coral+sand substrate?

[erutko]

would it be beneficial for me to add sand to my crushed coral substrate? the coral is only 2 inches deep. would adding sand help with biofiltration?

[SeanT]

I believe the consensus you will find here is to get rid of your coral bed all together. The deep sand bed is the way to go.
Here is a good article to read.
http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

[SeanT]

Also check here:

Deep sand bed's. (http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=465540&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending)

[Sea Wraith]

I would suggest leaving the crush coral alone! I recently made the switch to sand and its been nothing short of a nightmare! I have spent more on suppliments and additives in the last 4 monthes than I did the entire 6 years that I used crush coral! I had a stable tank and I wanted to swtich cause the sand looked better..... BIG MISTAKE! Now I am constantly having to add buffer to my tank to keep the ph stable, I have a terrible case of green hair algae in my tank now as well! The water is constantly cloudy and nitrates are constantly fluctuating between 40 and 200. I never NEVER had any these problems when I was using crush coral! Also due to the fluctuation in the paremeters of the water I have lost every fish except for 3 green chromis! I have my new 75 gallon up and cycling right now with crush coral and it is coming along beautifully! Take it from me........... I have been on both sides of the fence and I am back on the crush coral wagon! I gues youve heard enuff blathering by me anyhow so I have one more thing to say..... If it aint broke..... DONT FIX IT!!!

[Pomacanthus1]

A properly set-up DSB has many significant benefits, all of which can be found in the articles SeanT has provided links to.

The problem with CC is that over time, it collects detritus and becomes a nitrate-producing cesspool. A DSB, however, is a home for many critters such as britstle worms, spaghetti worms, nassarius snails, pods, and many other critters that actually eat the detritus before it can decompose and release nutrients that fuel algae growth.

[RIVERROBSKI]

I have a 90 FO and it is doing good(4 years) with CC. I have a 55 gal reef(4 months)with Sand,it is doing excellent. I think sand with ree and CC with FO, Does that help, probably not.Check it out
www.robreneasreef.com

[SeanT]

eep RIVERBOSKI those QT music files crashed my PC :(

Not your fault just venting.

[drscheck]

I have been on both sides of the fence also, my old tank was a 55g with a cc substrate, had all kinds of problems, nitrates would spike over night, algae and cyano blooms all the time.

Now I transplanted everything to a 65g RR, with shallow sand in tank, a DIY ecosystems sump and a 30g DSB tank connected in the basement. Everything is doing 100% better, my nitrates have never gone over 30, when they reach 30, I harvest about half of my caulerpa ($15 credit from LFS) and down they drop.

[coachgail]

CC will not help stabalize pH or calcium in a reef tank (to a large degree). why? Because the pH must be very low 6.9 or so for the calcium to precipitate out

[erutko]

i see both sides of the issue. my question is, is there any benefit to adding some sand to my current substrate?

[coachgail]

Sand will enable a much more diverse system. Many of the sand-dwelling critters do not do well in the sharper crushed coral. With sand, and a cuppa "muck" from a fellow reefer's tank (or several would be better), you will have a better detrivore system. However, your cc will eventually make its way to the top, and you cannot vacuum sand! So, your nitrates will probably spike as you will not have a true DSB. You could add it on top, and then scoop out the cc. If you want the benefits of of a DSB, but want to keep your cc, then add a DSB in your sump or in a refugium.


Look everyone, I proofed it. Now, would you beleive I am a teacher...

[Pomacanthus1]

Adding sand to your current substrate could in fact be detrimental. A proper DSB can't have to many particles over a certain size (1mm or something like that). The larger particles don't allow the essential critters full access to all areas of the sandbed, which results in a buildup of detritus and possibly even "clumping" of the sand.

If you want a properly functioning DSB, you will need to remove all of your CC substrate.

[mirski57]

FWIW,
I had 2" of CC for over a year and a half. Then I decided to add 250 lbs of southdown on top for a grand total of 6-7" DSB; then I ordered a detrivore kit from Inland Aquatics to get it kick started.

So far so good, It's been a month now, and I see lots of bubbles forming in the substrate.

[Pomacanthus1]

Well, i hope everything works out for you in the long run.

[pnosko]

mirski57, I ditto Pomacanthus1' comment. Dr. Ron would probably shudder at the thought of doing this. As the CC gradually makes its way to the top of your DSB, it's going to act like plates of armor for the critters that need to move though the DSB.

[Toutouche]

Mirski,
Hope you've got lots of Tylenol on hand for those DSB critters, they're going to have lots of headaches from bumping into big grains all the time!! :D
Seriously though, I'd be on the watchout for all the gunk that was in your CC to not start to rot by being buried now, and overload the system because it takes a while for the DSB to actually come up to functioning level.
Seawraith,
I've also been on both sides, and can say I prefer my SD DSB now better. Mind you, it wasn't pretty when I added the sand for a couple of months because the system goes through a new cycling period. I lost my Blue Hippo, and 1 or 2 corals during the process, but now, it is back and better than ever with the sand. I also recommend the sand over CC, because of detritus build-up, live critters in the sand, and better anaerobic section.

[Toutouche]

Mirski,
Hope you've got lots of Tylenol on hand for those DSB critters, they're going to have lots of headaches from bumping into big grains all the time!! :D
Seriously though, I'd be on the watchout for all the gunk that was in your CC to not start to rot by being buried now, and overload the system because it takes a while for the DSB to actually come up to functioning level.
Seawraith,
I've also been on both sides, and can say I prefer my SD DSB now better. Mind you, it wasn't pretty when I added the sand for a couple of months because the system goes through a new cycling period. I lost my Blue Hippo, and 1 or 2 corals during the process, but now, it is back and better than ever with the sand. I also recommend the sand over CC, because of detritus build-up, live critters in the sand, and better anaerobic section.
Coachgail,
:thumbsup: :reading: :D