live sand vs. crush coral

krrector

krrector

Member
I am gonna be converting my 100 gallon tank over from fresh water to salt water. I have already a 29 gallon that is salt water for about a year. I plan on making the 100gal tank a reef tank. My question is what would be the right way to go....live sand or crush coral? I would like just to get the basics done and get it up and running so it can start establishing. Any help would be appreciated.
 
flydan

flydan

Active Member
Hey,
Welcome!
Most people these days are converting to a dsb. (deep sand bed) It is the common concensus that about a 5" bed is the best. This can be mostly "dead" sand that is then seeded with live sand. Once that is all in and your water clears, put lr (live rock) on top of that. Again, the base of your lr can be 'dead' rock, with nice pieces of lr stacked on top of that. 11/2 to 2 lbs of lr per gallon is a good rule of thumb. It will take a while but eventually all your sand and rock will become live.
Your next major concern should be lighting, but that's another subject! :eek:
Be patient, be patient and be more patient. And read, a lot! Use the 'search' feature on top of this screen on specific topics. I'm sure more people will post with more technical answers, but that's not my strong suit!
Take care, and good luck with your new reef!
Dan'l :D
 
cosmosbasement

cosmosbasement

Member
Simply-Live sand. I have about a 3.5 inch sand bed of NAtures Ocean Live Marine sand. Wouldn't change it for the world. With your 1.5 to 2 pounds of LR, you got the perfect setup rolling. PLus with the Nature's Ocean stuff it takes a lot less time to cycle.
peace
doug
ps-What are the lights you are planning on?
 
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