# coral gravel as substrate?



## gibbus (Sep 16, 2006)

coral gravel as substrate? Is this possible?


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I wouldn't recommend it for a planted tank. Coral gravel is mainly calcium carbonate and will slowly add calcium and carbonates to your water, increasing GH and KH...


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

but isn't it quite light? Like crushed kalk, wouldn't it also bee a bit lighter than, "ordinary" gravel? --> easyer for platns roots to grow in the substrate?


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

It might be easier to root in but it would change the water parameter to unfavorable numbers for plants.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Leonard said:


> but isn't it quite light? Like crushed kalk, wouldn't it also bee a bit lighter than, "ordinary" gravel? ...


It's not really like crushed kalk. The crushed coral is crushed coral skeletons but not crushed into a powder... more like small bits and pieces. Similar to a small gravel in granularity.

At least the crushed coral I have seen has been like that.


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## Freerider (Nov 8, 2006)

Are you planning to keep African chiclids? If so then coral is great for this but you might have difficulty getting plants to root. A little trick is to plant the plants in pots with soil then backfill around them with the coral gravel. I would try Java Fern, Ananubis, or Vals in this type of setup.


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## gibbus (Sep 16, 2006)

the tank used to house african cichlids. The coral substrate has been there for around ten years or more. Would it still alter the water parameters? If I use CO2 would it help? I'm planning on planting Vals, Marsilea, Bolbitis, Java/Lace fern, Amania gracilis and star grass. All coming from a friends tank.


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## Freerider (Nov 8, 2006)

If you arent going to keep the africans i would swap out the coral gravel. You could always try it but most fish wont really enjoy the high ph unless they are African chiclids.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

gibbus said:


> Would it still alter the water parameters?


Yes.



gibbus said:


> If I use CO2 would it help?


CO2 injection will actually increase the rate of calcium and carbonates going into the water column. That's the principal behind the CO2 calcium reactors used on reef tanks; inject CO2 into a column filled with calcium carbonate in order to dissolve the stuff (more acid = more dissolving)...

I think you'll save yourself a lot of grief in a planted setup if you change it for something else.


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

okey...

about an other thing (maybe better to build a new thread?): ADA substrate, why is that so good to use för plants? I have allways thought it was, because it was so light  does it contain any nourishment? WHY?!?!


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

It is Nutrient packed!


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## Mad Dog (Mar 3, 2007)

In general, most african cichlids are not a good choice for a planted tank. A lot are omnivores and would probrably munch on the plants if they are not feed extremely well (which is an over feeding conundrum). Also, when they breed, many africans will dig in the substrate...and in fact, they will dig quite a bit anyways. Of course, not all africans fall into this catagory, but I would say that your choices would be very limited. 

However, IMHO, the pH for most cichlids, with discus being the most obvious exception, do not always have to have a high pH level. I kept mine in a pH of about 7.2 and even bred them almost too well at times.

I also concur about the water chemistry changes that a coral substrate would create....and to add to that, a finer grain CC substrate would most likely dissolve faster and move into the water column. Like every said thus far, in general, CC substrates are used most often in a saltwater tank and a cichlid tank. Since I am not the plant expert, nor anything close to being one, I am not sure what would happen to the plants in a tank with CC, but I would assume that it is not going to work out entirely in your favor.


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

okey! =) I get it.

But one thing which is good, is because it's white --> better reflection of light to plants =)


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Loads of African Cichlids are great in planted tanks!
West African dwarfs, most Tanganyikan substrate spawners and in fact almost everything that isn't herbivorous will go with plants. It's just a case of picking suitable plants for the fish! What most people assume when they hear African Cichlids are mbuna from Lake Malawi and an APC member (whose name escapes me, sorry) even has a glorious planted tank with them in! I think most large tilapia would be the biggest challange!

In fact Coral sand and gravel are not the best substrate for cichlids as even those that aren't big diggers can be irritated by the fine particles that can come from pure coral substrates. Best way I found was to use a normal sand or gravel and have Coral, or aragonite, in the filter, or mix 10% coral sand in with the ordinary sand. That seemed to stop any flicking.


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

Look at this: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...c4366e92360a46386e105c5d3a755ece_original.jpg
By Travis here


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## gibbus (Sep 16, 2006)

I'm convinced. I'm planning to use gravel and laterite. would this be a good substrate?


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

what is laterit?  
I'm not really shore, but its seems to be som e kind of micro fertlilizer 
if it's what I think: Does it really help the plants? My (and others) experiens of fertilizer in the substrate is alges... it haven't worked good for me before, I have used Sera Floredepot.


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## gibbus (Sep 16, 2006)

oops Laterite 
so you use gravel only and just add ferts to the water collumn?


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

yes! =)


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