crushed coral good/bad

[Bray84]

Hi what do people think about crushed coral for substrate. I've been using it for about yr now and just always hear mixed views about it and are any risks of using it and not syphoning much as only do little bits when do wc as got few cuc that live under it most of time plus got sand sifting goby so it's always getting moved about

 

[baron1282]

I was told a deep sand bed was good, than I was told it was bad. I was told sand was bad and good. I was told crushed coral is good, but than I was told it was bad. So does anyone really know? LoL

 

[Mrc8858]

Everything has its pros and cons which one type of setup may do better with one over the other. For example crush coral is better then sand in high flow or sps dominant tanks due to the fact that the grains are larger and heavier but in say a softy or fowlr tank the lower flow would cause a bunch of stuff to get trapped in it unlike sand which will pretty much make a solid surface not allowing much into the atual substrate.

 

[bmckee727]

Everything has its pros and cons which one type of setup may do better with one over the other. For example crush coral is better then sand in high flow or sps dominant tanks due to the fact that the grains are larger and heavier but in say a softy or fowlr tank the lower flow would cause a bunch of stuff to get trapped in it unlike sand which will pretty much make a solid surface not allowing much into the atual substrate.

But what if you are using it in a low flow FOWLR tank but you vacuum it with panty hose over the end to prevent it from sucking up too many smaller pieces? If you vacuum every water change and don't let a whole lot build up is it ok to root thru it with vac?

 

[Mrc8858]

It's ok to siphon any type of sandbed even DSBs (although with a dsb its only very small portions at a time). The only problem with siphoning is if you stir up to much sand bed or go long stretches inbetween vacuuming it. You also have to consider what your livestock is too though. Starfish and other creatures need a more established sandbed so you wouldn't want to vacuum the substrate as much. Basically there are lots of variables so you just have to consider what best suits your needs.

 

[bmckee727]

Appreciate it! So just leave some for crabs, bottom feeders, etc. Thx for the help