nathanp0515
Member
Do you clean crushed coral? How often?
Crushed Coral
- Thread starter nathanp0515
- Start date
oregonbud
Member
Never - you change it to a deep sand bed 
Seriously though, with a CC substrate, when I had mine I was vaccuuming and doing 25% water changes weekly. I did this simply because I could never get my nitrates to drop below 75.
I think the best answer to your question can be answered by yourself, how often do you test your water? Do you notice algea growing all over the CC? How good of water quality do you want to maintain? Then clean as you see fit.
Seriously though, with a CC substrate, when I had mine I was vaccuuming and doing 25% water changes weekly. I did this simply because I could never get my nitrates to drop below 75.
I think the best answer to your question can be answered by yourself, how often do you test your water? Do you notice algea growing all over the CC? How good of water quality do you want to maintain? Then clean as you see fit.
nathanp0515
Member
Why?
aarone
Active Member
DSB allows for many "critters" bacteria and what not to thrive in an oxygen free area. It helps eliminate the nitrates in the system by converting to nitrates. knd of like photosynthesis i think. (been awhile since biology) But thats one of the advantages of DSB. And you dont have to vaccum it. just get a clean up crew.
T
thomas712
Guest
Most of us will not use crushed coral because it is a large substrate that traps the fish waste and uneaten food that has to be vacuumed before it creates nitrates, which it will anyway. Crushed coral does not provide a very good biological zone, and many tanks are setup with CC from the get go through lack of knowledge or because it is the only substrate that an LFS sells and tells you that it is all you need, using a selling point of CC has buffering power. I have personally battled nitrates over 100 ppm during my days of CC and UGF doing frequent large water changes. So many of us have been there and had high nitrates, did a water change to lower them and they were back in a couple of days. CC has sharp edges, which is undesirable for inverts, like anemones walking around, pods or worms. No getting around it CC is high maintenance and can lead to poor water quality, frequent maintenance, sick livestock, algae blooms and more.
Sand on the other hand has more benefits. These include having far more surface area thereby making it able to handle a higher bio load of bacteria. It is less dangerous to your infauna and has a more natural look in the tank. If going with a DSB Deep Sand Bed you can have other benefits as well like finishing the denitrification or providing sand sifting, burrowing, or tunneling fish and critters a place to play. The denitrification process predominantly occurs in deeper substrates and in areas of stagnant flow where oxygen levels are depressed. And this is why deep sand beds are effective as a nitrogen export mechanism. As water slowly diffuses deeper, aerobic organisms strip all available oxygen for respiration. In the deep, oxygen-deprived layers, denitrifying anaerobes are given the opportunity to convert nitrogen compounds into nitrogenous gases, which escape via tiny bubble out of the aquarium. I believe this process can also work on a limited basis in shallow sand beds. My sand bed is no more than 2 inches deep in some spots.
Sand on the other hand has more benefits. These include having far more surface area thereby making it able to handle a higher bio load of bacteria. It is less dangerous to your infauna and has a more natural look in the tank. If going with a DSB Deep Sand Bed you can have other benefits as well like finishing the denitrification or providing sand sifting, burrowing, or tunneling fish and critters a place to play. The denitrification process predominantly occurs in deeper substrates and in areas of stagnant flow where oxygen levels are depressed. And this is why deep sand beds are effective as a nitrogen export mechanism. As water slowly diffuses deeper, aerobic organisms strip all available oxygen for respiration. In the deep, oxygen-deprived layers, denitrifying anaerobes are given the opportunity to convert nitrogen compounds into nitrogenous gases, which escape via tiny bubble out of the aquarium. I believe this process can also work on a limited basis in shallow sand beds. My sand bed is no more than 2 inches deep in some spots.
nm reef
Active Member
Basically crushed coral offers little in the way of filtration benefits and requires way more hands on maintenance.
A well established and matured DSB with a diversity of living micro infauna provides exceptional filtration benefits and is virtually maintenance free.
I'd suggest a few searchs for aragonite sand/DSB's etc. and compare the information and experience you find in regard to DSB's to the results you've had with CC...then decide for yourself which is the better option.
Personally I'd go with a aragonite based DSB over crushed coral.
A well established and matured DSB with a diversity of living micro infauna provides exceptional filtration benefits and is virtually maintenance free.
I'd suggest a few searchs for aragonite sand/DSB's etc. and compare the information and experience you find in regard to DSB's to the results you've had with CC...then decide for yourself which is the better option.
Personally I'd go with a aragonite based DSB over crushed coral.
leboeuf
Member
i'm not sure I agree with this thread. I have had a 3 in cc bed for 7 months and have never had to vacum it. I have had a couple of algae blooms but I attributed it to intense light changes and over feeding. I have many inverts in the tank that seem to like their environment. I seriously considered changing everything out to DSB but got tied up with other things. I know that I don't represent the norm with regards to reefs but how have I been successful with this substrate?
350+ LR, 60lbs of CC. Run a fuge with macro and mircle mud.
350+ LR, 60lbs of CC. Run a fuge with macro and mircle mud.
nacl-man
Member
Originally posted by aarone
(been awhile since biology)
If you want to get technical: www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_shimek_090698.html
Personally I think that is really boring reading.... but it does explain the how's and why's I think (it has been a while since I've read it).
Cheers!
jerseysaltwater
Member
email me for the site where i bought bags of live aragonite reef sand for $22 per bag - great quality and price. i used 40 lbs, my tank has a footprint of 12x24 inches, and the bed is about 2 3/4 inches deep. when i pushed the sand aside to put my live rock in directly on the aquarium bottom, my sand bed is now about 3 1/4 inches on average. my email is EdShaw63@yahoo.com
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Originally posted by LeBoeuf
i'm not sure I agree with this thread. I have had a 3 in cc bed for 7 months and have never had to vacum it. I have had a couple of algae blooms but I attributed it to intense light changes and over feeding. I have many inverts in the tank that seem to like their environment. I seriously considered changing everything out to DSB but got tied up with other things. I know that I don't represent the norm with regards to reefs but how have I been successful with this substrate?
350+ LR, 60lbs of CC. Run a fuge with macro and mircle mud.
Aren't you glad you got too busy. And don't you think the fuge with macro kinda takes care of the nitrates nicely. I simply do not understand all this detris and nitrate trap stuff. Seems to me that nitrates are ions which travel throughout the system. And that plant growth will use those nitrates as long as the circulation brings them to the plants.
thanks for your post.