Crushed coral question

[Chubosco]

I remember reading somewhere not to use it for a substrate. Is this true and would adding about 5 pounds or so hurt in a deep sandbed in a 38 gal?

 

[mr_X]

it won't hurt anything..i have it in my tank. but i ended up burying it because it's ugly.
i'm wishing i never put it in.
why did you want to use it?

 

[shavo]

beggers can't be choosers X

 

[Chubosco]

I thought I would use it to help control ph and it just seems natural that some should be in there. If it's ugly and does nothing I'll save the money.

 

[mr_X]

well, i don't know that i put enough in my tank to matter...i guess about 20 pounds in a 75 gallon, and my ph goes all over the place. (i still haven't figured out why) so i don't think that amount atleast, is helping control my ph. i have a huge amount in my 125 , and the ph seems steady, so, mine is a mixed review. :?

 

[Chubosco]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[ChrisRD]

These days most of us avoid course substrates because they tend to trap detritus (althought they can be OK to use if you vacuum them regularly). If you just want to mix a bit in with finer sand it would be OK, but IMO it won't really provide any significant benefits (just a different look). Personally I wouldn't bother...

 

[Chubosco]

Cool, I won't bother!

 

[shr00m]

saying it wont hurt anything ... well i mean the reason people stopped using it is because it causes detritus buildup and eventually becomes a nitrate hell, mixed w/ sand probally not as bad

 

[kennyfish]

I keep reading about the solubility of crushed coral vs true aragonite. From what I understand crushed coral doesnt begin to help with the buffer untill ph reachs the mid 7's. But aragonite will begin to add to the buffer before you drop to 8.0 so it makes a much more effective substrate for buffering with.

 

[ChrisRD]

FWIW, I have run a couple of my tanks with and without fine aragonite sand over the years, and IME I have yet to see any significant buffering effect provided by the sand. Perhaps in theory it should, but IME there's little to no real life benefit.

JME of course...