# Sand or Crushed Coral



## nicco0315 (Jul 29, 2008)

Which do you think would be best to use? Sand or crushed coral.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

imo sand stays a little cleaner, I have used both, currently use both actually, and the sand tank looks nicer. There's some benefits of having a deep sand bed as well. Crushed coral will have its purpose, it does grow copepods like crazy which is good fish food, but overall if I had to pick one I would go with sand. Great topic, looking forward to the other replies.


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## nicco0315 (Jul 29, 2008)

Now I heard that if you choose sand, some say to give it a good rinse. Others say just use it straight from the bag. What do you suggest?


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## atlantic reefer (Jun 26, 2008)

I like sand. My take on rinsing sand

Dry sand - rinse if you want; if not may have a longer sand storm.

Live Sand - don't rinse


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## nicco0315 (Jul 29, 2008)

Suppose I was to get dry sand how does the rinsing process work?


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

I made a video about it:


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## nicco0315 (Jul 29, 2008)

ok I thought you had to rinse out the sand with salt water. thanks for the info.


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## arejay (Jan 30, 2008)

If you are doing a reef that you want to have gobies, jawfish, stars, or other animals like these a sand bed is needed (depth based on animal needs). However, if you are doing a FOWLR tank, crushed coral does have a nice clean look while adding a texture to the bottom of the tank.


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## nicco0315 (Jul 29, 2008)

I don't think I am going to be doing the FOWLR tank because I like the idea of housing corals.


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## maiko (Aug 1, 2008)

i would say it depends on a number of factors

i prefer the look of the sand personally but a number of reef keepers say the sand tends to blow around alot. in all my old aquariums i tended to stick to the crushed coral gravel but in my latests system i used the live sand. i used this because i wanted to speed up the maturity process. in the end in made no difference because i put in a good 25kg of live rock. so all it really goes down to in the end is personal preference


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## nicco0315 (Jul 29, 2008)

Okay. I have heard mixed emotions about both but it is good to here from someone that has used both. Thanks for the insight.


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## racermike27 (Jul 6, 2008)

I prefer sand.


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## moparmussel (Nov 7, 2008)

MediaHound said:


> I made a video about it:


i have a mix of both sand and crushed coral.i like the rough texture,breathes better,easy to clean.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

moparmussel said:


> i have a mix of both sand and crushed coral.i like the rough texture,breathes better,easy to clean.



ics:

Sounds nice, does it stay nice and mixed or does some settle and some rise to the top?


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## moparmussel (Nov 7, 2008)

the sand mixes in,but keeps the crushed coral loose. it is easy to clean with a siphon,and my horseshoe crab turns it all over. i like the look,critters like the texture!


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## SteelGluer (Nov 7, 2008)

nicco0315 said:


> Which do you think would be best to use? Sand or crushed coral.




Sand, Crushed coral just has a tendancy to trap alot more waste and the build up over time could explode into very high nitrates.....
Yo can use YardRight/OldCastle Tropical Play Sand. check your local feed stores they carry south down carribean or tropical around here penn state seed has it for 5.99 25lb bag. Then top it off with a little live sand from a freinds tank.


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## Lunatik_69 (Nov 8, 2008)

nicco0315 said:


> Which do you think would be best to use? Sand or crushed coral.


Sand all the way, CC is a real P.I.T.A. and can/will create No3 problems later on. Luna


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