substrate

[adrian75]

i have set up filter system with a 4ft sump containing a 150mm layer of calcium carbonate. as my LFS told me. for my 5ft x 2ft x 2.5ft tank. also included is a venturi protien skimmer with its outlet conected to a box containing bioballls. i had a bag of calcium carbonate left over and i thought it would alright (and look good) as the substrate in my tank would this be alright?

cheers, adrian

 

[bertoni]

[welcome]

The calcium cabonate won't cause any harm, but coarser substrates tend to accumulate detritus and become a maintenance nuisance, IME. I stick with a fine grain of sand now.

 

[mg426]

The finer grained sand (oolitic) gets my vote hands down

 

[iCam]

I can agree that it's generally best not to use a coarse substrate.

I vacuumed my substrate, but when I took it out to switch to sand, there was still a lot of nasty stuff beneath it.

 

[Emmelemmo]

I started with crushed coral and switched to sand. I sand is much easier maintenance and has led to a lower nitrate level.

 

[adrian75]

thanks i guess sand is the go then