PDA

View Full Version : substrate depth..please help!


comfort_racing
08/18/2006, 01:24 PM
depth of substrate...i have read mixed reviews. i will have a mostly fish tank with some inverts and live rock (nothing crazy). i bought carib-sea "live" florida crushed coral substrate today. my book says 1/4 to 1/2 pounds per gallon i have a 75 GALLON TANK so i bought 40 pounds. well the substrate bag says 1 minimum 1 pound per gallon...HELLLLLP! :(

OTHER INFO THAT MAYBE PERTINENT IS:

i have no undergravel filter, i am using a wet/dry trickle filter with sump.

Dubbin1
08/18/2006, 01:28 PM
Just put the sand in until YOU like the way it looks.

comfort_racing
08/18/2006, 01:36 PM
its really as easy as that?

thanks!
:)

philagothos
08/18/2006, 01:45 PM
For the most part it really is that easy. Different depths require diffent amounts of maintanence, but that's easy enough to get used to. The main thing is that you are happy with the way it looks and then willing to do the work of the way you choose to go. Check the thread at the top about substrate choices, it will do a good job of filling you in on the work required for each choice.

Just a quick note. Crushed coral is an infamous detritus trap, so you will probably find yourself having to vacuum the bottom frequently. Btw, is it really that surprising that the manufacturer recommends using more of their product?

HTH,
-Kevin

comfort_racing
08/18/2006, 02:03 PM
thnk you very much and that makes alot of sense to me. i will go with a thinner layer of the "live sand" and just watch for spikes i guess. again thanks guys for the info.

btw, definately not surprised at $30 a bag they say to add sooooo much ;)

philagothos
08/18/2006, 02:23 PM
Oh, one more thing that just came to me... I read a while back where someone looked at the bagged "live" sand under a microscope and found ZERO life, even at the bacteria level. You might want to find some local reefers to get a cup of live sand from to seed yours. Even if you were lucky enough to get a little life in your bag, diversity is always a good thing. In case you haven't already found your local club forum here it is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=335

Sk8r
08/18/2006, 02:52 PM
I use a 4 inch sandbed: that gives bacteria plenty of room for layers.

meco65
08/18/2006, 03:13 PM
I started my tank the same way with CC substrate, and after a month or so my nitrate went to 20 ppm and I could not get them down. If you have not put the CC into the tank yet I would take it back and go with a finer grain size. I had to change out the CC with araganite sand to get the nitrate under control. Just trying to help.

Shagsbeard
08/18/2006, 03:35 PM
You are probably not going to be able to maintain "a thin layer" of substrate on the bottom of a saltwater aquarium. Your flow through the tank is going to be greater in some areas than in others and your sand will tend to naturally pile up in spots. I'd go well over the bags suggestion of 1 lb/gallon and say for most aquarium shapes 2lbs/gallon is a better idea. It's really not so much as lbs/gallon as it's depth. I've got 100 lbs of sand in my 75 gallon, and I feel like it's pretty thin in spots.

comfort_racing
08/19/2006, 07:29 AM
does it matter whether i am doing a reef setup of mostly fish?