Question about gravel...

[dee105]

This is my first post here, I actually haven't even set my aquarium up yet.. I have a 90 gallon and we initially intended to set it up as freshwater. But we got thinking and we decided that we were going to go ahead and do saltwater. We had already purchased the gravel (Black Top Fin, from Pet Smart) I have ready EVERYWHERE that you need to have crushed coral, sand, or some other stuff. I emailed top fin and they said that their gravel is 100% safe for marine aquariums. What is the opinion here? I want to do the right thing...
Sorry for all my ramblings, i hope it makes sense I appreciate your response..

Dee105

 

[Snowboarda42]

Take it back and get sand, you'll be Much happier....

 

[JokerGirl]

 

[JokerGirl]

I agree with Snowboard... don't get crush coral either. Go with Aragonite Sand. Caribsea makes really good "live" sand that you can buy in bags. It's already pre-seeded with the bacteria you'll need for the tank. If you can find a reefer in your area, or a good LFS (local fish store), see if they'll give you a cup or two of their sand as well, so you can get the beneficial worms etc.. in there too.

 

[dee105]

The problem is, I had already put it in the tank.. so it is all out of the bag. Is there any way I can use it.. Will it harm the fish at all.. That is the main concern..Would I be able to mix the black gravel that i have and the black sand.. then i wouldn't be out 80 bucks

Thanks

 

[JokerGirl]

I don't think it'll necessarily hurt your fish at all, but it will become a bad place for poop and other garbage over time, instead of just sitting on the top like it would with sand. If you ever decided you wanted to keep any sand dwelling critters like mandarin fish, you wouldn't be able to do it with gravel.

The benefit to using Aragonite sand is that it helps to also buffer your water to keep it at the proper alkalinity/calcium levels since it does break down over time. If you ever wanted to have corals, you most likely would HAVE to change the gravel out for sand which would just put you into another cycle most likely.

 

[fatrip]

not a good idea i mixed sand and crushed coral once....crushed coral kinda the size of gravel....... it just kept giveing me nitrate problems unit i made a refungium to take it out as fast as it builds up...

 

[jeeperrs]

I know it stinks spending money on something that you will have to replace. I think sand is better becaus many of the fish that help keep your tank clean will sift through the sand but not through gravel. The tanks ability to keep itself clean means you won't ever vacum the tank again, which is nice. In the hobby it seems everything is 50 bucks so just think of it as you having your first fish die ha-ha

 

[JokerGirl]

At this point, I think you need to not worry about setting it up quite yet. There is a lot to keeping saltwater tanks, even if it is just a fish only one.

I suggest you get a couple good books, and research research research. Troll the forums here for a while, and try to absorb as much information as you can.

This is an expensive hobby, so usually any mistakes you make end up costing you in the pocket quite a bit. Not only that, most fish that you find in the hobby were taken straight out of the ocean, so if they die, it impacts our oceans.

 

[drummereef]

Please read this -

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074