Which Substrate to use? Aragonite, Crushed Coral, Playsand

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Hi Guys,

I am starting a new marine tank and planning to get crushed coral (fine) in the main tank and play sand in the sump for dsb.

Some people say that one should only go for aragonite, but wont crushed coral do as well? Also is playsand good for a DSB in sump?
 
Howzit Highlander! IF your crushed coral sand particles are smaller than 1.5mm, then it should be 100%.... BUT, if not - then go for either playsand OR aragonite in the main display.

Playsand is MORE than perfect for use as a DSB in the sump.....

A DSB is (according to me) 120mm to 150mm deep....
 
So I suppose it is okay to have a bottom layer of playsand in the main tank and another layer of crushed coral over it... Also where can i get good playsand that is inert? reggies? pool places?
 
I got mine (I have some in my in-sump DSB) from Builder's Warehouse.... Most people get their's from Reggies or Toys-R-Us....

The pool place will most likely sell you pool-filter sand - slightly bigger sand particles, but it should still work.

How big is the crushed coral particle? The reason for not suggesting the use of crushed coral, is that if the crushed coral particles are too big, detritus just accumulates in between them, causing too high nitrates and phosphates in the tank....
 
Im not sure yet... the lfs i asked said they have fine, medium, coarse so i will have to take a look... if the fine is still too big then I may put a playsand layer below it.
 
Jacquesb, what would you recommend cleaning the playsand in? normal tap water?

Hi RockPool - Well - that's what I used to clean the playsand with..... Just let the sand drain ALL the water out... the little bit of residual water that stays in there should not cause any problems...

BUT - just ensure that you rinse it VERY well beforehand...
 
ok the way i rinsed my playsand out was first with tap water then the last wash 2 washes with RO,then left it to dry before adding it
 
I replaced mine with aragonite, much whiter and didn't need cleaning :D
 
haha :p

I've actually got another 18kg bag of Caribsea Seaflor special grade aragonite if anyone is interested?
 
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