Gravel or Sand

[blindskate]

The other day at my job a couple was purchasing everything for a saltwater tank and then he handed me two 18 pound bags of gravel...

I had never heard of anyone using gravel for a salt tank.

So..my question is...

Can you use gravel in a salt tank? Or..is sand/live sand required.

[cccapt]

You could, but it will just be a giant trap to accumulate all kinds of crap. Sand is the way to go.

[roka64]

I agree, it would be just the same as using CC.

[Ziggy953]

Sand....gravel is for FW

[blindskate]

thought so...i wanted to tell him but...he spent over $450 on filters...gravel..SALTwater...so why the heck buy gravel?...iono. i wouldnt buy gravel for salt...i think it would look dumb anyways

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by cccapt

You could, but it will just be a giant trap to accumulate all kinds of crap. Sand is the way to go.

I totally agree

[lamaseta17]

yeah i had crushed coral and switched to sand because all that junk would go deep into the cc..

[catmel]

if you only have a very thin layer of crushed coral in the bottom of a tank eg: 10# in a 55 gal.. would it still cause problems? Im debating on weither to get rid of it now before I put rock or anything else in..

[fijiwigi]

Originally Posted by catmel

if you only have a very thin layer of crushed coral in the bottom of a tank eg: 10# in a 55 gal.. would it still cause problems? Im debating on weither to get rid of it now before I put rock or anything else in..

Personally if it was me I would ditch the crushed coral even if its a small amount. but there are people who use it with success. However if you look at 1000 reef aquariums I would be willing to bet 900 or more of them use a fine sand. I tend to lean towards the majority vote.

[melosu58]

The problem with CC is that it traps debris thus causing problems with excessive nutrients. Your clean up crew has a harder time getting to it than with sand.