Whats the best way to clean your crushed coral?

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Christine22780

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
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S. Manchester, NH
I was just wondering if Im am keeping my crushed coral and moving my tank...should I :confused:
-spray it with a hose and rinse it with cold water
-boil it to get all the detris out and start fresh
or- do I need to change it every other yr or so b/c I know the crushed coral likes to harbor debris.... I like it for my large fish only setup.
I am going to setup another tank with sand and small fish..Thats what I started with and I enjoyed that with lots of crabs and snails...

My primary tank is empty now and I am debating on how to clean the crushed coral. I put some of it back in the tank I moved my fish into to keep to ecosytem filled with friendly bacteria.
Please let me know your imput on how to clean the crushed coral.
Thanx!:-D
 
I would get rid of it myself. It Really will keep lots of debris in it. But if you must keep it, get a large strainer and rinse it with a hose. Leave it out in the sun, to bleach, and you wont have to boil it.
 
In my case, do you suggest getting rid of it b/c I am starting up my tanks fresh... b/c they have lots of debris....
Or, are you a fan of the sand instead?
 
I say get rid of it and start anew. I pefer sand because it`s easier to keep clean but if that`s what you want then buy new. The old will have too much trash in it. CC is very cheap. Just make sure you rinse the new out pretty good to avoid the dust storm.
 
I too would opt for a sand bed instead of cc. There's less work with a sand bed, the CC needs to be vacuumed regularly and still traps detritus.

If you are going to keep it, is it still wet and in the tank or was the tank drained and the cc dried out?

Oh, and ....

welcometoaa.gif
 
Well, its been a day now...The crushed coral has partly dried out.
I did transfer some in a bucket with some water, but only about half yesterday..I wasnt sure what I wanted to do with it..... Does that mean I should toss it if it dried with some debris in it? I think I know the answer to that...
-Is it better to have a THICK bed of crushed coral, or a fine layer to keep things filtering easier????

I didnt expect everything to take so long, transfering and all....(I was busy and had my carpets cleaned!)


I do like the sand alot better...just worried that harbors alot of debris and cannot be vaccumed out. Now that I have the larger fish I cannot have crabs, snails, and bottom feeders to keep the bed clean. The sand is fluffy and seems maybe to filter okay.
-How exactly do you clean the sand other than rinsing it when you get it and scrubing along it with a spongy pad? You cant vaccume it, no bottom feeders, does it harbor debris less than cc??


I'm going to use sand for my small fish aquarium, but debating on the larger fish tank.
 
I do like the sand alot better...just worried that harbors alot of debris and cannot be vaccumed out.

Just the opposite the sand will be less likely to trap trash and a good goby such as a bullet goby who sifts all the time will help to clean the sand. Here is mine and he keeps the sand turned over all the time. That is mine in the pic.

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "Bullet Goby"
 
Is the Bullet Goby better with small fish, or larger aggressive fish? I have a feeling my larger fish wont allow anyother fish into the tank...they are pretty happy now. I could get one for my smaller tank if he wont eat, or be aggressive twords sm. fish or any crusteceans.
 
Welcome to AA!

Actually the way a sandbed works is you don't vaccume it out. Sand is not going to trap as much "junk" as crushed coral will and sand also provides more surface area for bacteria to grow and filter your water. As the others have said sand is a better option for a tank. A sand sifting goby as Mike mentioned or a fair amount of Nassarius snails or a sand sifting starfish will keep things looking good. I opted for a LOT of nassarius snails rather then the fish or the star.

If you are moving the tank and your CC has dried out some and is now back in water, I think the best option for you sis to get rid of it and buy sand.
 
You don't clean the sand, you get critters (snails) that keep it clean for you.
What species of fish do you have in this tank?
 
I have way less experience than the others who commented already..... however, I don't have any issues with my CC. I have a very THIN CC bed in my tank. I vacuum it once a month and I have 0-nitrates. Personally I don't like a deep sand bed (although this is the best way to go) because I don't like the way it looks after awhile through the glass. From pictures I have seen it starts to......well I guess just not look like clean sand anymore. So I try to avoid that eye soar. When I get an upgraded/bigger tank I will probably either do a thin layer of CC again, or a thin layer of argonite sand.
 
Going from Cmor's last post, you can get sand sifters/stirrers to keep the top layer clean. CC is really a personal preference. If you can keep it clean and like the look, go for it! For me, it took a lot more cleaning (depending on your livestock). I found a lot of other critters that I liked and wanted in my tank. like nassi snails, gobies and other sand sifters that the CC limited.
Ryshark, if you like the look (a thin CC bed is relatively easy to clean) and are happy with it, you aren't the only person in the world that has one, go for it. I think you are on the right track with a thin CC bed. More comes into play if you have a deep bed and messy eaters or a higher bioload.
 
CC is a nitrate collecting farm. A tank break down is stressfull to the stock so the less the better.

If its a FOWLR and you have FO type fish with little to no CUC then go bare bottom. Or replace with a sand bed.
 
Yes definitely thin with CC. I do have about 10 nassarius in there that are doing great. And the CC is deep enough for them to be fully submerged in it. I have noticed over the past month that my CC is all purple and pink now from coralline growth. It actually looks pretty cool.
 
IF you have pink coralline i dought your water quality is poor. Pink and brown coralline is much harder to achieve. Im guessing you have a good maintance scedule and good flow and good feeding habits.

Nass snails would be happier with a sand bed and a SB would help with water quality. Plus the fact you have snails with a FO tank means you have reef type fish. If so then why not add coral. They help remove algea causing nutreints and reduce uneatin food. A FO tank usually means aggresive fish that eat your CUC. If you have fish and feed well then coral most coral will need no extra attention.

Still cant believe you have pink coralline on your CC , a pic would be a great badge as many dont ever even see this and might not even have heard of it.
 
I do have a reef tank. Honest to God, I just did a pwc tonight and vacuumed my CC bed. I did this after lights out and I am assuming that stirring the CC mixed the pink CC with the white CC beneath it. I will look tomorrow when the lights come back on. If it is mixed up I will post a picture before I do my next pwc in 1-month, I'm assuming it will have grown back by then. I am not claiming it to be thick coralline like you see on some LR. Im just saying that my white CC has turned pinkish and purplish and my guess would be coralline.
As for now, I went through my old pictures and found this one of my dying Acan (tissue damage from falling) which was on the substrate so you can kind of see what I am talking about. But this picture does not really do what I am talking about any justice.
I also included a picture of my substrate from months ago so you can kind of see the difference. By the way, that is a crocea clam on the bottom of my tank without halides. You may not believe that I was able to keep that clam healthy for around 7-months to date, either.
I never claimed to have poor water quality.
 

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I would get rid of it myself. It Really will keep lots of debris in it. But if you must keep it, get a large strainer and rinse it with a hose. Leave it out in the sun, to bleach, and you wont have to boil it.

Just make a square frame out of 2x4's and cover with aluminum screening. Rinse the coral using that and a hose... all the detritus and fine sand will fall through and leave you with almost new coral. After its cleaned, put the coral in a bucket with a little vinegar and that will make it sparkling clean. Rinse with clean water. Dry in the sun for a few days before putting back in tank.
 
The pics you lwft appear to be in a fresh tank. Its real clean . How old is this tank?
 
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