sand vs crushed corel

[8965]

I have the opportunity to go with a really nice crushed corel which fits nicely in my budget. Does anybody have any red flags or other issues with cc?

 

[malkore]

it traps a lot of detris and can be a real pain to clean

 

[lziarek]

my cc is nice and clean, my sand sifting starfish makes cleaning it pretty null and void... just depends on what you like/want

 

[crage34]

most recomment sand...i think that u can develope nitrate problems with cc also

 

[8965]

thanks guy's. do the snails and crabs have any preference? I really don't know what I should do.

 

[lziarek]

It depends on the species and region of the world they come from, but as long as the particle size of your crushed coral is not too large it shouldnt make a difference.

 

[SquishyFish]

CC will work only if its the size of normal sand. And you will still run into problems. The sharp edges on it can cause problems for fish such as Wrass that burry themselves at night. The infauna will have a lot of problems moving in the CC. And Sand sifting starts will not be able to move the larger variety of cc.

Sand sifting anything (including stars) are not a good idea if your running a DSB.

 

[8965]

well i just called dr smithfosters and they told me to do a 50/50 mix. they also said that live sand was not needed in my situation since my live rock seeds live sand in not too long a time. any thoughts on this?

 

[8965]

well i just called dr smithfosters and they told me to do a 50/50 mix. they also said that live sand was not needed in my situation since my live rock seeds live sand in not too long a time. any thoughts on this?

 

[Atari]

I wouldn't do a mix.. either go with a 4-6" DSB or 1-2" CC. I agree that the LR will seed it but it will take a while so it's up to you to wait or give it a jumpstart.

 

[SquishyFish]

I agree with Atari on everything but the 1-2 inches of CC. I would NEVER use CC in a tank. A bare bottom is far better than CC. It just is too much of a ditritus trap.

 

[ambulocetus]

I realise I am a newbie, but really doesn't it all come down to particle size? A finely divided substrate is great, whether or not it is sand or cc shouldn't make too much of a difference (aside from any 'buffering' affects that might occur with such things as aragonite). imo cc is avoided becuasue it usually is not a fine grade, with large jagged particles which can damage small critters. FWIW for my tank i managed to find some really nicely powdered cc, mixed it into playsand (about 35/65) and it added a nice texture which looks great!