Sand or no Sand

[regener8]

Newbie question again.
Is there any major difference to having Sand in your aqaurium ? I have 55gl which I have crushed coral...is there a major difference ?
Can I have both. ?
Will be getting a fresh shrimp to put in today to start the cycling process. !! Do I need to get a testing kit to test water yet...or should I assume everything is okay (I do have salenity tester) ?
Thanks..Great board

 

[incognito]

Sand has it's plus. I personally changed from Crushed coral to sand. First you dont have to clean the sand. Crushed Coral will require monthly cleaning. Also if you make your sand bed deep enough, 4 inches to 6 inches it will work as a natural filter and will act in lowering your nitrate level.
Using both isnt a great idea. If you put sand on top of the crushed coral it will sooner or later creep to the top. Best bet is to remove it and replace it.
Add the shrimp and get a test kit. Test daily for ammonia. Once the ammonia test shows a spike i.e. a huge amount fo ammonia remove the shrimp and test every few days until your levels are at 0.
Good luck

 

[regener8]

Thanks for the info Incognito. I am thinking I am going to switch to Sand now...since I like the look of sand and plus it will be good for filtration.
Now...will I have to start from scratch. Empty out water, remove crushed corals. Then add live sand, add salt...etc. Or can I just remove (with much effort) the corals and then add sand ?

 

[grumpyoldman]

Isn't crushd coral kind of a bad idea enviromentally speaking? Where does it come from. I have never used it, but the name makes me wonder.

 

[incognito]

Crushed coral is more or less crushed sea shells.
There are two options in changing cc to sand. You can empty the tank and empty it out and put in the sand and replace the water, either new water or the old water if you have a place to put it, i.e. 25 gallon rubbermaid containers. Or you can do it while the water is in the tank. Scoop out all the cc and then take the sand and put it into the tank. Put the sand into plastic bags, drop them to the bottom of the tank and then empty them carefully. This will work but is messy. I woud go with an empty tank but that is just me.