Live Sand or Crushed Coral?

[RubixCube]

What would be better to use if i were to set up another tank? Or is it just a personal preference?

 

[lando]

I tend to like live sand a bit better. CC has a tendency to capture particles of food and waste, thus casuing nitrate and amonia spikes. Also, using LS in your new tank will help out cycle time. It seems things seem to change with time. When I first started in this hobby everyone was using CC, then this new stuff came along called Dolamite, that was all the rage. Anyhoo, that did not last very long. We will see it sand will stand the test of time. By the way, what is your cat's name?

 

[RubixCube]

ok great. I have a 77 gal tank on the go now but i tend to agree about the sand capturing bits of food. I have to vacume often. I think the sand looks nicer too. Oh the cats name is. Pig... honstly!

 

[jamal-188]

When you say Live Sand, do you mean the live sand sold in bags at LFS's, or do you mean Live sand from another established tank? If you are considering purchasing the live sand in bags at your LFS I would save you money and buy South Down or Old Castle at your local Home Depot if it's availible. IMO, the stuff in the bags is a huge shaft, you would be much better off purchasing LR that would in turn seed your sand bed over time.

HTH,
Chris

 

[Anemoneman]

I tend to like live sand a bit better. CC has a tendency to capture particles of food and waste, thus casuing nitrate and amonia spikes. Also, using LS in your new tank will help out cycle time.

While this is true, another reason to choose sand over CC is the sand is able to harbor much more life than gravel. There are many kinds of worms and "bugs" that will populate a sand bed but can't thrive in CC. They will process uneaten food and fish waste quickly. You will never need to vacuum an established sand bed. Tank maintenance will be lower.

 

[reefrunner69]

Starboard

 

[Guest]

My vote is for sand!

 

[Ayesha97]

reefrunner.... starboard! Took me awhile! Funny guy!

 

[reefrunner69]

LOL, I wasn't being funny, starboard is the plastic white cutting board material, it is a way to do barebottom tank and still have the white sand look....I couldn't stand to look at a barebottom tank, so I would go with the starboard

 

[Ayesha97]

*hides face in embarsement* I was going with starboard as being "right" like you were agreeing with the previous post... *giggles* oh my! Reading WAY into it!

 

[fishfreek]

Sand. And please dont use that bagged stuff at the LFS.

 

[BillyZ]

I emailed CaribSea's Customer Service dept once and asked some very specific questions as to their claim of "live sand" and "live bacteria". I never got a response.

 

[marcos77]

Crap! I already used CC as my substrate. My 18G tank is only 3 months old and 2/3 of my tank has LR but no corals yet. What should I do? I should have used live sand but my tank setup came with an undergravel filter that I am using in addition to my hang on filter. Please help me with solution?

 

[darb2]

I would loose the ugf. I have an old tank that has dolomite with a ugf, and have been battling high nitrates for years. When I found this site, I got the advice to remove it. A month later my nitrates are better. When I removed my ugf the amount of detritus that it trapped was amazing. As far as sand vs cc It is personal preferance. CC requires vacuuming. Sand can hold more life, therefore it will be a more balanced system. It also depends on what type of fish you are going to keep. If you want more of a reef, go with sand.

 

[fishfreek]

Great advice darb2. Kudos to you.

 

[XXFirefighter]

Where do u get it reefrunner?
I'd like to use it in the QT.