Sand vs crushed corals

[rohnds]

I am setting up my second SW tank. I made the mistake of using play sand for this 55 gal tank. I battled diatomic algae from the start and was never able to get rid of it no matter what I did. Someone told me it was due to the sand I used.

So for my 75 gal my wife and I decided to use crushed corals. Which is the better, sand or crushed corals?

Rohn

 

[Lorna]

from everything I have read a deep sand bed is much better than crushed coral as the coral collects detritus and doesn't have the ability to work as a dsb does therefore ends up beind a nitrate trap. If you didn't like the playsand then spend a bit more and get aragonite from somewhere online like premium aquatics that sell it about half of what it costs from the lfs. Everyone I know that has used cc has had to remove it later......

 

[Mushroomman]

Id aim for an aragonite substrate

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I have live sand, which I've heard on here multiple times is a waste of money (it came with the established tank, so I didn't have to fork over the cash for it). But I haven't had any problems with it, and it stays clean and looks nice in there. I'd aim for sand over crushed coral, but for a SW system go for sand that is made for aquariums (versus stuff like play sand).

 

[S.Reef]

Crushed coral i snice because it buffers the water, over time however it loses this affect and then becomes a nitrate trap. In my opinion sand is better, you can do either a thin layer or a deep bed.

 

[Leslie]

I used sand (from the beach ) It's a really nice look for the bottom of the tank. (stays clean looking)

 

[Lorna]

Aragonite such as carib sea or aragmax has the same type of buffering capacity as crushed coral as it is made up of calcium carbonate. I think I used 120lbs for my 75g and have a nice 5-6 inches around my rock which I placed closer to the bottom to aleviate any anerobic spots. Besides my sandsifting gobie has nicely removed most of the sand beneath the rock....If you live in Austin can't you get beach sand? just do the vinegar test to ensure it is calcium carbonate based as opposed to silica

 

[1979camaro]

i would be wary of putting beach sand in my tank...who knowns what is in that...i would be worried about pollutants from both the ocean and from people using the beach

 

[Lorna]

Good point. Though you would think that those closer to the source can get it cheaper than say us in the north midwest.

 

[wayne]

Sand. But both crush coral and sand are pretty ineffective buffers.

If you're fighting diatoms you've got a source of silicate somewhere, but I can pretty much guarantee it isn't the silica in your play sand (if you think your silica gravel is dissolving, then so is your tank as they're made of the same thing). I would question the amount of silicates in the water you're making seawater with.