Marine Substrate?

Question

I will be setting up a fish only saltwater tank and I have a question about the substrates. What are the benefits of using products such as live aragonite substrate , and what is it? Is it better to use live substrate compared to regular crushed coral?

Answer 1

All "live" will refer to is bacteria, whether it's live rock or live sand.

Aragonite is a better material for your substrate, because it's something made of calcium and magnesium carbonates, and the carbonate will help to buffer the pH to keep it at or above 7.8. As your fish respire, they produce mild acids and the acids break down the aragonite slowly over time - the carbonate neutralizes the acids and the calcium and magnesium (both minerals are needed by the fish for their bones, calcium is used by the nervous system as well) are released. "Regular" sand is inert and can't do this.

Whether the substrate is small shells, crushed coral or oolitic aragonite (small white balls), the only difference is their size and maybe roughness/sharpness. Some burrowing fish (jawfish, wrasses) prefer the smaller material because it's easier to dig into and the smaller material provides more surface area for bacteria to colonize and for buffering.

If you're looking for something for hiding spots for your fish (and this gives them a more natural habitat), there's live rock as well - this often has snails, shrimp, sponges, and other organisms on it besides the bacteria. Live rock, especially if it's good quality can be expensive ($8.00+ per pound). What I like to do is to buy cheaper dry base rock or reef rock (still aragonite/carbonate material) and put this on the bottom and stack the nice stuff on the top. This cuts the cost in about 1/2 or better.

I like live rock better than live sand - the rock is kept in tanks with moving water, so the bacteria on them are in an environment more like what you'll have in your tank at home. The live sand sits in a bag on the store shelf for who knows how long, with no air. And I've seen red slime algae growing in some bags. If you use one, there's no reason you need to get the other - the bacteria (which is why you buy "live" anyway) will reproduce and colonize all the rock and substrate in a few months' time anyway. The bacteria are what cycle the wastes from the fish (see this for more info on that: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm ) so this is why you buy these - and the "live" is better than dry. If you have a large tank and will be using more than one bag of substrate, you only need to get one of the "live" and mix it with the regular.

Answer 2

I say just go with bags of aragonite (not live, reasons have been covered already by the previous post), especially if you want fish that may burrow in the sand. This way you could also have a DSB. But if the fish you're getting aren't picky, you could always mix the aragonite with some crushed coral if you're trying to cut down a little on the cost of the aragonite.

Most everything's been covered quite well.

Just wanted to add that some people have made their own base rock from concrete. Give that a search online if that's something you're interested in. It cuts down the cost quite a bit, but you have to be careful about making sure it's completely cured before putting it in the tank.

Answer 3

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