Substrate

[Scuba Steve]

Hi

Could someone please advise as to the best substrate to use in my marine aquarium. The depth it should be and the difference if any in substrates.

Kind Regards

Glenn

[Woodstock]

Hummmm.... there are different ways to cover your bottom ...

BB (barebottom) which is NO substrate except maybe a piece of cutting board;
SSB - (shallow sand bed) which is just enough sand to cover the bottom glass to 1/2" - 1.5";
DSB - (deep sand bed) which is 3" + of sand.

If you choose sand, get a fine textured aragonite based sand.

I removed my sandy bottom and the maintenance is so much faster now.

[mkpaulson]

the best substrate if you are going to have it I would agree with sand. I had sand and then I went to to a bare bottom tank and that haven't regretted it yet.

[Cougra]

There really is no "Best substrate." Each has it's own advanages and disadvantages and uses for different tpyes of fish and tanks. If you explain more about the type of tank and aquatic animals you would like then we would be in a better position to help you decide on which type of substrate would be better for your particular tank.

BB tanks are good for SPS corals and tanks that require high water flow, but aren't very good for substrate dwelling animals that like to bury themselves or dig their own homes.

SSB is good for tanks that have inhabitants that like to live in the sand and for reef tanks that don't need as much current flow and can live in slightly more nutrient rich waters (button polyps, zoanthids, mushroom corals, leathers) , or for people who don't like the look of a bare bottom tank. They require vacuming and work to keep them clean.

Crushed coral, although a lot of people distain it, is good for predator tanks (with fish that like to dig to find food like triggers) or fish only tanks as a fairly inexpensive option to cover the substrate and can handle heavy water flow without clouding up the tank since it's too heavy to be lifted like sand would be. It too requires regular cleaning. However it's not good for fish that like to bury themselves at night as it's hard for them to dig up and it's large sizes make it easy for food to get trapped under it which, if not cleaned properly can lead to high nitrate levels in the tank.

DSB (Deep sand beds, again contriversial) are effective means of biological filtration, however they are very limited and can only handle very low bioloads in the tank. They also depend on living creatures to keep it viable which can be risky. It's not good for tanks that have substrate dwelling animals such as sand sifting seastars or fish that like to dig because they will remove all the creatures you want in the sandbed to keep it viable.

There are many other things that can be used as a substrate and each has it's place, and limitations.

[mojoreef]

great post Michelle



MIke

[Scuba Steve]

Thank you so much for youre reply. I have just moved house and had to dismantle my reef tank. This time I am starting again with just fish only. Does the bb look a little odd or even ugly. Is the araganite sand white like the coral sand? Is there a better/preferred bottom with a fish only tank? Thank you for your advice.

Kind Regards

Glenn

[Scuba Steve]

Thank you so much for youre reply. I have just moved house and had to dismantle my reef tank. This time I am starting again with just fish only. My system holds just over 800 litres so I intend to keep non aggressive fish pretty much. Is there a better/preferred bottom with a fish only tank? I have always been told to keep the sand bed at least 3 inches deep. Judging by my responses this advice appears to be a little dated. Would you agree? Thank you for your advice.

[Cougra]

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

Thank you so much for youre reply. I have just moved house and had to dismantle my reef tank. This time I am starting again with just fish only. My system holds just over 800 litres so I intend to keep non aggressive fish pretty much. Is there a better/preferred bottom with a fish only tank? I have always been told to keep the sand bed at least 3 inches deep. Judging by my responses this advice appears to be a little dated. Would you agree? Thank you for your advice.

Hmm as for the depth of the substrate being a little dated, I would have to say it kinda is if you are using that as the general baseline for adding a substrate.

There are valid reasons for having a substrate that deep. For example if you want to have any wrasses in the tank, they like to bury themselves in sand and dive down into it when startled as a way to hide. Substrate dwelling or sifting gobies could use the deeper substrate as well because it will harbour a lot of live foods and they will be able to dig their home in a more natural way.

Personally I don't like the look of a bare bottom tank, however a lot of people do and over time it will become covered in coralline algae so it's appearance wont be as noticable. There are a lot of advantages like being able to see all the debris easily and having the higher currents along the substrate makes it more likely debris will stay in the water column long enough to go through the sump instead of settling in the tank.

It's best you research the types of fish that you want and see if they need a deep substrate. If not then it's more of a personal preference. You can decide if you want anything in the tank or not. If you do decide to have some sort of substrate then you could also get away with a thinner layer 1/2" to 1" which will be easier to keep clean then a deeper substrate.

I would say that going for a Deep Sand Bed (4+ inches) is out of the question and it is too limited and can cause a lot of problems down the road.

Aragonite comes in many different forums. It's the name used for a calcium based sand. You can get very fine pure white sand online or at some home depots depending on where you are and is generally refered to as "tropical play sand" or "caribean play sand" . Other types of aragonite is more course like a river gravel called (I believe) Carib aragonite.