cycling my 80 gal. FOWLR

[Leddy]

hey everyone, first post for me on reefland. I was wondering what everyone thinks about the florida crushed coral. I know alot of you reefers use live sand, but i work at petsmart, and the crushed coral was about the only stuff we had. Plus i get a discount(a much needed one for my low budget). Do you think it would be wise to seed it with live sand? My tanks been cycling with 50 lbs. of base rock and about 40 lbs. of Fiji Live for about a 2 weeks. Should I take some of the crushed coral from my 29gal. and put it in the 80? Let me know what some of you think. thanks

[Reefland]

Hi Leddy and Welcome to Reefland!

It is always a good idea to seed a new substrate with some from various other tanks if you have it available. The diversity is always good. The reason why people use fine grade sand versus crushed coral is the crushed coral allows detritus to settle in between the large pieces and does not provide the proper conditions for bacteria to develop to process the nutrients. Therefore if the cruched coral is not siphoned cleaned occasionally you can end up with a nutrient problem.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[Leddy]

Should monthly siphoning be enough? That is what i usually do with my 29. I dont want to vacuum any of the crushed coral for about the first 1.5/2 months though, kind of wanna get a good bacteria base thriving. No fish for about the first month, gotta fight the temptation, patience is the key to success.

[Reefland]

Ah yes, patience is the key!

I think monthly siphonings should be fine, just keep your eye on it and if you see your nitrates creaping up, decrease the amount of time between cleanings.

Regards,
Scott Z.