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Unread 02/24/2012, 06:44 PM   #1
salty72
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Crushed shells/sanddollars substrate question

I'm in Florida on vaca, east coast, I have a question about the shells and the pieces of sandollars that I'm finding. Can I crush them up and put them in my tank at home? I'm vacationing with my family at the same condo complex that my grandparents snowbirded to for 16 years and I thought it would be awesome to have a part of their beach in my tank.


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Unread 02/24/2012, 07:23 PM   #2
shaginwagon13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by salty72 View Post
I'm in Florida on vaca, east coast, I have a question about the shells and the pieces of sandollars that I'm finding. Can I crush them up and put them in my tank at home? I'm vacationing with my family at the same condo complex that my grandparents snowbirded to for 16 years and I thought it would be awesome to have a part of their beach in my tank.

Crushed coral sand bed is one of the worst things you could ever do to your tank. You pretty much have 3 options when it comes to substrate for your sand bed:

1) Bare bottom
2) Shallow sand bed
3) Deep sand bed

Crushed coral will ultimately become a detritus trap, if you have read around on this forum there are many who have through this scenario, and you'll soon find out what hardship you will be facing.

It maybe not this year, or next even, but it will become an issue unless you are able to keep it vacuumed thoroughly which I found impossible to do. Others will argue that any substrate will trap gunk & detritus & eventually become a problem, fact is that sand is a much, much better option & there are plenty of sand sifting critters that will do a much better job cleaning sand than a crushed coral substrate. The only other way to go is bare bottom if you like that look, it is the easiest way to ensure there is no build up.


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Unread 02/24/2012, 08:11 PM   #3
salty72
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Ok, thanks so much. Im so glad i asked! Ill just crush up the sand dollar pieces and put them in a container! Thanks again!


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Current Tank Info: 75 Gallon Reef, 39 Gallon Fresh
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Unread 02/24/2012, 09:44 PM   #4
BlueFyre
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A few crushed up shells aren't going to hurt anything as long as they are clean. As long as your entire sandbed isn't crushed coral it will be fine. I throw handfuls of rock rubble, crushed shells and crushed coral in my tank for my jawfish to make his home out of.


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Unread 02/25/2012, 12:45 PM   #5
cloak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueFyre View Post
A few crushed up shells aren't going to hurt anything as long as they are clean. As long as your entire sandbed isn't crushed coral it will be fine. I throw handfuls of rock rubble, crushed shells and crushed coral in my tank for my jawfish to make his home out of.
+1.

The 4" DSB I had was covered in a light dusting of "puca" shell and I never had any problems with it. As a matter of fact, I think it was actually welcomed by some of the fauna that inhabit a DSB.


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Unread 02/25/2012, 12:51 PM   #6
Paul B
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My reef is dolomite which is very much like crushed coral. I also have numerous crushed up shells of every type including sand dollars.
My tank has been running for many years with no problems at all.
But I do run a RUGF


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