substrate material

pmauro

pmauro

Member
I have read here alot about substrate materials and I think the majority says LS is the way to go if possible. Others say crushed coral is great and others say some sort of agragate is prefered.
Now as I remember Crushed coral is great in keeping the ph balanced, Live sand helps with the biome so is it possible to have a mixture of the two and take advantage of the best of each? Why couldn't I drive 10 minutes down to the ocean get some live sand, (florida has some nice beaches) and mix it with crushed coral, maybe a 60-40 split or something like that.
Any thoughts? :cool:
 
sal t. nutz

sal t. nutz

Member
Aragonite is basically CC in sand form. So it does do both. And since you are in Jacksonville, I can tell you where to get Aragonite rediculous cheap 1 penny a LB. I just got 700 LBS 3 days ago and they only charged me $5. Which is even lees than 1 penny a LB.
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
Personally I would not consider using anything but aragonite sand for a reef tank substrate.
From what I've read, I believe it does indeed help to buffer the tankwater. It's made up of calcium carbonate CaCO3 - which is the exact compounds that we try to maintain in our tanks.
Calcium and carbonate - existing as a compound and as individual ions - will dissociate or dissolve when there's a change in the equalibrium of the tank.
It has to.
Believing that aragonite sand just sits down there on the bottom of the tank floor, is totally inert, does not change and does not break down to give up calcium and carbonates ions to me is just plain silly.
It has to.
Why people will spend the money on a tank, stand, lighting, RO unit, corals, fish, additives, saltmix and test kits .......... and devote so much of their time to such a great hobby - and still choose to use quartz/silica sand intended for mixing up concrete as a substrate is just astounding. I do not understand this practice.
 
saltyh20

saltyh20

New Member
So i am not sure if I am following you. I have cc as a base should I add sand and live sand to myalready established cc or not. I do hve a slight nitrae problem and I am in the process of removing the bioballs from my fluval canister filter.
 
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