Sand, crushed coral???

jong11 · 09/25/2011, 03:57 PM

Can someone explain the difference with some examples?
I'm using caribsea aragonite seafood special grade reef sand, is this considered sand or crushed coral? Thanks.

pentrix2 · 09/25/2011, 04:09 PM

From reading this is not crushed corals because the material would be thicker. It's not fine grain sand and will not blow around the tank as much compared to fine grain sand.

I don't use this sand so I can't provide examples but reading reviews on this I see folks are happy with this.

Pen

James77 · 09/25/2011, 04:19 PM

No, it is far from crushed coral. I use it in Mine as decorative sand, as opposed to a deep sand bed. It does not blow around like fine sand will. Crushed coral is much more coarse, and can trap crap in it.

WetShepherd · 09/25/2011, 05:16 PM

I switched from crushed coral to some grade of Carbisea argonite, which falls in the sand category. If you had crushed coral in your tank, you would notice that the pieces are larger and far less uniform in shape. CC is also sharper which can be an issue for some fish and inverts that like to be on the bottom (or in it).

As James noted, CC will also trap food and detritus leading to high nitrate build-up later in the tanks life. There are several threads detailing the painful process of switching substrates on tanks after they are completely set up. You can be happy that you are avoiding that mess with your choice. You can also be happy that you are also avoiding sand storms that can occur with the finer grades.

Is that the info you were looking for?

jong11 · 09/25/2011, 06:09 PM

Sounds good, thanks

09/25/2011, 03:57 PM	#1
jong11 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Maine Posts: 396	Sand, crushed coral??? Can someone explain the difference with some examples? I'm using caribsea aragonite seafood special grade reef sand, is this considered sand or crushed coral? Thanks. __________________ 10 gallon nano - par 38 led bulb, 2 hk nano 240gph, 75w jager heater, aquaclear 70 (w/ ac 20 impeller), rkl controller Current Tank Info: 10 gal nano, 40 gal breeder (in progress)

09/25/2011, 04:19 PM	#3
James77 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 8,158	No, it is far from crushed coral. I use it in Mine as decorative sand, as opposed to a deep sand bed. It does not blow around like fine sand will. Crushed coral is much more coarse, and can trap crap in it. __________________ Jim Current Tank Info: 120g Mixed Reef and 75g Freshwater

09/25/2011, 05:16 PM	#4
WetShepherd Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 522 Blog Entries: 5	I switched from crushed coral to some grade of Carbisea argonite, which falls in the sand category. If you had crushed coral in your tank, you would notice that the pieces are larger and far less uniform in shape. CC is also sharper which can be an issue for some fish and inverts that like to be on the bottom (or in it). As James noted, CC will also trap food and detritus leading to high nitrate build-up later in the tanks life. There are several threads detailing the painful process of switching substrates on tanks after they are completely set up. You can be happy that you are avoiding that mess with your choice. You can also be happy that you are also avoiding sand storms that can occur with the finer grades. Is that the info you were looking for? __________________ (see blog for pics) 55g Tank (48" x 13" x 21") /c 60lbs LR & 60lbs Sand 2 MP10w 1 Koralia 425 PH, 3 Reef Brite LED Bars, 15g Sump Tunze DOC Skimmer 9002 and 2 150w Eheim Jager Heater @ 78.5 degrees

09/25/2011, 06:09 PM	#5
jong11 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Maine Posts: 396	Sounds good, thanks __________________ 10 gallon nano - par 38 led bulb, 2 hk nano 240gph, 75w jager heater, aquaclear 70 (w/ ac 20 impeller), rkl controller Current Tank Info: 10 gal nano, 40 gal breeder (in progress)

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09/25/2011, 04:09 PM	#2
pentrix2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 557	From reading this is not crushed corals because the material would be thicker. It's not fine grain sand and will not blow around the tank as much compared to fine grain sand. I don't use this sand so I can't provide examples but reading reviews on this I see folks are happy with this. Pen