GRAVEL/LIVE SEND

[amir]

Hi I have 95 gl reef that I start 2 years ago I have 95 lb Live rock and now I want to have live send it is ok to mix live send with the gravel or I have to take out the gravel ? what is the best way to add live send to my tank .
Thank's

 

[adrian]

By gravel do you mean crushed coral, if so a mixture of grain sizes is suggested when creating a live sand bed, although I would try to remove most of the crushed coral before adding the sand, your crushed coral harbors bacteria that break down wastes in your tank, therefore you want to remove it slowly so you dont upset the system, you can remove about a 1/4 of the crushed coral and replace it with a half inch of live sand every week or two, keep on eye on the inhabitants and water quality during this time, once you have replaced the CC with LS, you can start to increase the depth of the sandbed a half inch at a time, that is if your looking to create a live DSB. HTH

 

[nm reef]

If you currently have crushed coral and want to replace it with a DSB I'd suggest you plan in advance and make the change all at once....below is a link with a good article on how to go about making the switch. As mentioned I would be careful about replacing a well established crushed coral substrate...all sorts of stuff will be mixed up. Best of luck making the change...
<a href="http://fishwhisperer.homestead.com/articles.html" target="_blank">cycling & changing sand beds</a>