crushed coral-----live sand

[wagnutz69]

Sorry to keep bothering all of you, but I've come across so many questions that I'd love to ask on here it's pathetic(and to think I used to believe I knew a thing or two about marine tanks!!!). I am looking at converting my tank(s) from CC to live sand. Nobody around here in my area ever suggested setting them up this way, which is amazing as CC seems to be cheaper then live sand. What do I need to do to complete this task. My 125 has about 3in of CC, my 55 only has about 1 1/2, and my 58 is down to about an inch (had a bad outbreak of that nasty brown slime with air bubbles in it, can't remember the name of it.) How much water, LR, and CC do i need to remove to complete this, or can I leave my CC in it?? Thanks again everyone!!!

WAGZ

[jegel]

I would say keep about an inch of the CC in each tank and mix the sand in with it. This will create a wide variety of grain size which helps to support a more diverse population of critters.

Also from what I've read you don't need to get all live sand. If you go to Home Depot you can get the Play Sand, 50lb for $4.00. Then put the live sand on top.

[Alice]

Keeping some of the CC is a good idea, especially if it's the smaller grained stuff. Using the Home Depot Play Sand could save you a ton of money, too.

If you have live critters in your current CC substrate, add the HD sand, about a 1/4" every two days. Doing this will allow your current critters a chance to migrate up to the top of the sandbed and survive. When you get the substrate up to depth then you could add a detrivore kit with bristle worms, spaghetti worms, mysid shrimp, etc. to really jump it up.

Ask away; we don't mind a bit

~Alice

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Reefkeeping is my life; I can't afford a hobby too! My specs: www.thereeftank.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000029.html

[This message has been edited by Alice (edited 02-15-2001).]

[tdwyatt]

in a 125 long (6 ft) I would put 120 lbs of Southdown playlot sand (or aragamax if you want to spend $100) in troughs of what you already have, it will make the sand that you add "live sand" if you mix what you have with the sand that you add. 120 lbs of sand should increase your substrate base to 6 inches with a multitude of grain sizes. There is no need to disturb the crushed coral any more than is absolutely necessary, then check out ipse's detrovore kits and get some bristle worms, spagetti worms, etc for the sand (maybe just get some grunge from the bottom of a few local curing tubs (lr tubs). This will innoculate the sand and seed it with infauna that will , over time, dramatically improve your tank's ability to handle both detritus and nitrates. I will take about 1 year to fully mature, it will be slow to develope.

Hope this helps

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Tom <"{{{{>(
(TDWyatt)
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato