Sand vs. Crushed Coral

[spinman]

To all,

Like so many things in my life, I feel like I'm a day late and a dollar short.

This leads into my next question. My LFS sold me a bag of crushed coral for my substate, which is now sitting at the bottom of my cycled tank.

I get the impression that a DSB is the preferred substrate.

So, before I add all my new base rock and stuff, would it be advisable to remove the CC and replace it with a DSB?



Thx,

Mike

 

[RLG2182]

To be honest... I would get rid of the CC. Have you added anything at all? Fish? If I were you... I would start over with a DSB of aragonite sand. Would save TONS of headaches later on, especially if all you have is CC and water.

 

[SirLight1337]

Oh how i wish i had started with sand.. I got the crushed coral for free, looks good and all that but i would prefered sand. To bad the sand you are going to have to buy is about 20 bucks per 20 lbs, unless you were to find the correct playsand.

 

[spinman]

All that's in the tank is the CC and some lame decorations that I _thought_ were cool before I *knew* enough to know WHAT was cool <

Mike

 

[RLG2182]

I would get rid of the CC.

 

[spinman]

So I take it that my local HD or garden shop may have the argonite typre of approved sand? And i saw on some website that my tank 48X24X24 would need 250#s of sand for a 4" layer?

Mike

 

[SirLight1337]

Actually it would take about 264 lbs of sand for a 4 inch bed.

Check the threads about playsand and which brand is cool to get. If all else fails do the vinegar test.

I have yet to find any usefull sand in orange county

 

[spinman]

what's the vinegar test? And will I have to drain the tank to put it in (just shoot me now)..

Mike

 

[mp3z24]

vinegar test.... take a small sample of sand in a little container (i.e. a shot glass or a test tube or a small bowl) and add vinegar. if it fizzes then it is argonite sand and is appropriate for use. if it doesnt fizz then it is most likely a silica based sand, and while not bad for an aquarium, it wont give you any buffering capabilites.

you shouldnt have to drain the tank to add sand. you may however want to lower the level a bit. all that free space between the coral is going to be filled with sand when you replace the CC and the water will be displaced. also, i dont know how deep your CC is, but if you are adding sand for a DSB, then you are most likely going to be adding more sand then the CC you are taking out... bottom line is take some of the water out, but you dont have to drain the entire tank.

~mike

 

[spinman]

Thanks for the quick answers. I've got a layer of CC just thick enough to cover the bottom (1/2"?).

Makes sense that 260+ lbs of sand will displace a bit of water. Maybe that's a good time to do a partail water change.

Now onto the quest for cheap snad.....

Mike

 

[spinman]

Another observation: In reading another website I caught the suggestion of making a DSB in your sump. In my case the Proclear 200 wet dry has a 19 gallon sump but the pick up tube is at the bottm of the sump that feeds into the iwaki pump.

So to me, I really couldn't add sand into my sump.

Mike

 

[spinman]

This may be another stupid question from me but, what the hey.

Is there a good reason why I need to remove the CC before I add the DSB? What hurt would it be just to cover it over?

Also, is it the collective wisdom to place the base rock directly on the glass bottom or to sink it itno the DSB. I read somewhere that the little sand dwellers could shift the rock around over time, so it's better to place the rock on the glass.

Thx (again)

Mike

 

[lando]

Is there a good reason why I need to remove the CC before I add the DSB?

Since the sand is smaller it will just settle to the bottom and the CC will still be on the top. You will still have the potential problems of the CC.

 

[spinman]

Makes sense. but....if I have 1/2" of CC and am adding 5" of DSB, wouldn't the CC remain at the bottom of the tank while the sand, even if it sinks would still be 4.5" over the CC. Or maybe the CC would work its way back to the surface?

Mike

 

[SirLight1337]

you dont have anything in the tank but some water correct? just remove the CC you big lazy! if i didnt have a tank full of LR and fish i would remove mine, but i just dont wanna tackle it right now.

 

[spinman]

Hey, I resemeble that remark!! Seriously tho, It's not that I'm lazy, believe me, if I _was_, I probably would not have jumped into this obsessive hobby.

I'm just wondering if there may be a benefit to keeping the CC on the bottom under the DSB.

The problem with getting into a new hobby in this age of the WWW is there is too much information out there. It's info overload overnight.

You start reading about DSBs and you read that folks put plenums under the sand. So I get to thinking that perhaps having a loose kind of substrate under the DSB may be good for something.


Mke

 

[RLG2182]

There will be no benefit. Deterius will gather in the CC, possibly causing nitrates to rise. Even though there is only 1/2 inch layer of CC, it'll still rise to the top. Putting a DSB in now will only create headaches in the future. Trust us, take the CC out, and put the DSB in.

Just realize that many healthy SW aquariums are kept with CC. They just have to be cleaned out thoroughly with an aquarium vac to get all of the deterius out. Lately, CC has just become unpopular due to a DSB's good qualities. There's no need to clean it if you have a clean-up crew. If you have at least a few inches of a DSB, it can promote dentrification. Not only that... but many think it looks better If you choose to go with sand at ANY time in the future... best chance is to do it now while you can.

 

[spinman]

Now THAT makes good sense.

Out goes the CC..

Mike

 

[nsu7]

Disregard

 

[Lee Lang]

I had a 90 gallon SW set-up a few years back and I had a 1 inch layer of CC and a few pieces of dead coral (no LR at all). I remember that I would have to syphon the CC almost weekly because it got so brownish and dirty looking quite quickly from the lights I was using. I had to bleach the dead coral often too to keep them nice and white. It was quite a pain. I have since switched to FW but am considering going back to SW. Forgive me for asking very basic questions but I want to get more info before venturing back to SW. Thank you in advance to anyone that takes the time to help me out.

First off I guess the general concensus is that CC is not the way to go and that a DSB is better. If I go with a DSB is it going to get all browny coloured in a week or so as my CC did. Then if I try to syphon the sand it will get sucked up the tube and through my PYTHON into my drain?
It is my understanding that I should buy some small 'critters' to clean my sand for me. Could you give me some examples of these critters and exactly what they are going to do for me? Are they going to keep the sand nice and white and I won't have to syphon the sand ever? I want to put some nice bright lights on for my aquarium but I don't want to have to worry about everything looking dirty in a week because the bright lights are creating too much algea and brown crap on the sand.
I didn't have any LR in my set-up before but I guess I should put some in this time around. What does this LR do and will it mean that I won't have to do very many water changes any more?


My plan is to eventually get 1 or 2 blue spotted stingrays.

By the way I have an Eheim professional 2 filter model 2026 and a Seaclone protein skimmer.