Substrate Question

[LadyOfIreland]

Hello all! I recently moved to Phoenix from Washington and just inherited an old tank from my brother and sister in law who have given up on fish. It is a 20 gallon and has a black substrate in it that I am not sure is reef friendly or not. I have only ever used live tan sand in my tanks, and never knew a lot about other types of substrate. This stuff is not quite sand, but not gravelly. I have attached a photo of it in my hand so you get an idea for how big the granules are. I plan to make this tank a home for clowns only, no coral, and maybe an RBTA. Would this substrate suit a tank like that? Or would it be a better idea to get rid of it and put in regular sand? I have a 10 pound bag of (now dead) sand that I can put in the tank WITH this substrate, too. What do you all think?? I'm stuck at the moment and would like to get water in it and start cycling it today. Thanks!!

[Wretched]

I'd get new sand. Start fresh! Who knows what kind of dieoff is in that. Knowing is power.

[Lynxone]

Was that out of a freshwater setup?

[LadyOfIreland]

Was that out of a freshwater setup?

Sure was! Just made the executive decision to nix it and start with new sand. I forgot that copper tends to be prevalent in FW tanks. That would have been a nasty yikes!!

[Lynxone]

Good choice. New aragonite is cheap