Substrates - Sand vs CC

Smiley1

Smiley1

Member
Ive been pondering this idea for a while but am starting to have multiple questions. Right now I have a 2" sand bed of fine sand in a 55g. I want to increase the depth to 3". I have a 40lb bag of crushed coral that I was thinking about adding to add some "structure" to the sand bed. My plan is to be able to have a burrowing fish of some such and the CC would help with wall structures of its den. I have been reading that CC becomes a nitrate factory when used alone. Is it an issue when used in combo with fine sand? Does it have a buffering capability?

I have also been looking into getting more sand instead of using the CC but I do not need "live sand". I have looked at various LFS and found they they charge a very high amount for dead sand. Is there an alternative that I could get at Home Depot? I know not to use silicate sand due to diatom blooms, but has anyone used other types of sand without issues?

I could always go to the beach and snag a bucket or so of "baked by the sun" sand but I would have to drive a while just to get to a beach that has no contaminants.
 
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Boomer

Boomer

Reef Sanctuary's Mr. Wizard
I have been reading that CC becomes a nitrate factory when used alone.

Where, that sounds like nonsense. It is more porous than other sands but so is LR, which does what ? Acts as a better facultative denitrification media, as do other so called nitrate reduction media, which also act like LR, bring about better denitrification. However, if you let it just build up it may very well be a nitrate factory. But what about other sands that have no porosity to them ? Wouldn't they be more of a nitrate factory, as there would be much less faclutative dentrification taking place do to lack of porosity ?

I know not to use silicate sand due to diatom blooms, but has anyone used other types of sand without issues?

Lots of reefers use silica sand with no issues. That diatom thing is pretty much a myth, as it is extremely difficult to dissolve quartz. You can and will get diatoms form any sand.

Does it have a buffering capability?

No, carbonate sand buffers the water, they actually de-buffer the water for the first month. The only time it will start to buffer the water is if the pH falls below its floor pH of < 7.7. The amount of buffer it may add to your tank from low interstitial water pH in a deep SB, low 7's, will be immeasurable. CC actually de-buffers the water more than any other sand. Silica sand de-buffers it the least.
 
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