BRS rubble rock??????????

[fishman1234]

The rubble rock on BRS has some good reviews to it. But what i was thinking about doing with it was using it as a base instead of sand, crushed rock, etc......thoughts on this anyone? I dont see any problems with doing that but I would like some input! Thanks!!!:headwalls::hmm2:

 

[Eastamherstbias]

I don't know anyone who has it but it seems like it will be annoying to stir up.

 

[fishman1234]

What would be a good base then? Other than sand?

 

[cardiffgiant]

I believe that ARC uses reactor media in a couple of their look downs. It actually looks pretty cool.

 

[oneradtek202]

ive bought rubble multiple times for my frags, mixes and cleans easily enough, and also put it in my regium to give pods lots of nooks and crannies to hang out in. i would not use it as a main type of media though. pieces vary, from tiny to decent sized 3 inches or so

 

[fishman1234]

Setting up a 125 with 55 sump........any suggestions on base material then?....and the reactor media, wouldn't that send certain lvls outta wack?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

base?

base?

please clarify. You're researching substrate choices or base rock or both?
Rockslides are to be avoided. Never stack rock on substrate. Rock should get placed on the bottom glass and substrate (if any) gets placed AROUND the rock.
My personal substrate preference is a very thin layer of 'Special Seafloor' aragonite or bare bottom... but the final decision should be based on what you plan on keeping in your aquarium.

 

[fishman1234]

It's gonna be a reef set up and I'm talking about the substrate.

 

[aguz1126]

Reactor media- greater buffer as well as a different look but at 50bucks for a small bag it may be out of reach to cover a tank bottom
Aragonite- I have always used a thin layer after permanently fixing live rock to the bottom, not as easy to swirl around as sand nor the issues with nitrate buildup like deep sand beds
Rubble rock- never tried it. I could foresee dead matter building up below and difficult to siphon

 

[fishman1234]

Hmmmm thus has got me thinking.....

 

[cardiffgiant]

A thin layer of seaflor special grade is what I use. Like Gary said, too big of a granule for sand storms, but small enough for my leopard wrasse to burrow in.

 

[Jacwil]

Gus, what were you hoping to achieve by using rubble rock as a substrate...I'm intrigued!

I'm re-vamping our mantis tank and this sounds interesting.

 

[fishman1234]

I would not see a problem with having it as substate other than the dead/ decaying stuff that gets trapped.....anybody disagree?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Gus, what were you hoping to achieve by using rubble rock as a substrate

x2

the substrate you choose to use may or may not have a huge impact on the success of your reef aquarium.

Detritus trapped in substrate can cause problems.

 

[skidoctor]

I would think it would work ok if you had a really good cuc. I have a lot of rubble in my sump and I don't use a filtr sock. I have some pep shrimp, hermits snails, etc roaming around and they seem to do a nice job taking care of all of the detrius that comes down the tubes.

 

[block head]

Preference. Poop needs to be dealt with one way or another. Some livestock will really benefit or require a certain substrate. IME reinventing the wheel gets people in trouble more times than not. I'D copy someone you respect and tweak a detail or two.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

poop is poop. Making it's removal difficult isn't a good idea. If I were to choose rubble rock as a substrate I'd have to have a clear reason for using it- otherwise choose something else.

 

[oneradtek202]

I would think it would work ok if you had a really good cuc. I have a lot of rubble in my sump and I don't use a filtr sock. I have some pep shrimp, hermits snails, etc roaming around and they seem to do a nice job taking care of all of the detrius that comes down the tubes.

I would disagree imo because a majority of the crud will lye too hodden to get too because brs rubble is not as small as everyone thinks. In my fuge I use it for detritus to accumulate a little for pod havens but i would never recommend it in a display for sure!,

 

[skidoctor]

Valid point. After thinking about it, I agree. I do the same in my sump/ fuge. It helps the pods and it help keep my nitrates above 0- my tank is mostly softies and LPS.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

to reiterate

to reiterate

if one were to choose BRS rubble rock as a substrate in a DT there should be a definite purpose for using it. If not, like block already posted- don't re-invent the wheel.
I / we have a LOT of combined experience with many substrate choices:
DSB's, SSB's, BB etc.

I would not recommend doing something novel just to do it...

but we HAVE had those types on this board in the past.
At least we can take comfort in knowing we tried to warn you