no question is stupid???
- Thread starter buddahjon
- Start date
jdm_ae86
Member
crushed coral is good in that in naturally buffers water, and bad in that it traps a lot of debris since it is so coarse, and you dont want that because youll have a nutrient/waste buildup whichll be very bad for your tank. I and most of the other people on this board use aragonite sand.
If you already have a sand bed(3"+), you wouldnt want any fish thatll burrow and dig into your sand bed..
If you already have a sand bed(3"+), you wouldnt want any fish thatll burrow and dig into your sand bed..
T
thomas712
Guest
I wonder how many times I've posted this :thinking:
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.
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.
buddahjon
Member
Originally posted by DEdwards
I have a Orange Diamond Goby and use aragonite sand. He just has to keep redigging it every couple of hours. I went with around a 2" bed and he has yet to reach the bottom of the tank.
this doesnt make him mad or wear him out? i just want all my fish to be happy.... but i guess if everyone else is using fine grain sand *jumps on the band wagon*
Now all you have to do is refer to in the Advise sticky posted in the New Hobbyist Forum. I included it there. Hope that's ok with you.
dedwards
Member
Originally posted by buddahjon
this doesnt make him mad or wear him out? i just want all my fish to be happy.... but i guess if everyone else is using fine grain sand *jumps on the band wagon*
Not that I know of. He has a burrow under a huge piece of LR that doesn't cave in too much. If it does cave in a bit, he just digs it back out. He spends most of the day sifting the sand on the surface rather than digging tunnels and caves.
T
thomas712
Guest
Thanks Beth :joy:
