Crushed Coral vs. Sand
- Thread starter nmbsun
- Start date
ruaround
Active Member
CC is not at all a bad choice... IMO it is a great substrate choice... if properly maintained and with a proper clean up crew CC is just fine...
with the DSB or SSB bandwagon in full swing you will get many many opinions on how bad CC is... you cant treat CC like sand... yes it is more physical work to keep clean but that is just a part of husbandry...
keep it clean, dont over feed, dont overstock you tank, dont treat it like sand and get a clean up crew...
with the DSB or SSB bandwagon in full swing you will get many many opinions on how bad CC is... you cant treat CC like sand... yes it is more physical work to keep clean but that is just a part of husbandry...
keep it clean, dont over feed, dont overstock you tank, dont treat it like sand and get a clean up crew...
nmbsun
New Member
Thanks for the input but some of the biggest aquariums I have ever seen use a brand of crushed coral with aragonite from carib sea.
I have a local salt water fish dealer and he specializes in Reef Aquariums and he told me that this business of live sand is really just a recent fad. The aragonite in CC will hold all the good bacteria and if I dont make the bed to deep it will work just fine.
I was hoping some of you would give me a good argument for LS over CC.
Thanks anyway...
I have a local salt water fish dealer and he specializes in Reef Aquariums and he told me that this business of live sand is really just a recent fad. The aragonite in CC will hold all the good bacteria and if I dont make the bed to deep it will work just fine.
I was hoping some of you would give me a good argument for LS over CC.
Thanks anyway...
chilwil84
Active Member
cc is probably better for non reef tanks because it houses more bacteria thus causing higher nitrates u can use regular sand for fish tanks that is not initially live but will become live in a short time sands advantage comes in reef tanks as a dsb because of the reduced oxygen at its bottom that fosters the growth of bacteria that turn nitrate into nitrogen thus making a better reef
sly
Active Member
Originally Posted by nmbsun
I was hoping some of you would give me a good argument for LS over CC.
One of the main advantages to having LS over CC is that because of the smaller particulate size, it is easier to form anaerobic zones in a deep sand bed. These anaerobic zones house nitrobacter bacteria which reduce nitrate to free nitrogen gas. This provides the final step in the nitrogen cycle which results in a cleaner tank. Sand is also the preferential medium for some small organisms such as cocopods...
However having a deep sand bed is not the only way to remove nitrates. For one a deep sand bed has the tendency to crash if greatly disturbed. If you move your rocks around or stir the bed significantly you will expose the nitrobacter to oxygen and kill it which will cause your tank to crash and possibly kill everything in it. Also contrary to popular belief... sand is NOT the natural medium for a coral reef, crushed coral is. I've been diving in the Carribean, Hawaii, Florida and off the Carolina coast and the only place you see great stretches of sand is in the open ocean. Reefs are composed of mostly coarse rocky coral bottoms... not sand.
That said people who have crushed coral substrates should recognise the difference in how it functions. First because of its large grain size, it does not make a good deep substrate. It is difficult to maintain low oxygen zones in crushed coral that you have when using sand therefore crushed coral should not be relied on to remove nitrates from the tank. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS SAYING THAT CRUSHED CORAL RAISES NITRATES... IT DOESN'T. Like I said, crushed coral maintains a higher mix of dissolved oxygen and so nitrobacter will not grow easily in it. Therefore you should only have a shallow crushed coral bed... only an inch deep or less. The shallower the better. People with crushed coral tanks should have something else to remove nitrate from the tank. One method is simply frequent water changes. However I prefer a method that is self sustaining and is maintenance free. That's why I have lots of living rock, mangroves and chaetomorpha algae (spaghetti algae). Together these keep my nitrates at 0ppm... always.
I was hoping some of you would give me a good argument for LS over CC.
One of the main advantages to having LS over CC is that because of the smaller particulate size, it is easier to form anaerobic zones in a deep sand bed. These anaerobic zones house nitrobacter bacteria which reduce nitrate to free nitrogen gas. This provides the final step in the nitrogen cycle which results in a cleaner tank. Sand is also the preferential medium for some small organisms such as cocopods...
However having a deep sand bed is not the only way to remove nitrates. For one a deep sand bed has the tendency to crash if greatly disturbed. If you move your rocks around or stir the bed significantly you will expose the nitrobacter to oxygen and kill it which will cause your tank to crash and possibly kill everything in it. Also contrary to popular belief... sand is NOT the natural medium for a coral reef, crushed coral is. I've been diving in the Carribean, Hawaii, Florida and off the Carolina coast and the only place you see great stretches of sand is in the open ocean. Reefs are composed of mostly coarse rocky coral bottoms... not sand.
That said people who have crushed coral substrates should recognise the difference in how it functions. First because of its large grain size, it does not make a good deep substrate. It is difficult to maintain low oxygen zones in crushed coral that you have when using sand therefore crushed coral should not be relied on to remove nitrates from the tank. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS SAYING THAT CRUSHED CORAL RAISES NITRATES... IT DOESN'T. Like I said, crushed coral maintains a higher mix of dissolved oxygen and so nitrobacter will not grow easily in it. Therefore you should only have a shallow crushed coral bed... only an inch deep or less. The shallower the better. People with crushed coral tanks should have something else to remove nitrate from the tank. One method is simply frequent water changes. However I prefer a method that is self sustaining and is maintenance free. That's why I have lots of living rock, mangroves and chaetomorpha algae (spaghetti algae). Together these keep my nitrates at 0ppm... always.
1journeyman
Active Member
Originally Posted by nmbsun
I have a local salt water fish dealer and he specializes in Reef Aquariums and he told me that this business of live sand is really just a recent fad. The aragonite in CC will hold all the good bacteria and if I dont make the bed to deep it will work just fine. ..
Let me guess... this local fish store happens to sell CC.
Fad? Ya... sand is a fad... just like protein skimming and metal halides are fads.
Look, there has been some bad info on this thread. CC does NOT hold more bacteria. Basic science here my friends, sand has more surface area than CC. Deep sand beds DO NOT crash if they are properly set up and properly maintained. I just moved my 210 gallon DSB... Several of the "experts" in this field (Fenner, Calfo, etc.) explain that CC is a harsh substrate that can harm your inverts. Sand, otoh, makes a great habitat for small inverts as well as substrate dwelling fish.
Sand buffers your water chemistry as well. CC does not as CC needs far more acidic water to dissolve.
The best argument for sand however is to go to the beach. Do some diving and you'll quickly see how much of the reef is actually sitting on and surrounded by sand.
I have a local salt water fish dealer and he specializes in Reef Aquariums and he told me that this business of live sand is really just a recent fad. The aragonite in CC will hold all the good bacteria and if I dont make the bed to deep it will work just fine. ..
Let me guess... this local fish store happens to sell CC.
Fad? Ya... sand is a fad... just like protein skimming and metal halides are fads.
Look, there has been some bad info on this thread. CC does NOT hold more bacteria. Basic science here my friends, sand has more surface area than CC. Deep sand beds DO NOT crash if they are properly set up and properly maintained. I just moved my 210 gallon DSB... Several of the "experts" in this field (Fenner, Calfo, etc.) explain that CC is a harsh substrate that can harm your inverts. Sand, otoh, makes a great habitat for small inverts as well as substrate dwelling fish.
Sand buffers your water chemistry as well. CC does not as CC needs far more acidic water to dissolve.
The best argument for sand however is to go to the beach. Do some diving and you'll quickly see how much of the reef is actually sitting on and surrounded by sand.