FishProfiles.com Message Forums

if i use crushed coral sand in my cichlid tank when my tap water is already the right ph will it hurt the water and how much sand should i use

thanks

Carbonate-based sand (such as crushed coral) will raise the pH of your tank, as well as the carbonate hardness (kH). This will buffer the pH against lowering, which is why this sand is so popular in saltwater tanks, and fw high-pH setups.

So yes, the sand will alter your ph. As for how much sand, well, that depends on the footprint of your tank, and how deep you want the sand bed to be. What is the length and width of your tank, and how thick a covering of sand do you want?

Last edited by sirbooks at 29-May-2005 21:23

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

i havent bought it yet all i kno is that it is a 46 gallon bowfront ill be keeping about 6- 10 yellow labs and and eeli want it jus about 3 inches deep my water strait out of the tap is 7 something im getting a ph test kit tomorrow so i can test the tap water i use just regular water in all my other tanks no conditioner so im wondering bout crushed coral kuz ofthe cichlids

Hi Loachsrcool,
no problems with the coral sand, cichlids love it, makes good substrate and they can play with it and make all different shapes, mounds, holes etc, helps keep them entertained and is easy to keep clean. We use only for ciclids and marine helps bring out the colours with a light background and good reflection for coloured fish. Good luck. Muss

Coral has a disolve point of 8.2 ph, which in effect means it will try to establish a ph in your tank of 8.2. If the ph drops below this point, say to 8.0 some of the coral will actually begin to leach into the water and thus raising your ph back to the stable point of 8.2. If the ph is above 8.2 the coral has no net effect other than looking nice and contributing to the gh of your tank. If you wish to raise the ph above an 8.2 you can inject co2 into your sump or similar stand alone area which contains some coral, draw the water off, aerate, and return to the tank. Co2 causes the ph in your water to drop thus forcing more coral to be absorbed into the water. Aerating the water forces the co2 out, thus forcing the ph back up. At this point the coral is already in the water in suspension and this forces the ph to rise above the default 8.2.
Salt water enthusiast use this method to grow coral in reef tanks.