cichlid set up

Question
I have a 180 gal. salt water tank w/ lots of live rock and sand from carib sea. I'm converting it to african cichlid tank. The rocks are already dried and wants to know if I can use it and also the sand W/ mixture of crushed corals. Thanks

Answer
Hi Paul,
 That's a tough one.  You definitely need to wash the whole thing out very thoroughly.   The live rock will not be any good, i.e., the "live" stuff will quickly die in freshwater, but if you clean that all off, then you can still use the rock.  What you do not want to have happen is have the live stuff die in cracks in the rock and then sit there rotting in your tank.  

  The sand with crushed coral should be fine. Wash it ALOT.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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