Crushed Coral or Live Sand?

[jtfishman]

I have a 150 gallon saltwater aquarium that has been up and running for about 2 years now. I have about 180 LBS of live rock in it, and about 2 inches of crushed coral accross the bottom of the tank. I have heard that Live sand is way better than crushed coral and I should get the crushed coral out fast and replace it with the sand. I have the tank fully stocked with fish, snails, shrimp,and hermits. I am wondering what everyone has to say about it. Should I switch from the crushed coral to the sand?

 

[spanko]

People are always bashing crushed coral.
IMO the thing with crushed coral is that it is another maintenance item. Because of it's size it will tend to trap unwanted detritus (uneaten food - fish poop - etc.) so it needs to be cleaned often. This is another step that most reef keepers don't want to do. If it is not done then you will be fighting with the possibility of high nitrates at some point.
Because sand is finer the detritus doesn't as readily get down into it and it is easier for critters and filtration to keep the detritus in check, therefore your nitrates in check. Sand is also a better medium for sand dwelling critters.
The choice is really yours to make. If it were my tank I would switch to sand or bare bottom and get the crushed coral out. But you have had the tank for 2 years now and know your system, its chemistry and your own level of maintenance.

 

[nycbob]

cc is ok as long as u siphon-clean it often. i use a mixture of cc and sand in my reef, and i havent had any issue. i do clean it often like weekly.

 

[liz644]

The choice is really up to you. i use live sand in my tank and I love it. It's easy for the burrowing snails to sift through and i have a lot of scuds that i assume came from the sand itself.