What's Wrong with Cruched Coral

[canadian-reefer]

Please advise ...why not use crushed coral in a reef tank with live rock?? Any sand suggestions, brand etc... thanks much

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

CC is more course that sand - this causes animal waste and excess fish food to become trapped in the the substrate causing a ditritous bloom. this will increase your nitrate to unhealthy levels. a 4" DSB gives your critters the ability to sift through.
I hope I answered the question correctly - MR. SALTY - please feel free to correct me!

 

[fshhub]

i'm not mr salty, but
you got 90% of it, the only thing you left out is that the smaller grains house more bacteria by volume, which does the conversion from nitrate to nitrogen gas, which bubbles out of the tank

 

[fshhub]

i'm not mr salty, but
you got it, the only thing you left out is that the smaller grains house more bacteria by volume, which does the conversion from nitrate to nitrogen gas, which bubbles out of the tank

 

[dpittman]

If you really want to use CC go for it. Don't use an undergravel filter as these really are old technology. The key is to not use alot of CC. You just want enough to cover the bottom. This will keep uneaten food and poop from rotting deep inside the CC. DSB is probably the best for ease of maintenance but I did not want to use up 4 inches of my tank for sand.
Donovan

 

[chrismilano]

Im getting really nervous as I just got a cc base for my 72 tank. Hopefully, careful vacuuming, a good filter, and a protein skimmer will help keep things clean...