sand bed and sump questions

[anthonyjmorale]

hey guys.After reading on here the last few days i decided i have to make some big changes to my tank. i want to change my crushed coral out to sand. on the bag it says 1 pound of sand for every gallon. when i did that with the crushed coral it was way to much. also i found a calculator on the internet that says if i want a 1inch sand bed i would only need 40lbs of sand. Is a one inch sand bed enough?

i also have a canister filter that i want to change out for a sump/fuge . i have been doing alot of reading. does anyone on here have a 75 gallon tank with a sump. if so can u send some info my way. im using a coralife 125 that i would have to fit in there.

 

[KelliZackMOM]

I switched out my crushed coral for sand. I had about 25 pounds of crushed coral and ended up using 50 pounds of sand to get the same depth. With that I would guess I have a little over an inch, maybe inch and a half. I dont think 40 pounds in a 75 will be enough, but it depends on how deep you want it. I used aragonite sand..

 

[cvcdrk]

1 pound per gallon will give you about a 1" sandbed.

The general rule is 1-2 pounds per gallon which will create a 1"-2" sandbed.

Crushed coral is terrible for a reef system because of the nutrients it leeches. It an affect a wide range of water parameters from alkalinity to pH.

As for the sump, they say about 10%-20% usually. It really depends on what you want to do with it. If you want a fuge in it (definitely a good idea) maybe go with a 20 gallon long tank? This would give you a decent amount of room. Of course, you could always go bigger if you have the space and the increased water volume will definitely help you out!

 

[Bifferwine]

Sand particles are smaller and more densely packed than crushed coral particles. You will need more sand (by weight) to make a 1" sandbed than you would need of crushed coral to make a 1" bed of crushed coral.

 

[blando]

I agree i had crush and everything was high so i switched to sand and like my nitrates and stuff are very low actually 0 for nitrates.

 

[jjwilley718]

I'm starting a 75 gallon tank with a 20L sump. It seems to be working out for me. If you want any specifics I'll be willing to shar what I know. PM me.