what substate should I use for f/o tank?

[sprang]

substrate for 55 gallon f/o tank? any suggestions?

 

[julius]

DSB or CC but if you go with LR go with the DSB

 

[dedwards]

If it's fish only then i would do a shallow sand bed or bare bottom. It will be easier to maintain a bare bottom.

 

[nm reef]

I'd avoid crushed coral(cc) and personally I prefer caribsea sands. Lots of people use bare bottom systems with success...but I like the function and appearence of a aragonite based sand bed.

 

[blemmy_guy]

take it from me~! i started off with CC, and it turned into a freakin mess!!! go with the LS, its soo much nicer to look at and you get much more benefits from it, i wish i would have known about this board before i started my tank. good luck todd also NM Reef would you please check my message about Lights on this board, i really need some help there. thanx todd

 

[jacknjill]

dont go cc, youll regret it later. go sand

 

[blemmy_guy]

ive got to show you the difference!!

this is with Crushed Coral!

 

[blemmy_guy]

this is after i changed to live sand!

 

[julius]

sand looks much cleaner and uniform than the cc,sand makes the tank stand out

 

[sprang]

Yes the sand looks best IMO thanx!

 

[thesamm]

i agree

 

[scotts]

Hmmmm, should we ask Thomas712 what he thinks? :thinking:

Scott

 

[gun freak]

Just changed out my CC i hated that stuff , got sand now !!!:joy:
GET SAND !!!!:yes:

 

[sprang]

wow I was going to put cc in, but I will definatly go with sand thanks for the warning.

 

[vkmcmahon]

Hi I am fairly new to the hobby. I currently have a 125 w/cc. I'm wondering why everyone is fairly against it? I chose cc due to the fact that I am using undergravel filters, at first I wanted sand, as I liked the appearance, but I didn't want sand to destroy the powerheads. please let me know what you think

 

[jacknjill]

it wont destroy the powerheads and eventually that undergravel filter will be useless and more trouble than its worth

 

[blemmy_guy]

I would think that an undergravel filter would work better with cc, than sand?? but i know mine sure looks better with the sand, but thats just my opinion, to each his own. welcome to the Boards vkmcmahon, best wishes to ya todd

 

[vkmcmahon]

I do have a question...I think that I read somewhere that CC leads to problems w. High Nitrates....which I'm currently experiencing....is there any truth to this?...I have currently moved my fish to a QT tank...and would love to reduce an chance of a nitrate problem in the future.

 

[blemmy_guy]

i had some trouble with that also, buit i havnt had any trouble since then, but i also changed filtration systems about a month before i changed over from cc to ls . todd

 

[sprang]

How deep should my sand bed be?