Why Live Sand over Crushed coral
- Thread starter dad&son
- Start date
scotts
Active Member
Basically, from what I understand is that with CC the deitrus(sp?) settles in your CC and then you need to vacuum out the stuff (sorry not going to try and spell deitrus again I will now refer to it as "stuff")
With the LS you have bugs and critters and bacteria and worms that eat the stuff that falls in the sand. Kind of like a septic tank, stuff goes in and gets eatne because of the bacteria. With LS you DO NOT want to vacuum the sand, because then you are sucking out the critters from you sand.
There are smarter people than me tha can delve into the finer points of it all, but I am somewhat of an idiot so I like to look at the simple way of looking at things. You can also do a search on here and learn more about the finer aspects of it. Just a word of warning, there is one person here who is an advocate of one system. His views are somewhat controverisal and he is very vocal about them. I believe this is the same person who got warned for his equally controverisal and vocal views on another matter. Read as many opinions as you can and make your decision from there. Also don't forget the asthetic viewpoint. It really all boils down to which one you like.
Scott
There are smarter people than me tha can delve into the finer points of it all, but I am somewhat of an idiot so I like to look at the simple way of looking at things. You can also do a search on here and learn more about the finer aspects of it. Just a word of warning, there is one person here who is an advocate of one system. His views are somewhat controverisal and he is very vocal about them. I believe this is the same person who got warned for his equally controverisal and vocal views on another matter. Read as many opinions as you can and make your decision from there. Also don't forget the asthetic viewpoint. It really all boils down to which one you like.
Scott
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.
D
denasoro
Guest
I've read about the benefits of a DSB, but what about a shallow one? What are the advantages/disadvantages of sand vs CC, if it is only 1" deep? (for a planned 38g FOWLR tank+hermits, crabs, shrimp, snails, & serpent/brittle stars - no corals, anemones, or sand sifters; I don't think I want to use up that much space on sand...).
T
thomas712
Guest
Shallow crushed coral:
Still have to vaccum
Still going to trap detritus.
Harder to tell where the dead spots are.
Still sharp and hard on inverts.
Still a poor biological zone.
Still holds less bacteria than sand.
Still going to be high maintenance.
However:
I will be easier to clean than a deep bed of crushed coral.
It will be easier to remove later if you choose.
Shallow sandbed.
Depending on grain sizes will not have the ability for denitrification.
Still will be a better biological zone
Less maintenance.
Grain for Grain will hold more bacteria than CC.
Much more friendly to inverts.
Oh heck the list goes on and on.
Its sand, its miles above crushed coral even if it winds up being a shallow sandbed like mine. But I also have a DSB in the 55 gallon fuge. So I have both and can watch what they do. I totally agree that in smaller tanks a DSB can block out the view, I even find them ugly to watch in a main display. Therefore only about 2 inches for me or up to the black part of the molding of the bottom of the aquarium. Not matter what the size aquarium, no matter the dimentions, you can't go wrong with aragonite sand over crushed coral.
Thomas
Still have to vaccum
Still going to trap detritus.
Harder to tell where the dead spots are.
Still sharp and hard on inverts.
Still a poor biological zone.
Still holds less bacteria than sand.
Still going to be high maintenance.
However:
I will be easier to clean than a deep bed of crushed coral.
It will be easier to remove later if you choose.
Shallow sandbed.
Depending on grain sizes will not have the ability for denitrification.
Still will be a better biological zone
Less maintenance.
Grain for Grain will hold more bacteria than CC.
Much more friendly to inverts.
Oh heck the list goes on and on.
Its sand, its miles above crushed coral even if it winds up being a shallow sandbed like mine. But I also have a DSB in the 55 gallon fuge. So I have both and can watch what they do. I totally agree that in smaller tanks a DSB can block out the view, I even find them ugly to watch in a main display. Therefore only about 2 inches for me or up to the black part of the molding of the bottom of the aquarium. Not matter what the size aquarium, no matter the dimentions, you can't go wrong with aragonite sand over crushed coral.
Thomas
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denasoro
Guest
Originally posted by Thomas712
......Not matter what the size aquarium, no matter the dimentions, you can't go wrong with aragonite sand over crushed coral.
Thomas
Thanks Thomas.... I think I'm convinced. Despite already buying a bag of CC, I think I'll put sand in instead (fortunately, I've just started setting up the aquarium, so making the switch won't be much of a pain!).
Now, anyone have any ideas on constructive uses for the CC? :thinking:
sammiefish
Member
I am using CaribSea Aragonite special grade reef sand (I think that is what it is called).. It has a grain size of up to about 2mm. It is WAY more course than playsand. Should I be thinking about overlaying with aragonite Southdown... or just stay with what I have. How long does it take for the aragonite to "dissolve" necessitating addition of more substrate... :notsure:
(I have a 5 inch DSB w/plenum)
(I have a 5 inch DSB w/plenum)