stanlalee
Active Member
if it looks like a bunch of crushed up shells its crushed coral. IF you pet store can tell you what it isn't and sold it to you they should be able to tell you what it is. Like said its okay if you dont make the bed too deep, vacuum it during water changes (which requires no more effort than regular suctioning except you stab the crushed coral with the bottom vacuum attachment. the CC falls back down while the dust and junk siphon up). I dont vacuum mine any more frequently than every 2-4wks.
Mini-jet powerheads (small $20 100-150GPH powerheads shaped like a little box you can place down low) work extremely well to keep the top layer of CC moving. sure they would work equally well with sand. I place one low on each side of the tank along with the main power head up high.
here's a pic of the mini-jet (and crush coral as well, is this what you have? its only deep there cause the christmas tree coral keeps trying to uproot himself)
most crabs and shrimps do a good job of agitating it too. Sallylightfoots are very active to name one that works well. One downside is many snails,stars, crabs, corals and creatures ect dont like or arent compatible with CC due to the ruff jagged surfaces.
Keep in mind I'm in no way saying its BETTER or equal to sand, I'm just saying you can use it without having an elevated nitrate problem without a whole lot of maintainence. and if you already have it problem free like I do I really dont have a need to change it. Perhaps if I was having a problem with it I might.
Mini-jet powerheads (small $20 100-150GPH powerheads shaped like a little box you can place down low) work extremely well to keep the top layer of CC moving. sure they would work equally well with sand. I place one low on each side of the tank along with the main power head up high.
here's a pic of the mini-jet (and crush coral as well, is this what you have? its only deep there cause the christmas tree coral keeps trying to uproot himself)
most crabs and shrimps do a good job of agitating it too. Sallylightfoots are very active to name one that works well. One downside is many snails,stars, crabs, corals and creatures ect dont like or arent compatible with CC due to the ruff jagged surfaces.
Keep in mind I'm in no way saying its BETTER or equal to sand, I'm just saying you can use it without having an elevated nitrate problem without a whole lot of maintainence. and if you already have it problem free like I do I really dont have a need to change it. Perhaps if I was having a problem with it I might.