Would this work for Substrate??????

[beefman]

My dad wanted me too ask. We live in Washington and live buy oyster companies and have alot of oysters around here. well if we Boiled the shells and then broke them into little pieces and used them as the substrate. Would this keep the calcium level up too?
Thanks,
Danny

 

[buzz]

Not sure about the calcium levels, but I imagine that would be similar to using a crushed coral, or a fine gravel. Except it may be a bit sharper on some edges.
Personally, I would avoid it. Potential nitrate factory.

 

[alti]

sorry to be annoying, but i'd be more worried about you lighting than the calcium levels. the only things that stand a chance with that ammount of light is your mushrooms and leathers. the acropora and lps will slowly waste away.

 

[beefman]

Lol u wanna see a pic of my acropora? I maybe also mistaken it might be Hydnophora. all my corals look great if not better. Its with my new setup. Also it was my dad askin about the oysters crushed up into little pieces and he has the bigger tank.

 

[ravenhawk]

Oysters do have calite or aragonite shells so yes they should work like using crushed coral, but I would make sure they are crushed very fine because as mentioned earlier the sharp edges could be dangerous to bottom dwelling fish

 

[quazi]

They have a habit of leaching lead into your system, if the ph get low and the shell disolves. Add to this that the pieces are not small enough, nor rounded, and it adds up to a very bad idea.
Corals and fish are expensive. Buy some sand, d@mnit!