can crushed coral be planted?
- Thread starter axelrod12
- Start date
add another vote in the "don't see why not" column. Along with "hey, give it a try and then report back to us how it works." 
assuming this is a new tank or at least new setup, you will probably want to stick a couple of root tabs or fertcicles or something under where you want plants to grow. They're going to need some source of nutrients until the mulm/old food/bacteria/plant sheddings etc. accumulates in enough quantities to support them. I would start with cheap fast growing unkillable stem plants and save fancier, more expensive sorts for later, both to see how the system works in principle and to let the aforesaid accumulation of gunk start turning the rocks into soil.
assuming this is a new tank or at least new setup, you will probably want to stick a couple of root tabs or fertcicles or something under where you want plants to grow. They're going to need some source of nutrients until the mulm/old food/bacteria/plant sheddings etc. accumulates in enough quantities to support them. I would start with cheap fast growing unkillable stem plants and save fancier, more expensive sorts for later, both to see how the system works in principle and to let the aforesaid accumulation of gunk start turning the rocks into soil.
Most plants prefer softer water with a lower pH than the crushed coral will allow, but they'll still grow. Just not as quickly or robustly. I had an ulvaceus species in my cichlid tank back in the day. The water had a KH & GH around 15, and a rock steady pH of 8.2. It didn't do great, but it didn't die either.
Ive been using Jave Fern in my Tanganyikan tank for a while now. i have crushed coral, coral from the beach, and shells from the beach, as well as those barnacle cave-type thigns they sell at a local fish store. i used to just stick the little baby ferns that would grow in the holes of the barnacle, and had a couple on the floor, but i started burying them alover the main floor of the crushed coral, and they thrive better in there. i keep my ph steady at 9.2, my plants are just as happy as the fish, see for urself
[video=youtube;v704bUx_TrU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v704bUx_TrU[/video]
[video=youtube;v704bUx_TrU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v704bUx_TrU[/video]
+1
I have it as the substrate in my son's Mbuna tank, we put Rotala in there quite succesffully.
I've used dolomite for decades.
No reason why arag or calcite(Seachem Onyx sand.......) do not work.
Regards,
tom Barr
No reason why arag or calcite(Seachem Onyx sand.......) do not work.
Regards,
tom Barr