Crushed Coral Substrate

ImprezaSTi · #1 01/02/2008, 02:27 PM

So I bought 2 bags of crushed coral instead of the sand that I had planned because the sand was twice more expensive. What livestock will I not be able to keep with crushed coral vs sand? Will starfish be able to live?

MalHavoc · #2 01/02/2008, 02:34 PM

crushed coral is a detritus trap. You'd be better off running less sand for decoration and keeping it clean manually than using crushed coral at all. Anything that normally sifts sand for food will not do well with CC.

Deb91 · #3 01/02/2008, 02:35 PM

Bring back the crushed coral and get the sand. Crushed coral is no good for your tank. If you are already worrying about sand being to expensive, you are going to have trouble!

dsn112 · #4 01/02/2008, 02:38 PM

I second that, buy play sand and a small amount of ls to seed it if your can't afford the LS. It may be cheaper now, but in the long run you will regret it. This hobby is expensive as h**l. The only way to go cheaper and be safe is buying the equipment you want used from a fellow reefer. Do research and don't buy things on impulse.

rustybucket145 · #5 01/02/2008, 04:06 PM

Play sand is $3/50lbs. I know the crushed coral wasn't that cheap. Just go to Lowes or HD and pick the whitest sand you can find. Quickcrete makes a nice white quartz sand that looks great in a tank and is a million times better for your tank than crushed coral.

HABS#1 · #6 01/02/2008, 05:03 PM

We have crushed coral in our 31 and it has been fine no problems what so ever even our sand sifting star is fine with it he strolls around treh tank then buries him/herself our ceriths also do the same. We have not had the dreaded Nitrite/Nitrate spikes or anything that people seem to complain about either.

joesfiddy · #7 01/02/2008, 05:14 PM

cc sucks i have it and hate it im goin to get sand this weekend not to sure about play sand isnt that goin to leach something at one point

joeychitwood · #8 01/02/2008, 05:30 PM

I have about one inch of white sand in my 55 gallon tank strictly for aesthetic purposes. The cost was minimal. The tank looks natural, the sand bed is easy to clean, and I don't have any of the problems sometimes associated with a deep sand bed. It may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

kzickovich · #9 01/02/2008, 05:32 PM

If it's going to be a fo tank it would be ok. There are many fish that need it to grind there teeth. But in a reef tank you want sand. If you're concerned about the price difference in sand and cc you may want to find another hobby. Like dsn112 said this hobby is very expensive.

joeychitwood · #10 01/02/2008, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kzickovich
Like dsn112 said this hobby is very expensive.

Of all the reef-related products I've purchased over the years, the sand doesn't even make the list as far as expense goes. Wait until you feel the pain of breaking a brand new halide bulb trying to install it.

jamiep · #11 01/02/2008, 05:37 PM

I have CC, Im ripping it out as soon as I sell enough stuff on my eBay account!

auntynatal · #12 01/02/2008, 05:43 PM

I have crushed coral, had it for 10 months, wish to the high heavens that I had found here first and gone for sand. Now in the process of arranging a second tank to shift everything into to change the flippin' substrate. Dreading the whole process to be honest. do it right first time, the alternative it hard to take.

Totally agree about 'if you think the sand is expensive' - lololol hahahahaha *more manical laughing* ...

digidana · #13 01/02/2008, 06:06 PM

i'm in the process of setting up a big tank, and have been sand/salt shopping. the best deal i found was from petsmart.com, believe it or not. i ordered seven 40# bags of CaribSea Aragonite Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand for $26.99/bag. its not live, but i have a 55g with about 60# i can seed it with.

also got two 58# buckets of salt for $40 each.

they're also offering free shipping over $50 purchase, which saved about $136.

not bad of a deal. tho, if you go to a petsmart store, the sand is $50/bag vs $27 online.

