Crushed coral substrate

[coldmachineUK]

Hi,

I was originally toying with getting a spiny eel for my brackish puffer tank, which currently has a mix of coral sand and marine white sand. However, I'm really finding the sand to be awkward to keep clean compared with my other (gravel) tanks.

I asked if a spiny eel would do ok in crushed coral, but fears confirmed by people that it's too sharp for burrowing fish.

So, I'm thinking now about just leaving out the eel altogether. The online store I order from can't get hold of the specific brackish tolerant species I'm after anyway (they told me to wait to watch their stock lists, but it's about 2 months on and no luck). And, I don't trust my LFS to order in the correct species for me.

So, my questions are:

1. I know how big the grains of crushed coral are for the CaribSea Florida Crushed Coral brand. But, how do they cope with gravel vacs? Do they still get sucked up?

2. What sort of colour is it once it's in water etc? You can never tell from photos on the web if the colours are 'true' or distorted. I'm after as close to white as I can get, but not so white it looks unnatural. From the pics I can see, the CaribSea Florida crushed coral looks pink, or sorta peach coloured?! Is that right?

3. Any other substrate ideas to recommend? I'm after a 'marine look' if that makes sense (i.e. no eco complete!). pH buffering is not essential: the marine salt I use does that job ok.

 

[Idealconcepts]

If your looking for the marine look try pool fiter sand if they have that in your part of the work. It looks light brown to beige color, but can vary by brand. Cheap also, about $8-$11 for a 50lb bag in the States.

 

[theotheragentm]

If your looking for the marine look try pool fiter sand if they have that in your part of the work. It looks light brown to beige color, but can vary by brand. Cheap also, about $8-$11 for a 50lb bag in the States.

Pool filter sand gets a second vote from me. Once you have it rinsed clean, it's heavy enough to sink to the bottom just find and and long as you are digging the gravel vac straight down for an extended period of time, the sand will fall back down. FYI, a 50 lb. bag will do a 55-gallon tank nicely without leftover sand.