crushed coral vs sand substrate?

[SnowManSnow]

crushed coral vs sand substrate....

what are the pros and cons of each?????

Thanks,

B

 

[atnixon]

Crushed coral traps detrius which causes problems with nitrates in the long run...Sugar grade sand all the way for me peeps...

Niko

 

[Anonymous]

Crushed coral traps detrius which causes problems with nitrates in the long run...Sugar grade sand all the way for me peeps...

Niko

I agree!

I have Crushed coral. It traps detrius. Vaccuming is a must at every water change.

 

[Anonymous]

i agree with the sand bit but it is important to have a few diffrent particle sizes so it doesnt compact. it is also supposed to be better for the creatures crawling around in it. i assume that your talking about a dsb.

 

[atnixon]

Either i suppose, however, you do need it compact to certain degree so you get good anaerobic bacteria generated..

Niko

 

[SnowManSnow]

no dsb for me just a few inches is all!

 

[kennyfish]

It is said by wiser men than I that Aragonite sand will begin to buffer the water as the PH drops below 8.3 whereas crushed coral does not begin to have and effect until 7 and change.

But perhaps this is irrelevant if you are running kalk reactor or drip.

 

[Ben1]

I prefer the sp. seafloor grade sand, from carib-sea. I have had excellent results this way with very little detritus accumulation. detritus will build up in any bed on any grain size the trick is to keep high enough flow in the tank to keep most of it suspended. Of corse the larger the grain the faster the detritus will build up.

 

[bleedingthought]

Sand looks better, IMO.

 

[trido]

I agree!

I have Crushed coral. It traps detrius. Vaccuming is a must at every water change.

Ditto,


I beleive my 30G is a planaria factory because of this.

 

[SnowManSnow]

Hmm ..

Maybe I'll take the next few weeks to remove as much as my crushed coral as I can and slowly replace it with sand.

B