Crushed coral is a problem waiting to happen

**journey0820** · 03-23-2008, 4:39 PM

Thanks! That is very helpful, and much less scary.

**leocom2000** · 03-31-2008, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by Reefscape

Not crushed coral sand per say...This type of sand is commonly refered to as seafloor grade....

Seafloor grade sand

or

Bahama Sand

So, is it good or bad???? Would a live sand be better than this one that he received?

**Reefscape** · 04-01-2008, 3:13 AM

i dont like live sand....period...i think its a total waste of money...

The above sands will need good flow on them as its large particle...i dont think its good in my opinion...again, depends on flow across the sand bed i suppose...

**xsdbs** · 04-22-2008, 1:26 AM

::

Originally Posted by Reefscape

i dont like live sand....period...i think its a total waste of money...

The above sands will need good flow on them as its large particle...i dont think its good in my opinion...again, depends on flow across the sand bed i suppose...

ok, so now I am really confused. why is live sand a waste of money? I thought that a DSB from live sand and regular sand was better than cc. one thing I do know is that the sand does get shifted around more than the cc did when I had it in my tank.

and more

**Reefscape** · 04-22-2008, 1:42 AM

I think its a waste of money simply because that by the time this "live sand" has been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse, shipped to a supplier, sat at the suppliers shop before it lands at our home, there cannot be hardly any living life left in it...For the life to be stable in bagged live sand, the temp would have to kept consistant within the water inside the bag....

Yes, a DSB composed of sand IS better than one made up of just crushed coral. However, on that note, a lot of people will use a mixture of grades of sand for a DSB....

**xsdbs** · 04-22-2008, 11:11 AM

oh, ok that maes me feel better, I had similar thoughts when I purchased my live sand and (of course ) they sales people said that because the bag was sealed the life would live. So I used a couple bags of live sand and a few more bags of white kiln dried sand that I got from HD for about $10/ a 5o lb bag. I also used about 150 lbs of live rock. This combination should have seeded the live sand well, is this correct. While I am here, if it is ok to ask on the topic of pods, how do you know if your tank is abundant in pod population? My tank is about 1.5 yrs old. I like the green mandrins but have been told that they feast off of pods and that if there are not enough in the tank that the mandrin will die. Thanks for your help

Originally Posted by Reefscape

I think its a waste of money simply because that by the time this "live sand" has been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse, shipped to a supplier, sat at the suppliers shop before it lands at our home, there cannot be hardly any living life left in it...For the life to be stable in bagged live sand, the temp would have to kept consistant within the water inside the bag....

Yes, a DSB composed of sand IS better than one made up of just crushed coral. However, on that note, a lot of people will use a mixture of grades of sand for a DSB....

**Reefscape** · 04-22-2008, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by xsdbs

oh, ok that maes me feel better, I had similar thoughts when I purchased my live sand and (of course ) they sales people said that because the bag was sealed the life would live. So I used a couple bags of live sand and a few more bags of white kiln dried sand that I got from HD for about $10/ a 5o lb bag. I also used about 150 lbs of live rock. This combination should have seeded the live sand well, is this correct. <<This is correct>> While I am here, if it is ok to ask on the topic of pods, how do you know if your tank is abundant in pod population? My tank is about 1.5 yrs old. I like the green mandrins but have been told that they feast off of pods and that if there are not enough in the tank that the mandrin will die. Thanks for your help

Sounds all good to me...

I'll answer your other queries here, but any more, and its best to start a new thread in the respective forum area...

While I am here, if it is ok to ask on the topic of pods, how do you know if your tank is abundant in pod population? My tank is about 1.5 yrs old. I like the green mandrins but have been told that they feast off of pods and that if there are not enough in the tank that the mandrin will die. Thanks for your help

You'll know there is an abundance of them when no matter where you look in the tank, you will see them crawling over anything and everything..Yes, green mandarins are really pod munchers...average about 1 every 5 seconds....Yes, you do need to keep the system well supplied. If you have a refugium, then maybe purchase a tub of pods online and dump them in there to boost the numbers...

Thanks..

**xsdbs** · 04-22-2008, 12:42 PM

Thanks Reefscape, I appreciate the help

**Reefscape** · 04-22-2008, 12:55 PM

Anytime mate..

**beastium** · 05-15-2008, 2:58 AM

Hey first post
i'm also pretty peeved with having been sold crushed coral as it looks so bad compared to sand, the smaller pieces make the tank seem like a larger 'piece' of the ocean. haha

so i'm planning out a switch, but i'm a noob and i need to know what i'm doing. here's what i've learned so far:

- take out my percula clown and (crabs/snails also? or are they tough enough), put him in a separate tank w/ powerhead and heater.
- take out live rock (why in a different container?) would they be okay together if i dont cause a debris storm?

- what should i do with my crushed coral i have, rinse it? just leave it? leave some? how do i waste as few bacterial residents as possible?

- if i mix my CC with the new sand as suggested how would i separate them after?

- Also, if i'm to allow weeks to sneak in the process, what about my livestock? would a one-day, prolonged switch as opposed to 2 weeks' be horribly noobsauce?

i'm sorry for the amount of questions..

i need to get something figured out b/c i'm getting increasingly annoyed looking at the CC.. lol