Isolating Corals & Substrate Questions

[Teebo]

Still working on my preplanning of my first marine tank, I am putting thought into the isolation of soft corals when trying to choose a substrate. I do not like the bare bottom look and it also allows things like GSP to run wild uncontrolled. I really strive for a natural as possible appearance in my tanks which is always my goal in my freshwater planted tanks right down to details.

Some say that sand is not a natural part of the reef and that corals do not grow in sand therefor you do not find sand at the reefs which I do not really find true...I think it all comes down to the scale of the hardscape. There are sand channels between the massive live rock clusters, so when it comes to scale very small corals in a very large tank is what makes "a little sand" look proportionate.

I have to say the black sand/substrate does look nice its not very natural, and that is where I am putting thought into crushed coral substrate mixed with rubble. The downside I need confirmation on is whether coral grows on crushed coral or not, I would assume yes and that sand is the only thing I can use for isolation? It seems that I get the benefit of crushed coral breaking down over time though and releasing calcium into the water column, sounds beneficial as long as it does not release more than my corals can consume...is that even possible?

 

[Evan West]

Still working on my preplanning of my first marine tank, I am putting thought into the isolation of soft corals when trying to choose a substrate. I do not like the bare bottom look and it also allows things like GSP to run wild uncontrolled. I really strive for a natural as possible appearance in my tanks which is always my goal in my freshwater planted tanks right down to details.

Some say that sand is not a natural part of the reef and that corals do not grow in sand therefor you do not find sand at the reefs which I do not really find true...I think it all comes down to the scale of the hardscape. There are sand channels between the massive live rock clusters, so when it comes to scale very small corals in a very large tank is what makes "a little sand" look proportionate.

I have to say the black sand/substrate does look nice its not very natural, and that is where I am putting thought into crushed coral substrate mixed with rubble. The downside I need confirmation on is whether coral grows on crushed coral or not, I would assume yes and that sand is the only thing I can use for isolation? It seems that I get the benefit of crushed coral breaking down over time though and releasing calcium into the water column, sounds beneficial as long as it does not release more than my corals can consume...is that even possible?

Well the crushed coral will isolate it some but not as well as the sand would and the coral will still grow along the crushed coral especially if it is left undisturbed. As far as the crushed coral breaking down and releasing calcium goes, this is a non issue as it will never break down fast enough to keep up with coral growth. In fact this is how a calcium reactor works is by creating a PH that allows crushed coral to break down.

 

[Teebo]

Well the crushed coral will isolate it some but not as well as the sand would and the coral will still grow along the crushed coral especially if it is left undisturbed. As far as the crushed coral breaking down and releasing calcium goes, this is a non issue as it will never break down fast enough to keep up with coral growth. In fact this is how a calcium reactor works is by creating a PH that allows crushed coral to break down.

Thank you for the info


CaribSea OceanDirect line claims to have a more diverse variety of strains of active bacteria and not just "more" quantity of bacteria. Not sure if BioSpira has strains that OceanDirect does not and/or vise versa. My plan is use dry rock (or wet rock, washed and dried in sun) combined with live sand and Bio Spira...let that stew for a while before adding anything. I can add pods and anything beneficial, but would rather add beneficial critters myself than start with wet rock.


I decided to go out to my LFS and look at CaribSea substrate products, it is a lot easier to see it in person than pictures and descriptions online. I had to visit multiple stores to see the various types available. I found the Fiji Pink and I did not like it, both the color and the grain size. I was not able to locate Special Grade but seeing how I wanted larger grains than the Fiji Pink and those are capped at 1.5mm I figured Special Grade at 2mm would not be that much larger. I did find West Caribbean Reef and I really liked that texture, it was on top of another Arag-Alive bag called "FCC Coarse" which appeared to be the same exact product...was it renamed? Maybe the bag is really old. The only thing I was not able to locate yet and would like to see is the Natural Reef which does not have anything below 3mm in it...but is not crushed coral sized.


So since I am not feeling the Special Grade to be natural enough imo, I am between the West Caribbean Reef and Natural Reef. Still considering the OceanDirect but all I was able to see in person has been the Oolite which is off limits. Original grade may work if I let the fine sand settle.

 

[Evan West]

Thank you for the info


CaribSea OceanDirect line claims to have a more diverse variety of strains of active bacteria and not just "more" quantity of bacteria. Not sure if BioSpira has strains that OceanDirect does not and/or vise versa. My plan is use dry rock (or wet rock, washed and dried in sun) combined with live sand and Bio Spira...let that stew for a while before adding anything. I can add pods and anything beneficial, but would rather add beneficial critters myself than start with wet rock.


I decided to go out to my LFS and look at CaribSea substrate products, it is a lot easier to see it in person than pictures and descriptions online. I had to visit multiple stores to see the various types available. I found the Fiji Pink and I did not like it, both the color and the grain size. I was not able to locate Special Grade but seeing how I wanted larger grains than the Fiji Pink and those are capped at 1.5mm I figured Special Grade at 2mm would not be that much larger. I did find West Caribbean Reef and I really liked that texture, it was on top of another Arag-Alive bag called "FCC Coarse" which appeared to be the same exact product...was it renamed? Maybe the bag is really old. The only thing I was not able to locate yet and would like to see is the Natural Reef which does not have anything below 3mm in it...but is not crushed coral sized.


So since I am not feeling the Special Grade to be natural enough imo, I am between the West Caribbean Reef and Natural Reef. Still considering the OceanDirect but all I was able to see in person has been the Oolite which is off limits. Original grade may work if I let the fine sand settle.

A lot of sand selection is honestly personal preference. With corse substrate just be sure to keep detritus out of it as it gets down in it easier. And as far as coral isonalion goes, typically it's my experience that finer sand does a better job then corse sand.