Crushed Coral .... Aragonite.... Im in a haze please someone with a mini SW help me?

Question

This is for a 20gallon Saltwater Fish and Liverock with Snails crabs shrimp only.

Im not going out and buy the speacial live corals. Im only going to have the coralline algae from my live rocks.

So here's the question. I have a bag of CaribSea Aragonite Formula Crushed Coral.

Im being told to get it out of my aquarium and put in CaribSea Arag-Alive.

Not for the bactira on it but becuase in a few months the crushed coral will cause a nitrate buildup then mess up my ph.

Should I be worried and go coral diving into my tank to get it all or just not worry about it.

Also I have to add no fish or inverts or Liverock is in my tank yet. Just saltwater mechanical filters and the crushed coral.

Thank you

Im crossing my fingers

Thanks both of you. I got this information from Nanoreef. They seemed like they new what they were talking about. but what your saying makes more sence.

you can go to thier site and on the search type crushed coral. they really dont like it for some reason

Answer 1

Don't know who told you this, but don't listen to them.

The only difference between the two is living bacteria, size, and price.

You're buying live rock, so you don't need the bacteria - it'll come with the rock and colonize your substrate.

Crushed coral is coarser, so some food items might get down into the substrate - uneaten food may create excess nitrates, but coral is calcium carbonate plus other trace elements mixed in. As long as you don't overfeed and get a few sand-sifting inverts (try nassarius snails - they're great!), you shouldn't have a problem. Plus it'll be harder to get food items very deep with the undergravel in reverse flow.

Price - well "live sand" is going to cost more because it's shipped in water (heavier, so addition shipping cost) to keep the bacteria "alive" - but without oxygen and sitting on the store shelf for weeks, it goes anaerobic. Your tank will be an aerobic environment, so you want aerobic bacteria. I've also seen cyanobacteria (previously called red slime algae) growing inside the bags of live sand in some stores - you don't need to add this to your tank.

I'd say keep what you've got.

Answer 2

The only reason I don't like crushed coral substrate is I have to clean it more often than sand. The snails, starfish, and crabs seem to have a harder time cleaning it. I've had both and never noticed a differance on nitrate buildup or pH changes. I really wouldn't worry about it. If you are doing weekly water changes you shouldn't have any trouble at all with nitrates. Personnally I think a nice deep sand bed is the best way to go but I wouldn't go digging out crushed coral to change it.

Answer 3

I agree with copperhead. Who in the world told you this the LFS? Crushed coral will not raise the nitrate levels in your tank. Any time shells are added to a tank it will increase the PH, however you are in a salt water tank which needs to hold a 8 or higher PH anyway. Either way crushed coral be it alive or not will raise the PH. this is a good thing since most salt water animals need the higher PH.

Also, your tank is up and running now? or are you setting it up now?

remember nitrates are not nitrites. Nitrates are fairly non toxic to fish and can rise to over 120 with no ill effects. most people confuse the two. Water changes remove the nitrates from your tank while nitrites feed on ammonia build up in the tank. Since you are having inverts your nitrates need to stay around the less than 40 ppm.

Answer 4

"CRAP"
If you guys can't keep your NITRATE level down, you are doing something WRONG.
"The optimal amount of nitrate in any type of saltwater system is an immeasurable one, but an acceptable range for fish-only tanks is from 10 to 40 ppm.
Although fish-only tanks may run at much higher levels, sometimes with no ill effects, THIS IS NOT RECOMENDED. In reef systems even a MINOR level of nitrate can cause DAMAGE as well as DEATH to delicate corals, anemones and other INVERTS, as well as some CRUSTATEANS. The acceptable range of nitrate for reef tanks is 0.25 ppm, but not more than 5 ppm."
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/nitratecontrol/ss/nitratecontrol.htm
This is only ONE of many sites that will confirm that.
Do your homework and stop torturing your animals.
If you can't turn your nitrate into nitrogen and have it evap. from your tank, You are reading too many OLD BOOKS.
It's 2007 not 1985