Customer Reviews

Live Sand Secrets: A Dialog on Living Sand Filtration

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2 star:		(1)
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Real good information on constructing a Jaubert Plenum System, everything from hardware to substrate size. It is also informative on the bilogical cycle and curing of live sand. I recomend this to anyone considering using a Plenum System.

When this "book" (it's more a pamphlet) arrived I was very disappointed. It was so short, just 32 pages, a half dozen or so of them are blank, and another sizable section is a reprint of an email sent to the author, I didn't believe it could possibly be worth the asking price. However, for a small investment of a couple of hours, I was able to read the book, and it's description of how to set up a plenum.

The information in the book includes a simple description of how to set up a tank, along with some very complicated chemistry that is very controversial and beyond almost everyone's (or maybe absolutely everyone's) ability to verify except through empirical testing.

So that's what I did. I set up a small 22 gallon tank, along with the plenum described by Bob Goeman, and waited. Almost immediately my protein skimmer broke - no reflection on Bob Goeman - and after about 6 months, my tank is still running trouble free (and protein skimmer free), and almost maintenance free, with nothing but daily feedings, and a monthly 10% water change. I've cleaned the aquarium glass just once. The fish are healthy and content, the inverts are doing fine. I intend to setup every future tank I ever have using this same method. I still feel that $9 for a pamphlet is excessive, but the information with in this pamphlet is priceless, and in the 25 or so aquarium books I've read I haven't seen this information anywhere else.

I was hooked on aquariums the minute I saw the ones in the jewelry department Barney's 7th Ave. store in Manhattan, with sapphire earrings and diamond bracelets draped underwater over branches of coral with butterfly and angel fish gliding thru. Years and one B.A. later, I bought a used saltwater tank. Who would have guessed you need a PhD in organic chemistry to understand the balance between pH and salinity and the Nitrogen Cycle. Well, if you want a tank like the one in Barneys, you do. And this is the book to begin with. Sure it looks like a tiny pamphlet, but it is practical, concentrated, wonderfully detailed - one of the very few pieces I've found written by someone who clearly knows what he's talking about. I don't have a chemistry background so when Dr. Goemans says things about "the buffering ions that keep the world's oceans in narrow pH range" I am out of my league. But I prefer that to the "Aquariums for Dummies" (do they have one of those yet?) advice that simplifies this hobby by leaving out anything technical. I've had my used aquarium for 2 years now. Fortunately it was set up by someone who wanted a state-of-the-art tank, one that grows into a stable system and needs minimal attention. And so, despite my initial ignorance, my tank was on autopilot while I learned what to do. It wasn't easy. Not a single book in my local library gives any really current information on this subject; that's a problem because scientists have learned so much in the past 10 years about marine fish and environments. I am starting my daughter's new saltwater tank this month, and we can do it right because we have this book in our home reference library: The best sand to use. How to use the first aquarium to seed the new one. Why a tank won't thrive without anaerobic and anoxic (low level oxygen) areas of the sandbed. All in plain English with some biochemistry thrown in. You may not be familiar with all the terms, but with this handy little booklet you won't make mistakes.

This book is about constructing live sand / aragonite Plenums in your saltwater / reef tank. Really good explanations about aerobic / non-aerobic bacteria & anoxic. He talks about the efficiency of low oxygen bacteria areas compared to most common set-ups - he claims better efficiency than nature! Other authors do not agree with all of this, but isn't that the way when new emerging technologies take over the "old way of doing business"? This is about the 6'th book I've read since my big saltwater failure and I find this really good information. This author seems to have a different perspective worth reading.

Best practical discussion of living sand filtration I've seen. Perhaps one of the best books (on any subject) I've ever read in terms of containing the real "what do I do next Monday morning" specifics.

This hobby is part art and part science. It is amazing with enough scientific language what us hobbyists will swallow. To sum it all up - What Works For You - is a truthful statement.
If you have a technique that works well for you in your aquarium and you like it - do it.
Good for background reading. I will donate it to the local library.
In 2009, get a subscription to Tropical Fish Hobbyist and get up to date advice that works.
Great for its time. I would NEVER do this in MY tank. Complete Teardown? No way.
I do like Goeman's writing style though.