Crushed coral is a problem waiting to happen
- Thread starter Max
- Start date
Hey i am just setting up a tank for clown fish and starfish, nothing big 50 ltrs and was told to use the CC which i just added to my tank and now have read all this stuff about it being bad etc, so do i take it out and throw the water away and start again?? or leave it im pretty confused at the minute.
well, i have crushed argonite in mine and went back to the shop talking about this thread and how I was told to remove it and put sand down. They emphatically said I do not need to worry about this whatsoever. They stated to do the regular water changes and siphon the gravel. In the end the 3 people at the shop who run the place (which is immaculate by the way) convinced me to stay the course, plus I just didn't have it in me to drain the tank, clear out all the gravel and coral, etc. I'll post back in a few months with my experience..
The main emphasis of this thread is to make people aware of the problems and issues that "usually" get caused by people using crushed coral as thier substrate. No-one here can say that its 100% bad, but, what people can say is what happened to them personaly, with their own systems.
Ultimatly, its down to the tank keep what choice they make on substrate.
Niko
Ultimatly, its down to the tank keep what choice they make on substrate.
Niko
We were using 3" black tahitian sand because we thought it was cool and the guy at the LFS said substrate is just your personal choice. 4 months later we decied the black sand was dark and to lighten up the appearance of the tank we added 2" CC on top. 5 months later the substrate is now kind of mixed do to weekly water changes and gobies. Our nitrates after checking the log has had no real changes. They have been between 20 and 40ppm depending on how much of a water change we do each week. We find our nitrate problem is due to our puffer not our substrate. Is that a new 220 gallon under the tree from santa this year ?
crushed coral
hello everyone,
It's been awile since I've been here, thought I would pop in and see whats up. anyway, I have a 150 gallon fish/ coral tank which has been switched over from a 100 gallon last oct. when I was getting prepared for the switch over I wanted more insight to what may lighten up on some of my issues I had been having with my tank. one of my biggest problems ( dislikes) was the brown diatoms all over the rocks, glass etc that I would constantly get even within a couple of days of cleaning/ waterchanges. the other thing I didn't really like was how ugly and various brown/ green/red color buildup I would get at the front glass just under the cc. so in reading about how the cc can cause problems decided to go with sand this time seeing how I had tried additives and pads to cut down on phospates, water changes more often, new lights, less light time etc whats 1 more thing. I also got out of the original post by Max that I may have been told how to wrongly clean my cc. I had been told to siphoh the mess and muck out of the cc and by not knowing that this may be bad because I was also siphoning out copepods and other beneficial critters that I could not see. so I am sure there were several things I have learned from you members here and to that I say THANK YOU.
Now 1 yr later and I am happy with the looks of my tank as well the love for no brown all over everything ( hope I didn't just jinx myself) On this tank I have used some white sand purchased from homedepot. at first when I looked for sand all I saw was dark playsand and sand for concrete mix. however with a little more looking I found some white kiln dried sand that is used in sandblasters. all clean ,dried and white. I used about 200 lbs ( 4 bags) of this at a little less than $10 a bag and I mixed it with 4 bags of carib sea sand ( @ about $25/ bag). I also use a coral life 24 gall/day ro unit for water changes. for about the first couple of months I still noticed some brown build up but not as much or as fast after the water changes. when I do my water changes I will just barely skim the top of the sand and not dig into it. the clarity of the tank is VERY nice, the sand maintains a more natural look and maybe the only thing I don't care for much is that the sand is lighter in weight than the cc was and from the water movement I get some sand drifts, once in awhile I will brush them flat but the look is kinda growing on me.
I am by no means saying that the cc is a definate no-no but that I had been unhappy with my tank for some time and did not want to give up on saltwater. I decided that I would try this sand thing out and I am happy I did, now all I need to learn more about corals and how to keep them happy.
sorry to be so long winded.
hello everyone,
It's been awile since I've been here, thought I would pop in and see whats up. anyway, I have a 150 gallon fish/ coral tank which has been switched over from a 100 gallon last oct. when I was getting prepared for the switch over I wanted more insight to what may lighten up on some of my issues I had been having with my tank. one of my biggest problems ( dislikes) was the brown diatoms all over the rocks, glass etc that I would constantly get even within a couple of days of cleaning/ waterchanges. the other thing I didn't really like was how ugly and various brown/ green/red color buildup I would get at the front glass just under the cc. so in reading about how the cc can cause problems decided to go with sand this time seeing how I had tried additives and pads to cut down on phospates, water changes more often, new lights, less light time etc whats 1 more thing. I also got out of the original post by Max that I may have been told how to wrongly clean my cc. I had been told to siphoh the mess and muck out of the cc and by not knowing that this may be bad because I was also siphoning out copepods and other beneficial critters that I could not see. so I am sure there were several things I have learned from you members here and to that I say THANK YOU.
Now 1 yr later and I am happy with the looks of my tank as well the love for no brown all over everything ( hope I didn't just jinx myself) On this tank I have used some white sand purchased from homedepot. at first when I looked for sand all I saw was dark playsand and sand for concrete mix. however with a little more looking I found some white kiln dried sand that is used in sandblasters. all clean ,dried and white. I used about 200 lbs ( 4 bags) of this at a little less than $10 a bag and I mixed it with 4 bags of carib sea sand ( @ about $25/ bag). I also use a coral life 24 gall/day ro unit for water changes. for about the first couple of months I still noticed some brown build up but not as much or as fast after the water changes. when I do my water changes I will just barely skim the top of the sand and not dig into it. the clarity of the tank is VERY nice, the sand maintains a more natural look and maybe the only thing I don't care for much is that the sand is lighter in weight than the cc was and from the water movement I get some sand drifts, once in awhile I will brush them flat but the look is kinda growing on me.
I am by no means saying that the cc is a definate no-no but that I had been unhappy with my tank for some time and did not want to give up on saltwater. I decided that I would try this sand thing out and I am happy I did, now all I need to learn more about corals and how to keep them happy.
sorry to be so long winded.
Thats cool...really glad the change made all things a lot better, presentable and more enjoyable, which is what this hobby is all about..
We have plenty of experince here on the forums for corals and coral care, so, get yourself a thread going in reefkeepers when your ready..
Niko
We have plenty of experince here on the forums for corals and coral care, so, get yourself a thread going in reefkeepers when your ready..
Niko
in my 150gal i am currently using cc. i built a plenum out of pvc and screen to create about 1/2in void under the substrate for good bacteria to grow. I agressively vacume my cc about once a month.
my question is: If using a plenum, could crushed coral be a good substrate?
my question is: If using a plenum, could crushed coral be a good substrate?
I just switched over to Oolite sand. dont want to worry about any problems coming in the future. Im sure I can make enough of those all by my NOOB self.
besides. It looks WAY better. WAY more realistic.
besides. It looks WAY better. WAY more realistic.
