crushed coral substrate

bodieman · July 5th, 2009

i recently got a new 29 gallon tank and saw some crushed coral substrate at my LFS and it said it was healthier and cleaner than gravel so i decided to try it out. I washed it pretty good and when i put it in the tank the water was extremely cloudy. over the past 24 hours it has been gradually getting clearer so i figure all will be ok. has anyone ever used this coral stuff and if so what do you think about it? should i stick with it or switch to sand or gravel?

Angela_96 · July 5th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodieman

i recently got a new 29 gallon tank and saw some crushed coral substrate at my LFS and it said it was healthier and cleaner than gravel so i decided to try it out. I washed it pretty good and when i put it in the tank the water was extremely cloudy. over the past 24 hours it has been gradually getting clearer so i figure all will be ok. has anyone ever used this coral stuff and if so what do you think about it? should i stick with it or switch to sand or gravel?

What kind of fish are you going to put in there? It is used for saltwater and tanks where you need hard water/high pH.
I use it in my african cichlid tanks to raise the ph and buffer the water.

bodieman · July 5th, 2009

im not sure what fish yet but deffinatly going to be freshwater whatever they are. does that matter?

Angela_96 · July 6th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodieman

im not sure what fish yet but deffinatly going to be freshwater whatever they are. does that matter?

Yes, if you get fish that need even a neutral ph of 7.5 and below the crushed coral will make it unsuitable for them. It buffers the water and raises the ph. Im talking a ph of 7.8-8.5 with crushed coral. You would have an awlful time trying to bring the ph back down.

bodieman · July 6th, 2009

do i need to do anything along the lines of cleaning out the tank? or can i take the coral out replace with sand or gravel and start cycling?

gmen4life · July 6th, 2009

my tank looked like my vacum cleaner exploded when i added coral i must not have washed it enouh before i added it but it cleared within a day so no biggie

Angela_96 · July 6th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodieman

do i need to do anything along the lines of cleaning out the tank? or can i take the coral out replace with sand or gravel and start cycling?

no, let the dust settle it will help buffer the water if you want to keep the ph up.

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