound per gallon of AragAlive! Special Grade Reef Sand (#00790) for the top layer. In both cases, a screen should be placed either between the upper and lower layer or about mid-level to discourage sea life from burrowing down to the plenum plate and disrupting plenum function.

Sumps, Refugiums, and Deep Nitrate Reduction Beds (DRN): For offline systems, such as sumps and binary systems, the deepest bed possible is suggested for the non-display unite. Use AragAlive! Florida Crushed Coral (#00795) or AragAlive! Special Grade Reef Sand (#00790) and/or corresponding CaribSea Dry Aragonite. Plant macro-algae such as Caulerpa sp. and illuminate on a counter daylight cycle to the display tank, or for 24 hours. When illuminated, these macro-algae help control pH by absorbing carbon dioxide while releasing surplus oxygen. They also help control nuisance algae in the display aquarium by absorbing excess nutrients. These type of sumps and binary systems are especially effective in maintaining good water chemistry in display aquariums larger than 75 gallons.

For Deep Nitrate Reduction Beds in Display Aquariums use AragAlive! Special Grade Reef Sand (00790), AragAlive! Fiji Pink (#00792), AragAlive! West Caribbean Reef (#00794), AragAlive! Bahamas Oolite (#00793), or AragAlive! Indo-Pacific Black (#00791). Add substrate to a depth of 3 to 5 inches (2 to 3 pounds per gallon). Place base or live rock so as to cover the least amount of the substrate as possible. It is especially desirable to incorporate burrowing and sand sifting fish and invertebrates for optimum health of these systems.

Warning! Placing new substrates over the top of an established substrate bed can be damaging to aquatic life. Gently mix new material into the existing bed with fingers. For added safety, this process can be done in sections, over the course of a few days.