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The Kid 
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Joined: November 12 2004
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 Topic: sand over rubble
Posted: May 23 2005 at 2:31pm |
I have 2 questions, I set my tank up about a 2 years ago with crushed coral bottm and was thinking about changing it to a live sand bottom should i remove the crushed coral and replace with sand, or should I remove some and cover the rest with sand. or just leave it as it is. Also I have a big bucket of once live sand out of someone elses tank that has been in the bucket for a few months after a good rinsing would this sand be okay to use.
Thanks for your advice!
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Mark Peterson
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Joined: June 19 2002
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Posted: May 23 2005 at 9:43pm |
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What is the depth of the crushed coral bottom?
I'd leave the crushed coral because, unless you used copper at some point in the past, it is live already. It has bacteria and may just need an infusion of other life from another tank or from some good LR. If copper was used at any time in the life of the CC, discard it.
Sand to a minimum depth of 2-4 inches is recommended, depending on particle size. If it was me, I'd add Utah Oolitic sand underneath the CC. To put it underneath, move the CC away from an area then submerge a small container of sand and pour it slowly into the hole. Cover the new sand with the old CC. Do this in several areas over the course of a few days or weeks. As soon as possible get some LS from someone that has plenty of worms and critters.
The old sand may be okay but look for three things:
Was it in a tank that was treated with copper?
Was it kept dry or wet?
Does it smell bad or look blackened?
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The Kid
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Posted: May 25 2005 at 1:38pm |
The depth of the crushed coral bottom is about 2 1/2 inches deep, I did use copper in the tank about a year and a half ago, The CC is covered with coraline algea growth, purple and green and sometimes I can see little critters roaming around down there but not very often.
the old sand came from a non cooper tank, it was kept wet, and does not look blackend but has a distinct odor to it. Can it be salvaged or not. Thanks mark and anyone else for your help.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 30 2005 at 3:29am |
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I would not use the sand from a coppered tank.
The old sand that smells bad could cause problems. Rinse it good in freshwater and see how much crud can be removed. If a lot of crud comes off in the rinse then I'd use it after rinsing.
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The Kid
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Posted: May 30 2005 at 10:41pm |
Mark just to double check with you, You think that I should deep six the crushed coral because I used copper a while ago when it was in my tank, and clean the sand really well and then add it to my tank.
Thanks for your help
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Life is to short not to!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: May 31 2005 at 7:46pm |
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Yes, discard the CC and only use the other sand after a good freshwater rinsing.
Beware that if a lot of old sand is used in one tank, it can cause an excess of N compounds for a few weeks.
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