Fish only to reef - Substrate - to change or not?

M

masharp1126

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[I currently have about 2" of crushed coral (pretty good sized) in a fish only tank. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be converting to reef setup and was wondering if I should consider changing the crushed coral to sand, keep the crushed coral, or combine the two types?

I saw a thread a couple of weeks ago about regarding the type of sand beds being used and think I'm going to go with a 2" bed. I like the looks of it better and don't think maintenance will become an issue. It will have a sump very similar to Marc's model J. Included in the sump will be the refugium and protein skimmer. How deep should the sand bed in the refugium be?

Thanks for your help.]
 
[Hello Mark,

I would remove it. Due to the larger particle size it has a tendancy to trap detrus that can then decompose and may result in higher nitrates. With a sand bed it tends to keep it on top and then you can get some critters that will live in the sand that help keep it cleaned up. It sound like you want a shallow sand bed 1 to 3 inches. That should be fine. I have heard of people adding the sand to the crushed coral but I what usually happens is the larger particles tend to move the the top.]
 
[Putting 1" in the refugium is what I prefer, but some have decided to use none at all so they could siphon out the detritus that accumulates. If you put sand in the refugium, think about putting a cucumber in there too, as it will keep the sand clean.]
 
[take all the crushed coral out...I did the same as you and thought I could just take out half and then add sand, didn't work out well.]
 
[Thanks for the info. I kind of thought that was the way to go, but wanted to make sure before I did it.

Guess I'll be hitting the LFS this weekend. Any suggestions on who might have the best deals on sand?

Regarding the cucumber in refugium...would it also be beneficial to have one or two in the tank?]
 
[one thing about cucumbers...if they get really stressed out, they can release toxins that can be fatal for your fish and coral...just thought I'd let you know.]
 
[The best deal on sand it to PM "Sandman" as he has southdown (argonite-based) sand available.]
 
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