live sand/substrate in general

[extrapart]

I have had a 55gal reef tank for a little over a year. I had kept a bare bottom until about 3 or 4 months ago. I added a thin layer of crushed coral. I beleive that this was a mistake. reciently I had the worst algee problem you could imagine. I think I have finally got it under control now but I had to clean the tank and remove what crushed coral I had in there. There seemed to be a lot og crud mixed in with the coral when I removed it which I believe contributed to the rapid algee growth. Well I would still like to use a substrate because I am tired of looking at the bare bottom of the tank. I purchased three 20lb bags of aragonite reef sand but I am kinda hesitant about using it because the guy I buy all my supplies told me that the live rock "CAN NOT" touch the live sand. He said that it would build up some kind of gas and kill everything in my tank. He seems to be pretty smart about salt water and all of his tanks look great. But I have my doubts about this information because I see other tanks with the rocks right in the middle of the sand or other substrate. So I guess my question is "can my live rock touch the substrate and if so is there some special rules when using a substrate? Also on my tank I have a hot magnum filter w/ a bio wheel and a emporer 400 for filtration and two 550 powerheads for circulation (at bottom of tank pointed directly at reef). Do I need a protien skimmer and would a UV steralizer help with the algee? One more thing I have two corral life 50/50 130w lamps is that sufficient for soft corrals/what about hard corrals?

 

[ricky1414]

as for the crushed coral, it can trap alot of detrius, leading to an algae bloom. I have never heard of the live rock not touching the live sand. mine sits on a 3" bed of sand, as i'm sure most do here. you should get rid of the bio wheels from the filters, as many believe- and i have experienced- a large amount of nitrates. this can lead to an algae bloom as well. you might need more light. you can keep mushrooms and some corals, i believe with that lighting, but it will need to be upgraded.
i know that this info is not much, but i hope it helps.

 

[hillbilly]

In one of my tanks the LR has been sitting on the sandbed since 1997 and no rotten egg smelling gas has killed anything yet. My advice is get a GOOD skimmer, ditch the filters, and get another powerhead. You really don't need the UV, unless you just want it. Forget about corals for now if you are putting the sand in, as you will get a bit of a cycle. You can place sand easily by pouring it through a section of pvc pipe 3 or 4 inches in dia. about 3' long. Sure beats draining it first.