Sand vs. Crushed Coral

[SmokeOneLV]

I have been away doing alot of reading while waiting on my light and i see alot of people are using Sand beds, some even suggest take out the CC and put in LS, just wanted to get some advice on what i should do?

my tank is 55gal. i have Empior 400 PF, Fluval 304, and SeaClone 150 Skimmer, 40lbs of live rock (adding 10lbs more) and a fine Crushed Coral. I only have 2 damsels, 15 hermits, and 3 snails (that stay on there back) The Damsels, and snails i am taking out this weekend when i get my light. I was wondering should i take out the Coral and go with sand while i have no fish? Or should i just stick with the fine coral? need your advice LFS knows nothing!

Thanks Once Again.

[Woodstock]

My vote is for a fine aragonite sandy bottom. I had crushed coral a long time ago and it was VERY difficult to keep it clean. Now is a very good time for you to switch substrates... the fine sand is prettier, easier to clean (stir up the top 1/2" and siphon out debris), enables NNR (natural nitrate reduction), and is perfect for gobies (one of my favorite fishes) and other sand sifting fish

[Witfull]

im thinking of a word,,,,,,,,


ummm,,,oh yeah, Ditto~

[Dragon Wrasse]

Ditto to Woodstock and Witfull...I know I posted this info before, but I can't saying any better or shorter....
What is Aragonite?
Aragonite is a naturally occurring calcium bearing mineral. It is
precipitated in areas where cold ocean water, saturated with calcium
and carbonate, comes in contact with warm shallow waters. It is also
formed by sea creatures like corals, shells and coralline algaes that
use aragonite to build their skeletons. These materials can accumulate
on the ocean floor over eons, forming thick deposits of pure aragonite in
areas far from living reef communities; an ideal low environmental
impact situation.

Why Aragonite?
So what makes aragonite the perfect marine substrate? When the pH
in your aquarium falls below 8.2 (the pH of natural seawater), aragonite
begins to dissolve releasing calcium (great for growing coral and for
water hardness), carbonate (your buffer), and beneficial trace elements
like strontium and magnesium. Your pH comes back up, and the tank
stays healthy, without ever adding a single chemical. Other types of
calcium carbonate don’t react until the pH is in the mid 7’s, which is
lethal for many forms of marine life.In fact, aragonite holds the highest
pH of any gravel or sand, and has up to 30 times the buffering capacity
of dolomite, calcite (so called “crushed corals”), or oyster shell!

Now that we know a little bit about aragonite’s chemical performance,
let’s examine how it helps your biological filtration. Biogenic aragonite
is extremely porous, about 20,000 square inches of surface area per
cubic inch! Imagine the beneficial bacteria population you can maintain.
This is why aragonite is unsurpassed in reducing nitrates, nitrites, and
ammonia; allowing a bio-load many times greater than other
substrates. Plus, unlike ordinary substrates, aragonite never needs
replacement to maintain effectiveness. The performance goes on and
on.

CaribSea aragonite really is a remarkable piece of equipment; it’s a
calcium reactor, a buffer that works when you need it, a trace element
additive, a nitrite and nitrate filter, an ammonia reducer, a high capacity
bio-filter, and oh yes, a spectacular addition to any marine aquarium!

[VoodooChld]

Originally Posted by Woodstock

My vote is for a fine aragonite sandy bottom. I had crushed coral a long time ago and it was VERY difficult to keep it clean. Now is a very good time for you to switch substrates... the fine sand is prettier, easier to clean (stir up the top 1/2" and siphon out debris), enables NNR (natural nitrate reduction), and is perfect for gobies (one of my favorite fishes) and other sand sifting fish

wow! your gobbies dig in the fine aragonite sand? I read that they need larger granules but I wanted to get fine b/c of the look and cucumbers are supposed to be happier with it. does aragonite "stick" better or something. And do you think it would be sufficient just to add an inch or two to the existing sand bed? thanks

[SmokeOneLV]

thanks again for that great bit of info, once again you all came through for me. Now i at least know what, and why i should get the sand. LFS once again made me lose money on this crushed coral, (they told me its better and easyer with the CC. think i need to call the Reef Police on My LFS Any good places to order this fine sand? Thanks once again.

[Woodstock]

Voodoo... aragonite provides a natural buffer when it dissolves. It doesn't 'stick' better... in fact, it can cloud the water easily. My gobies and cuke love the fine sand What size substrate do you have now?

Smokeone... I like getting the sand at the LFS or Home Depot.

[VoodooChld]

I used the poor mans method. I set up my sump first (40 gallon berlin style) I used a gallon size container of the "mineral mud" and I think I used a bag of the aragonite but I cant remeber for sure and I used a bag of sugur sand then I started getting my sand from the beach. I went to an area that is not a real touristy area in the shallow water, all the sand in the area was made up of broken shells so its pretty varried but the top layers are have a medium grain size id say definately not fine. I think a cucumber would have trouble eating in it. when I got my engineer gobies sugar sand was the top layer and they never dug. that sand did seem like it would be pretty hard to dig in but then when I put the "beach sand" in the tank they started digging within a few days. I started adding beach sand about a week after I got the gobbies. the main tank is a 47 bow with nothing but "beach sand" about 3-4"

[SmokeOneLV]

Woodstock, Home Depot sales this sand? how much would i need for my 55 gal?

[Woodstock]

Make sure you get the caribbean sand. Scroll to the bottom and you will see a sand estimator --> Aquarium Calculator

[gimpy]

SmokeOne, how "fine" is your crushed coral as posted in your first post? If it is "fine" sized as in sugar size or similar, then you don't need to change it out.

Frank

[SmokeOneLV]

not that fine. didn't know that had coral that fine.

[SmokeOneLV]

while im taking out the CC will i need to put the live rock in buckets of salt water or can i just put them in a empty bucket till i get the sand in the tank?

[Woodstock]

While putting the rock in water would be best, it will be fine out of water for a short period of time. You can cover it with wet newspaper to help it stay moist.