Crushed Coral or Sand

[Birddogm33]

About 2 months ago, I bought a 125 gal used tank. It came with everything including the fish. The local expert told me I would probably lose a fish or two. Well. all is fine with no deaths and cycling went very well. My question is I like the looks of sand and would like to add a few bottom feeders and some coral. Would Stars, Blennies and such do ok in the Coral vrs sand? Would it be worth the hassle of cycling all over again by making the switch?

[cap032]

Sand. You could add a few cups a day and avoid any cycling.

[igot2gats]

Sand. Crushed coral is a detritus nightmare trap.

[ImNotLion]

Everyone says sand I don't like sand but I believe it's a preference, I have a mix of crushed junk and sand right now. But yes crushed coral will trap detritus and become a nitrate trap

[shaginwagon13]

For sure go either sand or bare bottom. Crushed coral eventually will be the demise of your tank and a non-stop battle with algae and nitrates.

[whodeydan76]

My first tank set up was a 75 gal with half crushed corral and half sand mixed 2 bags of each. I had 2 sand sifting stars, a diamond goby, and a lm blenny and my tank did really well. No real issues.
I have seen some of the super fine sand be really susceptible to red slime so this time I am going with a sand but it is a more coarse type of sand.

[kimdawg]

I have a 125 and have sand it the middle of my tank only. I used to have a full sand bed but took it out with a complete water change and was bare bottom for about six months. I had lots of different types of algae the whole time. I am really happy now with the middle 3 ft. of my tank with sand. I like the look of sand, but the bare bottom ends give me a spot to blow powerheads to change up the water flow. The fish love to play in this area.

[fishuntbike]

I use the Caribsea special grade seafloor sand, size is about about 1-5 to 2.0 mm coarse sand.

[coralsnaked]

Not sure what all the fuss is about crushed coral. I use crushed coral in several tanks, I use sand in others and bare bottom too, and frankly I find crushed coral performs quite well. No nitrate problems and no excessive detritus build up. More people have sand bottoms because of aesthetics than for need of filtration or critters. And look at the posts here on RC and on other forums, "Problems with my sand bed PLEASE HELP!"

Why all the problems with sand beds, because they are not properly laid out and not properly maintained. The same can be said with crushed coral. Unless you are putting down a deep sand bed, which really does not belong in the display but in the sump; you should only put down an inch or less. Same goes for crushed coral. Then you can easily maintain either one. Sand beds 2" and above are no man’s land. They will eventually begin to release everything they have absorbed from the water and rock to include PO4 and Nitrates as well as other pollutants which can instantly crash a tank if disturbed. Sand beds can be difficult to properly maintain and they can discolor and / or harden over time and are the prime cause of OTS old tank syndrome.

There is nothing wrong with crushed coral in the display tank, but the requirements for maintaining it are about the same as sand. It must be laid out correctly and maintained properly. And the user of either substrate must match the tanks needs and inhabitants. IE: Crushed coral substrate requires the use of crabs to help maintain it. And personally I prefer to keep crabs in smaller tanks over snails as they are easier to keep, even small snails dying in a nano can cause ammonia spikes. Neither substrate is an efficient bio-filter for the display; unless a sand bed is deep, eight inches deep. And again for most of us not really appropriate for the display. And neither will crushed coral really buffer the water much. I personally find crushed coral the easier of the two to maintain when kept below one inch. I personally utilize ½ inch crushed coral substrate in all my smaller tanks. Maintenance = vacuum w/ agitation once a month, and change it out for new once a year if it discolors. Use lots of crabs, and ditch the snails completely and clean your own glass.

And don’t get me wrong I’m not saying CC is better than sand, just not worst. SPS = bare bottom, let’s face it we are concentrating on the coral here. LPS and mixed reef we are probably focusing on critters and general tank aesthetics, so use what pleases you. If you want sand sifting critters most don’t need more than an inch. But if you utilize a 2” sand bed you better have all the critters needed in ample supply to maintain it for you. Basically it needs to be turned over continuously. And crushed coral, never a need to be over ½ inch. Besides it’s really not the substrate that makes the tank, it’s the rock. And it’s not the rock that crashes the tank but the lack of it. Too many hobbyists try to set up tanks w/ less rock and more sand for bio-filters because it’s cheaper. Only to find the long term problems costs more in headaches and in the pocket book. Sand like crushed coral should be used in the display only in small amounts.

Merry Skerry

[wooden_reefer]

About 2 months ago, I bought a 125 gal used tank. It came with everything including the fish. The local expert told me I would probably lose a fish or two. Well. all is fine with no deaths and cycling went very well. My question is I like the looks of sand and would like to add a few bottom feeders and some coral. Would Stars, Blennies and such do ok in the Coral vrs sand? Would it be worth the hassle of cycling all over again by making the switch?

I think you misunderstand your situation.

A true cycle could not have under went well with livestock in it. Some tough ones may survive well. Likely your old tank has already been cycled when you bought it.

If you switch over to a different medium which has not been cycled separaetly in advance, you will have to do so very slowly otherwise there will be ammonia.

Your post makes me feel that you do not have enough knowledge to do well.

[foundnemo11]

Sand! I did cc at first and hated it. Swapped out for sand after an ich breakout. And I was a million times happier. Looks so much more natural and stays a lot whiter than cc. Plus you can have more species who use the sand for homes/ food

[igot2gats]

Another thing about crushed coral: if any of it gets between your algae magnet scrapper and and the glass when you're cleaning at the bottom of your tank, it will scrape your glass.

It's very easy for that stuff to get in there. Just a thought.