reefworm · #14 01/02/2008, 06:09 PM

even at the higher cost, the sand is well worth it. CC is as bad as the folks here have said. I hold it responsible for my first tank crash. Digidana has done some good research for you.

joesfiddy · #15 01/02/2008, 06:09 PM

where are you finding the sand for that price what website

digidana · #16 01/02/2008, 06:11 PM

petsmart.com

here's the link:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...w=seaflor&sr=1

Achilles1208 · #17 01/02/2008, 06:14 PM

dito crushed coral is a detritus trap. better off with live sand

ImprezaSTi · #18 01/03/2008, 01:27 AM

At first, I decided to put play sand in my tank. But when I came home to wash what appeared to be white sand, it turned brown in water. It was the only kind of play sand at my local HD.

So then I went to the LFS to buy sand. I went with CC because I thought the only difference between the two substrates were purely cosmetic.

Now I have the crushed coral. What should I do if I already put the stuff in my tank?

Should I put a layer of sand on top, or make the front half sand and back half CC?

tmz · #19 01/03/2008, 01:37 AM

No, please don't mix it . it will be worse. If you are going to use it,stir it frequently at least twice a week and blow it off with a turkey baster to put the detrius in suspension. It is not as good as finer sand for a number of reasons including;trapping detrius and offering less surface area for denitrifying bacteria. If lyou have enough live rock you can overcome the second problem. Frequent cleaning can overcome the first.It is pretty good for pods. Sand sifting animals will have trouble with it.

tmz · #20 01/03/2008, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by joeychitwood
I have about one inch of white sand in my 55 gallon tank strictly for aesthetic purposes. The cost was minimal. The tank looks natural, the sand bed is easy to clean, and I don't have any of the problems sometimes associated with a deep sand bed. It may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

This is my preference as well.

stevelkaneval · #21 01/03/2008, 01:50 AM

Quote:

i'm in the process of setting up a big tank, and have been sand/salt shopping. the best deal i found was from petsmart.com, believe it or not. i ordered seven 40# bags of CaribSea Aragonite Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand for $26.99/bag. its not live, but i have a 55g with about 60# i can seed it with.

did you know that if you order the doctor foster's and smith catalouge, you can get salt and sand for that price, from petsmart. i get 58# buckets of salt all day long for 29$ you have to go to the store though. they price match anything that matches and it must match exactaly.

Rustylugnuts · #22 01/03/2008, 01:55 AM

I mixed my CC w/sand, it was horrible. Hours spent with a colander sifting away

.

digidana · #23 01/03/2008, 08:09 AM

thanks for the tip, stevelkaneval!

Leafer · #24 01/03/2008, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by joeychitwood
I have about one inch of white sand in my 55 gallon tank strictly for aesthetic purposes. The cost was minimal. The tank looks natural, the sand bed is easy to clean, and I don't have any of the problems sometimes associated with a deep sand bed. It may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

Also what I plan on doing in my next set up. I have some CC in my sand and hate it! I wanted to encourage you to return the CC yesterday. You are lucky if you still have the oppertunity.

rustybucket145 · #25 01/03/2008, 11:05 AM

Play sand isn't your only low cost option. At many home depots and lowes they sell pulverized limestone in the garden section. You will need to poke a small hole in the bag and feel the substrate with your fingers to determine how finely the limestone is ground, you don't want it chunky like crushed coral and you don't want it fine like powder. I found a great consistency at a Home Depot in Atlanta for $4.

FYI: b/c I know this argument is going to come up after this post.... Aragonite is Limstone..... They are both Calcium Carbonate rock ground up.

I have used Limestone $4/bag, Play sand $3/bag and the $50/bag 'Special Grade' Aragonite. They all performed the same, they all do the same thing, some are whiter (limestone and aragonite) but the play sand is by no means ugly.

So, do as you wish but if you want to save a couple hundred dollars make a few trips to local lowes, home depots and find either pulverized limestone or play sand.

Good Luck with your new setup by the way!!