headlessfish
Member
I have crushed coral and the problem is the CC is porous, if i mixed the livesand with the CC would this negate some of the negitives about CC?
Can you mix crushed coral with live sand?
- Thread starter headlessfish
- Start date
sepulatian
Moderator
No, not at all. It is not a good idea to mix the two. CC is lighter than the sand and will rise to the top which leaves a lot of surface area for detritus to become trapped. Sand sifters have a hard time getting to the sand to clean and aerate it with the CC in the way. You would still have to thoroughly vacuum the CC. When you vacuum you are likely to remove some of the microfauna from the sand. It is just not a good combination all around.
cracker4418
Member
you can but i would get rid of the cc and go with live sand only. if you dont want to spend the extra cash you can use both. add the live sand to the top layer of cc and dont mix together.but i still say go with live sand and no cc,you will be happy you did.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
It's like mixing oil and water, it just doesn't work.
headlessfish
Member
my tank is 4x2x2 how many lbs of live sand would i need?
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
In all honesty, if you are looking for a certain "how many pounds" you can find that with the calculator, but finding the depth of the sand you need totally different.
Some people prefer only an inch and a half of sandbed, others prefer four inches or more. I personally prefer anything over 6. Really deep sand beds in any tank gives a wonderful opportunity for anaerobic bacteria to break down wastes. You just have to make sure that you can properly maintain any sand bed. Even get some sand sifting creatures to help the sandbed "turn over" and not become toxic.
Good luck!
Some people prefer only an inch and a half of sandbed, others prefer four inches or more. I personally prefer anything over 6. Really deep sand beds in any tank gives a wonderful opportunity for anaerobic bacteria to break down wastes. You just have to make sure that you can properly maintain any sand bed. Even get some sand sifting creatures to help the sandbed "turn over" and not become toxic.
Good luck!
cracker4418
Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2567198
It's like mixing oil and water, it just doesn't work.
couldnt have said it better myself
http:///forum/post/2567198
It's like mixing oil and water, it just doesn't work.
couldnt have said it better myself
headlessfish
Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2567371
Some people prefer only an inch and a half of sandbed, others prefer four inches or more. I personally prefer anything over 6. Really deep sand beds in any tank gives a wonderful opportunity for anaerobic bacteria to break down wastes. You just have to make sure that you can properly maintain any sand bed. Even get some sand sifting creatures to help the sandbed "turn over" and not become toxic.
Good luck!
ummmm, for my tank 6 inches would be like $800 in live sand, what else do you need/should add to the sand bed?
Do you have to use all live sand?
http:///forum/post/2567371
Some people prefer only an inch and a half of sandbed, others prefer four inches or more. I personally prefer anything over 6. Really deep sand beds in any tank gives a wonderful opportunity for anaerobic bacteria to break down wastes. You just have to make sure that you can properly maintain any sand bed. Even get some sand sifting creatures to help the sandbed "turn over" and not become toxic.
Good luck!
ummmm, for my tank 6 inches would be like $800 in live sand, what else do you need/should add to the sand bed?
Do you have to use all live sand?
dse
Member
i use 1mm CC and it's super.
don't listen to everyone saying use live sand.
it's your tank and for some people if they are good tank owners and clean there tank everyday (which is what your ment to do everyday) and clean the gravel everyday your CC will be better then live sand.
also once your tank is mature some of the CC goes purple wich is a good effect too.
what size CC do you use?
don't listen to everyone saying use live sand.
it's your tank and for some people if they are good tank owners and clean there tank everyday (which is what your ment to do everyday) and clean the gravel everyday your CC will be better then live sand.
also once your tank is mature some of the CC goes purple wich is a good effect too.
what size CC do you use?
scopus tang
Active Member
I agree with the others who say that the two should not be mixed. However, you are correct that LS is expensive; here is a suggestion. If you go with a deep sand bed over the top of your crushed coral you will not have any issues. I placed a piece of fiberglass screen over the CC, used a courser grain sand first, followed by a fine grain sand on top. Overall depth is 6 inches. Several of my tanks have been set up this way for over 4 years, and the larger pieces have remained on the bottom, because the lower levels of the DSB are never disturbed. If using a shallow (less then 2 inches) or an intermediate bed (4 inches or less), I would guess that your going to have issues with the two mixing, which is going to cause issues. JME, for what its worth.
headlessfish
Member
that is exactly what i was thinking, a deep bed with the CC at the bottom
sly
Active Member
Scoptus Tang, that sounds interesting and it sounds like it works... I'm wondering if you have ever had to relocate your tanks though? I don't think you could ever separate out the layers once you tried to remove them. To me, that is a big drawback with mixing them or with just using DSBs by themselves. Once they become established, you can't disturb them. If you do you either crash the tank or have to cycle a new bio colony. My tank is in its fourth and final location. It happens...
I personally would not recommend mixing the two. Sand and CC are different densities and sizes and because of this, they block oxygen differently. Low oxygen zones are where the beneficial bacteria live. You will get low oxygen zones more effectively out of sand than you would crushed coral because it packs more evenly.
Crushed coral packs irregularly. Some passages will let oxygen right through and some will be completely packed together blocking oxygen completely. People experience detritus and nitrate problems because they use too much crushed coral. I personally use it and recommend it over sand but it's not for everybody. If you use strictly crushed coral and keep it under an inch deep, you will have no problems that are normally associated with it. Just get plenty of live rock and some macro algae to make up for the nitrate reduction.
