LS vs CC???????

bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
Ok, so right now I have cc. Everyone keeps saying how much beeter ls is for the health of the aquarium. How can I add it now that I already have an established tank? Im afraid the tank will cloud too much....
any advice would be appreciated!
Also, how much more do I need...I have a 75g.
 
volunteerg

volunteerg

Member
great question! i just asked the same thing under the reef tank section...i have a 75 g with 80 pounds of LR and CC...I'm not too concerned about clouding up the tank since I just added Miracle Mud to my HOB refugium and it clouded up for a few hours.
I'm more concerned with removing the LR to get all the CC out.
Has anyone added LS on top of the CC?
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
yeah i was told it was ok just to add my ls on top of the cc.
i dont see why that would be a problem...hopefully someone will have some replys.
but as you have probably nitced as I have we will get 15 different reasons why and 15 more to why not haha.
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
here's a question, do you need to vacume ls? I say no, sinner says yes. Google was no help, said yes and said no.
Okay, why do the smilies keep changing places on me? Am I losing my mind?
 
volunteerg

volunteerg

Member
from everything i heard, there is no need to vacuum the LS...but again, someone else may have another opinion on that! lol
 
rickd

rickd

Member
I dont think so the CC will just end up on top and your not doing anything soo pull all the CC out and then put the sand in Thats what i was told.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Originally Posted by bluephi115
the question for this thread is :::::
CAN I add ls to cc? If so how? and Why?
thanks
Absolutly not. Why, because the sand will sink to the bottom and the crushed coral will rise to the top, then what. You will have to try to clean the crushed coral because it WILL trap food and detritus and cause nitrates. When you go to vaccum it guess what, you'll wind up suckin sand out. Now if the sand remains there and isn't moved it could build up anerobic areas, and if you ever break into one of them when cleaning the cc on top the bam! you may very well release a bomb of anerobic bacteria that will kill your tank.
Do not mix cc and sand together. Thats my vote and opinion
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
good point about it shifting to the bottom.. another question though.....HOW and WHY should I use live sand over cc since my aquarium is already establised or are there any benefits.
everyone has so many opinions, this may be the most confusing hobby I have ever entered haha but VERY worth it so far!!
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
either they are mulitple post on this or i'm really losing my mind. Again I swear I answered this.
I wouldn't add ls over cc, the cc will just trap the bad stuff and you'd still have to vacume to get it out. But there is a thread on how to change cc to ls. Put water, fish, inverts, lr in buckets or bins, take cc out, add some water, add ls, cover ls with trash bag, add water slowly, carefully remove bag, add lr, add water, add fish, and inverts
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
so basically the peopel at my pet store are freaking idiots.....gggrrrrr
thanks for the link!!
thanks for everyones input and help.
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
so how quick do i need to do this? now I am really concerned. I am leaving for vacation this friday for 8 days. is this something I should fix before I leave or can it wait another week and ahalf.
Also how many pounds will i need for a 75g 48 in?
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Wait until you are relaxed and ready to do the change, after your vacation.
My suggestion would be about 80 pounds of live sand or if you can find the right playsand like Southdown, Yardright or Old Castle playsand. It must be calcium carbonate based and usually states that it is Tropical Playsand. This is the white good looking sand that makes the tank look great.
You can simply pre cure this dry type of sand using water from a water change.
Live or dry its your choice.
Before you leave I'd do a good 30% water change and have someone who knows something about your tank keep the fish fed and the water level up.
Thomas
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
yep wait, that way you can keep a close on your water. Good luck. I was almost ready to change but desided I'll wait till my next tank, or when we move. And Sinner keeps telling me I'd still have to clean the ls...
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
For the life of me, I do not know why pet stores still sell crushed coral. It can be compared to electronics stores still heavily stocking casette tape players.
Crushed coral is a very outdated, inefficient, and just plain bad substrate.
Do yourself a favor and read those links provided and switch to live sand asap.
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
thanks everyone....i ended up getting ick so the store took back all my fish for me and put them in their aquarium hospital haha....that was cool of them. I just did a water change and will change to sand when i get back. I thought it had to be live sand. I had no clue it could be dry.
so where do i get that type of sand: playsand like Southdown, Yardright or Old Castle ???
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
your best bet, is to mix ls with sand, they sell sand at the fish stores (***** at least), but you can find some at lowes or home depot.
The ls will seed the regular sand and become 'alive'; same with lr, get some lr, get some base rock, and the lr will seed the base rock.
playsand like Southdown
Home depot of lowe's maybe some other local place like that.
 
bluephi115

bluephi115

Member
well i am leaving for florida, destin, this friday. i just spent 20 minutes calling 5 different home depots in that area and called my local one and they have never heard fo anyhting like this...so I am at a loss of where to find it.
 
dougai

dougai

Active Member
i had ls and added cc over it and clouded the tank aaaaaaall day and left me with a brown sheet of ---- on the glass that is a

[hr]
to try to get off
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top