+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'm sure this is another one of those subjects that's debatable (the more I read the more I realize just about everything is! ack!), but I'd really like to hear some more opinions on crushed coral as a substrate. I've been doing a lot of reading on the wetwebmedia.com website. Wow! Makes my head spin. The overall opinion there seems to be that crushed coral is bad, or at best less desireable than sand. Yet, reading here I've stumbled on some posts where it's praised. Seems to be a very common substrate if nothing else. So, I'm confused. I've had my tank (purchased a used established 125g set up) for almost a week now. It came with crushed coral and the previous owner had an extra 40# bag that they advised I add to the tank when I set it back up. So I did. And now I have a 4-5 inch deep bed of crushed coral in the bottom of my tank! No sooner did I do that then I read that if you're going to use CC the bed should be 1" deep or less. Ooops. Guess I have a syphoning project in the making now. What fun. Should I work on getting the bed down to 1" or less? How bad is it to leave it that deep? Assuming I reduce the bed depth, what do I do with all the extra crushed coral? I'm going to easily have 100+ lbs of the stuff left over. I hate to just pitch it. The tank was well established and the coral has all kinds of little critters in it. I've seen quite a few little bristle worms after the tank has been dark for a while and I'm sure there's more. I have yet to see anything 'bad' growing in this tank aside from some hair algae which I cleaned off of all but a few of the live rocks. I like the look of the CC and really like that it's 'alive', but on the bad side I've read that unless the bed is real shallow (ie- easy to clean) it's just a giant detrius trap and nitrate breeder. Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrispar Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 havent had much problem with mine. and shane at fishy business swears by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabeetus Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 give it away or sell it live right here on ARC!! some things like a deeper sand bed to live in, make tunnels, bury themselves so depending on what you want to put in there after getting rid of your current fish, i would wait to see what you want/get :] 5 inches is pretty deep, but maybe 1 inch is not deep enough. but whatever you dont want im 100% positive someone on this site is willing to trade some coral if not pay cash for some extra CC CHEERS -Corey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrispar Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 my scooter blenny buries himself completely in my CC bed, its about 2 inches deep in the deepest spots, but since i have small hills and valleys in the substrate it varies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 It all depends upon what type of "crushed coral" it is. Some manufacturers grind coral and shell casings down to a very tiny grain, some are almost entirely broken shells. It's the large broken shells that cause the problem. The former is actually quite good as it will stabilize calcium and PH levels. The latter is bad because detritus gets in it and stays put. I wouldn't use the larger stuff, not ever, even if it was free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I was also wondering what size it is, and I am as torn as you are. I'm in the process of totally pulling out my existing sand bed thru water changes, and once I get all of it out I will go bare bottom for a little while to make sure I get as much detritus as I can (including blowing out the live rock and "washing" it), but until I get all the sand out there isn't much use yet on working on the rock. It's after I get all this done that I'm still trying to decide then. Go with a new sand bed, try very fine CC, or leave it BB? BTW, does anyone know if a jawfish can survive without a sand bed? Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I guess one way to look at is would be to go to RC and look at how many tanks that were tank of the month have crushed coral. I'm willing to bet not many. Like you said, this is probably one of those you could debate for weeks. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 First and most important is the size. If you have 2-4 mm, than a sandbed of 4"-6" with a Jaubert plenumn would be advisable. This grain size is the largest allowed in any aquarium. Diversity of worms would be limited. I have used crushed coral from CaribSea. If you get on the supplier web page, you will find it dissolves equally as dolimite, but only the product from CaribSea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad and Belinda Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 We have always had a crushed coral dsb. Never had any problems. Always found it easy to clean. Currently have a 3" sandbed and would never consider having any less. We have a wrasse that likes to bury himself in it and loves it. I would never use a sand bed as it would be a nightmare to clean. I am sure that you have noticed by now that there are always people on both sides of the debate. I am just simply telling you what has worked for us. However, if you do decide to sell it, put it here on ARC as there is always someone looking for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KeeperOfTheZoo Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 Thank you for all the responses. The crushed coral is Caribsea, but I can't find a size grade anywhere on the bag. It's really a variety of sizes from very small to some whole small shells. I noticed when we cleaned out the tank to move it that there was 'sand' in the bottom of the tank. Seems the coral had broken down a lot over time. It really wasn't nearly as dirty when we moved the tank as I thought it would be (based on working with freshwater tanks and gravel/rocks for many years). I took out about 17lbs (damp weight) today while doing a big cleaning and water change. I like the look of a shallow bed vs. the deep bed. I do want to take the whole deal down about another 1", but think I'll leave it after that. Looks nice and I can't imagine trying to clean sand! The CC stirs up enough as it is, I can only imagine the mess sand must make. Though the sand does look pretty... If I keep the CC damp, how long will is remain 'alive'? When I moved the tank it was kept damp in buckets for a good 8+ hours and was still very much alive with critters when I put it back in the tank. I wouldn't mind trading or selling it to someone who needs it but if I'm going to represent it as 'live' I want to make sure it still is! Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 In my tank I used 160 # of CC(3-4" on average). The tank I just moved from had CC in it for 14 years with no problems. I would not use anything else. As for leaving it out of the tank I think you will start to see die off fairly quickly. The smell will probably tell you the most, But any one buying sand(CC) like this should expect to have to wash it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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