I think if you mix the two you will have problems with detritus buildup because you will have irregular areas of high and low oxygen concentration which is bad for the bacteria... and detritus build up due to your clean up crew being unable to dig deep enough to keep the substrate clean.
I personally would not recommend mixing the two. Sand and CC are different densities and sizes and because of this, they block oxygen differently. Low oxygen zones are where the beneficial bacteria live. You will get low oxygen zones more effectively out of sand than you would crushed coral because it packs more evenly.
Crushed coral packs irregularly. Some passages will let oxygen right through and some will be completely packed together blocking oxygen completely. People experience detritus and nitrate problems because they use too much crushed coral. I personally use it and recommend it over sand but it's not for everybody. If you use strictly crushed coral and keep it under an inch deep, you will have no problems that are normally associated with it. Just get plenty of live rock and some macro algae to make up for the nitrate reduction.
I think if you mix the two you will have problems with detritus buildup because you will have irregular areas of high and low oxygen concentration which is bad for the bacteria... and detritus build up due to your clean up crew being unable to dig deep enough to keep the substrate clean.
scopus tang
Active Member
Originally Posted by Sly
http:///forum/post/2569397
Scoptus Tang, that sounds interesting and it sounds like it works... I'm wondering if you have ever had to relocate your tanks though? I don't think you could ever separate out the layers once you tried to remove them. To me, that is a big drawback with mixing them or with just using DSBs by themselves. Once they become established, you can't disturb them. If you do you either crash the tank or have to cycle a new bio colony. My tank is in its fourth and final location. It happens...
I personally would not recommend mixing the two. Sand and CC are different densities and sizes and because of this, they block oxygen differently. Low oxygen zones are where the beneficial bacteria live. You will get low oxygen zones more effectively out of sand than you would crushed coral because it packs more evenly.
I think if you mix the two you will have problems with detritus buildup because you will have irregular areas of high and low oxygen concentration which is bad for the bacteria... and detritus build up due to your clean up crew being unable to dig deep enough to keep the substrate clean.
Sly, I have indeed had to move tanks, and as you stated it can be a real hassel to seperate the two (just ask my current TA who is the process of seperating the 50 pounds of mixed sand/CC from my last teardown). That is why I recommend placing a layer of plastic fiberglass mesh between the two and using corser sand over the CC; you will get some mixing (very fine sand particles, but not much). As to the issue of crashing the tank, you're going to have the same issues with just a DSB if you mix the upper layer of sand with the lower layer. You are correct on the issue of lower oxygen zones with the sand, which I why I place 4"+ of fine sand over the CC, thus the CC layer becomes anaroebic and acidic. The acidity begins breaking down the CC, adding usuable calcium to the system (which is one of the reasons for using CC in the first place). You won't much detritus build-up in the lower levels, because it mostly accumulates in the upper layers of the sandbed, just as it does with a typical DSB; most decay and clean-up occurs in the upper one too two inches of a DSB. As I said, I have done it, and it does work, but as you pointed out, there are some drawbacks. Generally, though I think they are minor.
http:///forum/post/2569397
Scoptus Tang, that sounds interesting and it sounds like it works... I'm wondering if you have ever had to relocate your tanks though? I don't think you could ever separate out the layers once you tried to remove them. To me, that is a big drawback with mixing them or with just using DSBs by themselves. Once they become established, you can't disturb them. If you do you either crash the tank or have to cycle a new bio colony. My tank is in its fourth and final location. It happens...
I personally would not recommend mixing the two. Sand and CC are different densities and sizes and because of this, they block oxygen differently. Low oxygen zones are where the beneficial bacteria live. You will get low oxygen zones more effectively out of sand than you would crushed coral because it packs more evenly.
I think if you mix the two you will have problems with detritus buildup because you will have irregular areas of high and low oxygen concentration which is bad for the bacteria... and detritus build up due to your clean up crew being unable to dig deep enough to keep the substrate clean.
Sly, I have indeed had to move tanks, and as you stated it can be a real hassel to seperate the two (just ask my current TA who is the process of seperating the 50 pounds of mixed sand/CC from my last teardown). That is why I recommend placing a layer of plastic fiberglass mesh between the two and using corser sand over the CC; you will get some mixing (very fine sand particles, but not much). As to the issue of crashing the tank, you're going to have the same issues with just a DSB if you mix the upper layer of sand with the lower layer. You are correct on the issue of lower oxygen zones with the sand, which I why I place 4"+ of fine sand over the CC, thus the CC layer becomes anaroebic and acidic. The acidity begins breaking down the CC, adding usuable calcium to the system (which is one of the reasons for using CC in the first place). You won't much detritus build-up in the lower levels, because it mostly accumulates in the upper layers of the sandbed, just as it does with a typical DSB; most decay and clean-up occurs in the upper one too two inches of a DSB. As I said, I have done it, and it does work, but as you pointed out, there are some drawbacks. Generally, though I think they are minor.
headlessfish
Member
interesting indeed, the LFS guy just told me to do the very same thing.
I went in there asking questions and come out with 5lbs of purple liverock
I went in there asking questions and come out with 5lbs of purple liverock