substrate question.....

[KrautBurner]

I was wondering if there's any reason I shouldn't use Live Rock "Rubble" as my substrate? (insted of sand)


I currently have a 75 gal reef tank with a 29gal sump
I've got about 80-100lbs of live rock, 700gph return pump, a couple power heads, protein skimmer

my bio-load is pretty small
1 3-4" blue hippo tang
1 3" midas bellini
1 3" GBTA
and a small pair of GSM's (male 1.5" Female 2.5")

I will probably add another 3-4 fish (about the same sizes) over the next year or so

I just rcvd about 30lbs of live rock rubble (3/4" - 2", mostly Lava type rock)


I have had this tank setup for a month or so
still deciding on the aquascaping and havn't added substrate.

would I be better off to just add a bag of sand?
or do sand, and put a layer of rubble on top of the sand
or just rubble on the glass?

 

[young_skywalker]

do you mean crushed coral or actual live rock rubble? if you mean the actual rubble I would expect it to leave lots of pockets for detritus to accumulate and probably won't do much for denitrification. I did a tank that had a rubble section but it was on top of my sand and I kept very good flow over it to try and keep from build up

 

[KrautBurner]

rock rubble,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?

LIVE LAVA RUBBLE ROCK

FIJI AQUACULTURED LIVE LAVA RUBBLE ROCK
CURED IN OUR 1000 SQ.FT. CORAL AND LIVE ROCK AQUACULTURE GREENHOUSE

PIECES RANGE FROM 1/2" - 2"

ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=260245393713

 

[Scooterman]

Stick with a 2" SB & when you vacuum clean it well & as needed just add a little more & this will keep it clean & well. Otherwise BB baby
I'm doing a small tank with sand, although I like BB because of the care level & high flow options but it all requires husbandry!

 

[KrautBurner]

so,
you both feel I shouldn't use it as substrate...
just leave it in my sump?

 

[mmn_usn]

I would not use lava rock (which is what is pictured). The have been known to leach elements into your tank. Sand or Crushed coral and around 2". If you have a large sump and can put sand and reef rubble rock in that then you could go BB in the display. If BB is the way you were going you might try making Faux Sand bottom (Epoxy mixed with sand and poured into the bottom of the tank) have seen a couple of pictures of tanks set up that way... Not bad looking, looks like sand bottom... but works alot like a BB

 

[lizardarm]

I'm not even sure that what's pictured there is fiji live rock rubble; it looks more like something that you'd put in your barbeque. For cleanliness purposes, barebottom is probably your best bet, but I've always prefered the look of sand myself, so I voted for a couple of inches of sand only. There's really no good that can come from burying the top of your sand with a layer of live rock rubble, or any other rubble for that matter; it's just a detritus trap. My $.02

 

[MikeS]

It's lava rock, you should avoid using that....

 

[dnjan]

I would expect it to leave lots of pockets for detritus to accumulate and probably won't do much for denitrification.

Yes, you will just accumulate detritus in places that you cannot siphon out. And those pieces appear to be too large to effectively vacuum with a gravel vacuum.

If you want something on the bottom, but don't want to use sand, cover your bottom with rock chips (about 1/4" max size), and use a gravel vacuum to clean about a third of it each week.

 

[young_skywalker]

some species do like areas of mixed rubble in the aquarium though...but you should definitely use LR rubble and I wouldn't cover the whole bottom