new 55 gallon tank

[adam & jeanne]

We recently purchased a 55 gallon tank and have set it up according to our local pet shops reccomendations. What we are noticing however is that a lot of people have live reefs in their tank. Is this necessary or may we just have crushed coral in the bottom? Does not having live reef mean that we can't have certain fish? We are new to this hobby and would appreciate any input!!

 

[daluminum]

I think your asking about live reef sand.. only because you mention crushed coral. LS(livesand) has proven to be better because crushed will cause an increase in nitrates. So if its not to late go with a DSB (deepsand bed) and remove your CC (crushed coral).. But no haveing CC will not affect limit the fish you can have. only requires a little more cleaning and maintenence with water changes.. good luck have fun.

 

[karlas]

hello! cc is ok but can contribute to the build up of nitrates if not cleaned, ls works as a nitrate reducer. mix that with lr and you have a natural filter in your tank. i agree fish only is a really good way to start because corals take a little more work
here is a site with info on starting a new tank
starting a new tank

 

[ebeckels]

in my opinion i would skip the cc and go with a dsb (4 inches of Live sand) you can do about 3 inches of dry sand and then put an inch or two on top of that of good live sand.
-Eric

 

[thor]

welcome to the board! check out this thread it mght help someclick here!
about your LS ? i have 45 pounds of LS in a 58g i find it very helpful
[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: Thor ]

 

[thor]

sorry it didnt work just check out my post "TO ALL NEWBIES!"
oh well how do you make a URL? also while im asking how do you make an image
[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: Thor ]

 

[fshhub]

urls are easy,
first click n url
then put in the full address,
then hit ok
then name the url and hit ok again
hth