Jump to content

Crushed Coral vs Special Grade sand


jcasisa

Recommended Posts

From my research on the internet this seems to be a very contentious topic, but inquiring minds want to know....

I am in the process of completing the setup of my 75 gallon reef tank. I currently have no live stock in the tank except for about 40 pounds of mostly live rock. I currently also have about 45 pounds of crushed coral as my substrate (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch deep). while I like the look I am not in love with it so changing it wont break my heart. However, it would be $50 lost (unless someone wants it for something)

After researching I have heard to common themes and I would like to get some more reliable opinions.

1. While you may not have issues right away, crushed coral will trap a lot of 'debris' (code for fish poop) and unless you vacuum it all the time it will affect your water quality. It is better to switch it out now before your tank is established in a few years and risk losing live stock.

2. Crushed coral limits your options on livestock, such as sand shifting starfish and other critters, because it is so course it will cut them and cause disease.

So...

should I bite the bullet and switch 2 a medium grain sand now before I get too much more live rock in the tank?

Is it possible to do a combination, not in layers, but maybe in sections, say small mounds of crushed coral to give the tank so more character?

Thanks,

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It honestly hasn't been proven one way or the other but crushed coral would inhibit you keeping sand sifting/burrowing fish/inverts. Don't get a sand sifting star, it'll destroy the microfauna in your sand, clear the sandbed entirely out in a month or so, and then die. My 215-gallon wouldn't even have enough to support it long-term in my opinion.

It's all preference for which you run with. I would not recommend mixing it as nature has a way of sorting the mixture and you'll end up with the look of crushed coral, without any of the ability of the finer sand. I'd go one or the other.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Special grade has my vote. Looks great, compatible with just about any fish or invert, and isn't small enough to get easily blasted around.

The only exception would be if I was doing a pico tank, and I would opt for a smaller grain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ran 1" of CC in my 75 for a couple of years and found it was easy to keep clean. Every time I did a water change I just vacuumed the heck out of a spot down to the glass and pulled lots of gunk out. easy to do as the CC won't end up in the bucket like sand would I usually did 5 gal water changes a week ~ 20% per month. I could vacuum quite an area in 5 gals.

Also liked the look of it, but it did limit me from keeping some fish I wanted. No major algae problems either

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The maintenance on a normal 2-3" sand bed is the same as 1-2" of crushed coral. However, CC doesn't have the denitrification qualities of sand and it doesn't support the quantity of microfauna. You will be limited on some of your fish and coral selections. Burying wrasses don't survive in CC tanks, but you can get cocoon wrasses. Jawfish and some burying triggers also cannot be kept with CC. Some CC tanks have a problem maintaining a pod population and, depending on the other system features, that will leave dragonets out. Derasa Clams and some LPS prefer the sand, but can grow on anything in the proper conditions.

Crushed coral is cheaper than sand and you don't need as much of it. It's cleaner than sand and it won't create storms when you stir it up. Lastly, some nuisance macroalgae have trouble taking hold in crushed coral giving you one less thing to fight later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Ive always wanted wrasses that I couldnt have due to my crushed coral substrate. Since I can't wait till I do my full 240g upgrade in 6 months, ive decided to just add Caribsea special grade reef sand to a low flow corner of my 75g, with live rock rubble surrounding it similar to a moat. The plan is to add 2-3 inches deep of sand, to about 6x6 inches of space.

For a high flow SPS dominated tank, is this the best sand to buy locally?

Would that be suffcient area for a Melanurus or Leopard wrasse to live in?

Any other ideas except tupperware, which is God awful fugly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ive always wanted wrasses that I couldnt have due to my crushed coral substrate. Since I can't wait till I do my full 240g upgrade in 6 months, ive decided to just add Caribsea special grade reef sand to a low flow corner of my 75g, with live rock rubble surrounding it similar to a moat. The plan is to add 2-3 inches deep of sand, to about 6x6 inches of space.

For a high flow SPS dominated tank, is this the best sand to buy locally?

Would that be suffcient area for a Melanurus or Leopard wrasse to live in?

Any other ideas except tupperware, which is God awful fugly?

I'm assuming you're asking about putting the sand in a tupperware tub. What I would do is get a strip if 1/8 or even thinner clear acrylic at whatever width you want the sand depth. Bend it into circle and join the ends with some weldon cement. You can then cut if needed or carefully use a heat gun to shape it. It should be almost invisible if the sand is up to the top and you have other rock or crushed coral around it. If you plan when the tank is dry, you can just silicon the acrylic to the base of the tank.

Edit, NM, misread you are putting it in the existing tank. If you cut the top rim off the container, it should look cleaner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes you'll see fish stores with a container of sand in their tanks for the wrasses, but that is for the juveniles and not the adults. An adult Melanurus Wrasse gets to be around 5" and they don't dig straight down. When the wrasse goes into the sand he goes in at an angle. You would need at least a 5" deep container and it would also have to be around 8-10" across. You'll need at least 3" of sand to cover the body and if the wrasse damages it's mouth hitting the container then he's a goner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the need for the container just to to help keep it seperate? Id imagine that as long as the flow isn't crazy it will stay separate for the most part?

It's not the flow that you should be concerned with mixing the sand, it's the fish itself that'll do the most damage.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...