Substrate

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knowthemath

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Feb 16, 2004
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I've just started setting up a salt water tank. Originally I was going brackish, but realized what I really wanted was a salt tank. Unfortunately I started setting things up without any research. I've slowed down, but have a dilema. I have crushed coral in my tank and want to add live sand, oolite sand and live rock. Do I need to remove the coral? Will I need to drain the tank and fill with new water? I want to make a plenum like the one described at http://www.thereefweb.com/starting_a_foolproof_marine_tank.htm#4. Substrate.

Thanks
 
Thanks for the interesting link. I know I'll be looking at that one more in the future. Any site that names The Conscientious Marine Aquarist so prominently can't be all bad. However, take all advice (this included ;) ) with a grain of salt. Must resist urge to make saltwater pun...

The low-oxygen environment you want for denitrification can be achieved without a plenum. A Deep Sand Bed provides the proper environment somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 - 5" of depth.

Do you/will you have a sump? The crushed coral can go in there as a nice refugium habitat/ pH reservoir.

Silica based sand can be used for live sand beds, many (myself included) on this board have experience/success with that material.

BTW: Welcome to Aquaria Central

:)
 
No, I do not plan to use a sump at this time. If I graduate into a larger tank I probably will. Since I do not have a sump, can I leave the crushed coral in the tank and add live sand?????
I have a 29H tank and am getting ready to purchase a Remora Pro Skimmer. Since I have a small tank, (it fits perfectly on my desk), I wanted to stay away from a deep sand bed. That was the reasoning behind the plenum. There's so much info out there, that it's hard to decide what exactly to do. My LPS is just starting saltwater, so we are all searching for answers.

Appreciate the help!!! :D
 
Plenums are tricky to setup --go with caution if you decide to go with one. DSB is easy--just dump the sand in, and add critters to maintain them. Adding sand to the CC won't really give you any benefit--the CC won't compact enough to allow for anaerobic conditions, even with sand in there. Many of the sand bed critters have a tough time in the CC--it's too big and bulky for them to move around in easily.

You can empty the tank, remove all the CC, and refill with the same water (minus a normal water change) without any problems, though.
 
OrionGirl - DSB is easy--just dump the sand in
Click to expand...

Is it really required to wash sand before adding, be it play sand or coral lite ( or was it coral life sand :huh: ) LFS has different types of sand from the actual ocean.

Moving tank this weekend & what to and more sand. Lot of work though trying to wash it.
 
I don't wash the sand I use. You end up removing the smaller particles--which defeats the purpose. Smaller grain size = more surface area = better host for bacteria.
 
I'd go to home depot you can get sand there a whole lot cheaper than you can get it at the lfs. Will work just the same as long as you get aragonite sand. Ask one of the people that work there they can help you out. Then Get some live sand mix it in and you're good to go.
Hope this helps
Chris
 
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