are there any disadvantages of using sand as substrate as apposed to crush coral?

[Shipley18]

ya i basically asked my question in the title but ya i was wondering because i want to make sure i have the right stuff. Also my crabs only walk around the outside of the sand like next to the glass and very rarily through the middle...any thing i can do about that?

 

[aresgod]

what kind of sand did you use, and no most argonite sands are fine and I prefer them over crushed coral, although some people like crushed coral because of its buffering ability, i personally feel it collects and traps detritus so that and the esthetic of it are why I dont use it

 

[dbacksrat]

yes--crushed coral traps detritus very nicely--but the pods seem to enjoy living in between the pieces

if I were you, I would choose sand over crushed coral any day

 

[lordroad]

I prefer sand because it's cheaper. I used bottom of the line silica "play" sand, and my tank is sparkling now, after only one hair algae outbreak that was easily scrubbed away.

Also I think the finer sand looks a lot better than the coarser.

Not related, but when I was down in Cozumel, the beach looked and felt just like argonite sand. Very coarse with bits of shell and crushed coral and washed off easily. Would have been nice to import some...