Live sand vs crushed coral

[marxsman]

I was just wondering, I know all the hype about live sand and I do agree. I have 4 inches of crushed coral in my tanks mixed with sand.

Does anybody for see a problem. I have not changed it because it would be impossible.

I seem to like the crushed coral though. It has been in my tank for years now and has accumilated worms shrimp and so on. My dragon wrasse loves it to.

Also it does not disrupt as easy as sand. My fish love to rearrange the tank!

What are some opinions/facts on crushed coral

[Reefland]

marxsman,

The problem with crushed coral is that the size of it allows too much oxygen to pass through it and therefore does not facilitate an oxygen deprived area for different forms of bacteria to develop. These bacteria populations are critical to processing waste in the form of nitrate into nitrogen gas.

The second problem is again with the size; the crushed coral allows for detritus to fall through where again, there is no appropriate bacteria to process it. This in turns leads to excessive nutrients. This problem can be offset by vacuuming the substrate clean but it's labor intensive and causes a loss of worms, pods, etc. It's simply counter productive.

[marxsman]

Whats the recommendation?? Do I remove crushed coral little by little and add the sand?

Could I just add "dead" sand? and what kind. I don't think I would need to add live sand since I have all the critters.

[Reefland]

I think most people would find the task to remove all the old substrate and add new a larger task initially but easier in the long run.

What is the mix you have right now? 1:1?

[orion25]

I had the same delima. I removed the CC all in one day. The next day I put in the DSB.

Of course I only had one fish and a Green Open Brain at the time and the GOB went into a 10g Q tank until the tank water was clear again. After the dust subsided I got 2 lbs of Live sand from 2 different LFS's and a 9 for $99 from IPSF. Had no problems since!

[marxsman]

the ratio is alot less, it's more like 5:1 if that. I don't seem to have any problems and Nitrates are low if any.

[Reefland]

5 parts sand or 5 parts CC?

[marxsman]

I'm sorry, it's more like 5 parts CC and 1 part LS. I just figured it was going to be impossible for me to change all the crushed coral out.

Would it be alright to mix more sand in there? The live rock stucture in the tank would be impossible to move and I have a ton of finger corals and zhenia and mushrooms i don't want to loose. Actually I could loose alot of the mushrooms, I just don't know how to get rid of the shrooms. They are overwhelming.

[Reefland]

Yeah that's not so good, basically you have a CC substrate. Adding more sand will not work. The crushed coral will always move to the top of the bed and that will leave you in the same position you are in now.

Although it's a big job,I would suggest taking a weekend and switching the substrates out. I think it's inevitablly going to happen, why not go ahead and get it out of the way. I say this because it is going to continue to give problems and sooner or later its going to have to be done.

[marxsman]

I was wondering if I can just add a fine sand instead of live sand? I may just do a part of the tank at a time and will the bact. worms. etc eventually move to the sand?

[Reefland]

Yes you can, and I would suggest using just fine grade aragonite dry sand and seeding it with some live sand. Again, I think the task would be easier in the long run to do it all at once.

[orion25]

Do yourself a favor and remove all the CC at once. Add 4 to 6 inches of sand and then place a few pounds of live sand from a good source on the top of your new sand bed. You could put some of your cc in a filter bag and place it on the sand bed for a few weeks to help the bacteria.

It will be nearly impossible to replace parts of the substrate over time. Just put your LF in a large rubbermaid container or trash can and make the switch. Keep your livestock in another container. They should only need to be in there for a day or so.

[marxsman]

The main reason why I ask the question is I will be taking the 55gal tank down.

I am upgrading to at least 120 gal. I am doing all the research and getting all the pieces together do everything right the first time.

It won't be for a few more months and I will begin that project. Im waiting for a new house.

But in the mean time I will do that soon and all at once. Thanks.

[Reefland]

If your going to be moving the contents of the tank in 2 months or so, you might consider just battling what you currently have. If your having problems with excessive nutrients, try more agressive water changes and skimming. If I was going to be setting up a new tank in 2 months, I wouldn't bother changing the substrate myself. Once a live sand bed is established, I think they are untransferable so ytour efforts now would be for nothing.

[marxsman]

ohh I did not know that, Thanks,

But as for parameters in that tank everything is great! I have no problems with ammonia or nitrates. just tested nitrate last night and it was 0, but I also just changed some water a few days ago. There is also a nitrate spunge in the filter that I change every two months. ( thats there for precation)

My nitrates stay about 0-5 usually.

[Reefland]

If your doing ok now, I would wait until you set up the new tank, as long as it's going to be within a reasonable time frame. Set up your new tank with a fine deep live sand bed and seed it with good quality live sand (not pre-packed "bio" crap) as orion has mentioned above.

[orion25]

ohh I did not know that, Thanks,

But as for parameters in that tank everything is great! I have no problems with ammonia or nitrates. just tested nitrate last night and it was 0, but I also just changed some water a few days ago. There is also a nitrate spunge in the filter that I change every two months. ( thats there for precation)

My nitrates stay about 0-5 usually.

I agree with Scott. Fight through the CC for now and start the new tank the "right" way. No use spending money and time on the old one........