sand vs crushed coral

[danvan75]

I am debating on which one to use on my next tank. I have sand on my current tank and i just don't like the look of it after 2+ yrs. Does crushed coral stay white through the years? Is there any negatives for crushed coral?

[allan]

I don't like crushed coral. Each piece tended to pick up Coraline growth.

[danvan75]

coraline growth, didn't know that could happen. so is that why you don't see too many reef tanks with crushed coral.

[Gseclipse02]

is u ever want a sand sifter u rule them out with CC

[kkiel02]

It is also pretty rough on the sand sleeping wrasses.

[Mr Cob]

I will never do crushed coral again....detritus trap! Bare bottom or DSB is the only way to go in my opinion.

[danvan75]

bare bottom looks cool, but how do they keep the rock from moving around, silicone everything to the bottom? DSB, that is what i have now, just dont like how dirty the side view looks.

[danvan75]

is u ever want a sand sifter u rule them out with CC

I forgot about snails, thanks bring that up.

[justahobby]

Bare Bottom: Some people use starboard to help rocks from moving (and protect the glass), but using acrylic rods, etc to attach rocks together is your safest bet. Also, fighting detritus is a pain with BB because it shows up so well and isn't trapped by a substrate.

Crushed Coral: It is a nutrient trap. Algae also grows on it more easily. And then there are the fish, inverts, and coral that you can't keep without sand.

I have very good luck with a fighting conch. It kept my sand/cc mix very white. There are also sand sifting gobies that help. In my biocube, the pistol shrimp keeps my sand turned over constantly so it stays white. And I agree DSBs look dirty. Go with a 1-2" bed and a good CUC will keep it looking nice.

[Regric25]

I have crushed coral in my 10g nano and I don't like the look of it. Coralline is starting to grow on it, snails have a hard time getting across it, can't have sand sifting fish like goby's and inverts. It IS a nutrient trap but I have been doing something to deal with that...

I got a gravel vac (normally used in FW setups) and I use it when doing water changes. WOW it comes out dirty!!! I think because pf that I have been able to keep a prettty healthy tank. Before I did that I had issues with dynos and algar.

Some benefits is pods seem to thrive in that stuff. I could see them crawling all over the bed. The crushed coral serves as a shelter for them since I don't have a fuge. I can have pretty strong flow and it does not blow all over the place. You still get the algae and corraline on the side of the glass below the gravel bed like you do with the sand...