?Should I remove crushed coral from est. tank?

WCW · 03-03-2008, 12:06 PM

Howdy, I'm new to this board and still learning a lot about this expen$ive hobby! I've a 100g. w/Kenya tree (fragging like crazy), a bubble tip, inverts (shrimp/hermits) and basic and nothing fancy fish. My question is, the tank's been running for 2+years with crushed coral. I prefer the look of sand and after reading some of the posts here I'm wondering if I would make things worse by switching to live sand? Thanks in advance!

Tangster · 03-03-2008, 12:53 PM

Nope get all the sand you need I like the carriba sea custom sea floor myself does a great job But has a little rubble look to it also not just Blaaa fine sand laying around. And do not rinse or wash it remove 1/2 of what you have now and replace it then wait 2 weeks and then do the same on the other side.. But as for sand Just be sure its a good marine grade aragonite sand

WCW · 03-03-2008, 03:57 PM

Wow, thanks Tangster! I've seen your replies on a lot of other posts. I appreciate you posting. I've copepods in the tank too, i think enough will make the transition. I intend to look up the sand you suggested. The last time I looked at live sand I think I'm looking at approx. $150.

ReefSparky · 03-03-2008, 04:16 PM

Yeah, it's kind of an honor to have the grand poo-bah Tangster himself, respond.

Lose the crushed coral and get the sand. Notice though, Tangster didn't say anything about getting live sand. IMO "live sand" is a rip off. Realistically, how "live" is a product going to be in an anaerobic bag, sitting on some shelf? Just get aragonite sand, or any carbonate-based sand (i.e. not silica based) and in time, it will become live in your tank.

Do just what Tangster said and you'll be fine. FYI, carib-sea is $9.99 for a 20 lb. bag at my lfs. If the price tag on your sand bag is more than that, look around.

Last thing, a variety of grain sizes in one bag is better than just 20 lbs of single-sized grains.

Good luck!!

WCW · 03-04-2008, 02:21 PM

heya reef! Aye, I'm looking at the Seaflor. I went to 2 places today. One sold the 40lb. bag for 43.99 and the other 56. That was just for the aragonite CaribSea Seaflor (not live). Insane the price difference. I'll check tom. to see who else carries it here in SA. I just read up on DSB/Plenum/Berlin method. How much sand should I put in there? DSB? I read that's like 5" minimum? If so, that's A LOT of sand! **edit** I just did a little bit of reading of other posts. It looks like 2" will be plenty. Especially since I'm using Emperors...one day a canister..

My tank's just getting over a case of ich (didnt quarantine a sail fin tang-derrr) so I'm going to give it a week or so before swapping out the substrate. Unless ya'll think it'd help? I took that tang back, but not before it helped start a mild case of ich. I say mild because at most I'd seen 4 spots on a maroon clown and the purple dottyback keeps scratching with some spots on his pectorals. I've been using Ich Attack for just over a week now. What a pita....

ps. I should include it in my sig. so people know what i have. I've 2 Emperor 400s, Twist 300x UV sterilizer, Seaclone protein skimmer and a Glo fixture. I've spoken with Novalek, (maker of Ich Attack) and they told me I could turn the UV and protein skimmer back on after an hour as elapsed after intro of the med.

ReefSparky · 03-06-2008, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WCW

heya reef! Aye, I'm looking at the Seaflor. I went to 2 places today. One sold the 40lb. bag for 43.99 and the other 56. That was just for the aragonite CaribSea Seaflor (not live). Insane the price difference. I'll check tom. to see who else carries it here in SA. I just read up on DSB/Plenum/Berlin method. How much sand should I put in there? DSB? I read that's like 5" minimum? If so, that's A LOT of sand! **edit** I just did a little bit of reading of other posts. It looks like 2" will be plenty. Especially since I'm using Emperors...one day a canister..

ps. I should include it in my sig. so people know what i have. I've 2 Emperor 400s, Twist 300x UV sterilizer, Seaclone protein skimmer and a Glo fixture. I've spoken with Novalek, (maker of Ich Attack) and they told me I could turn the UV and protein skimmer back on after an hour as elapsed after intro of the med.

I'm not familiar with that brand of sand, and don't personally use a plenum, but reef_guru has mentioned that brand, and has knowledge of sand types and their application. I respect his opinion.

I'm not crazy about canister filters. In my case, I don't use filter floss anywhere in my system (but that's just me). My prop pump keeps my water moving well enough in the tank that my sand is kept clean from water movement alone. Detritus builds up in small places, and I siphon these sites when I perform water changes.