# Is Crushed Coral Bad



## PastorAdam (Dec 16, 2003)

Is Crushed Coral bad for a Rhom set up?

I was told by a good friend that it helps tremondously with the PH level and is overall good for the tank.

I am planning on srtting my tank up tomorrow to begin cycling....so any suggestions or wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Adam


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

crushedcoral raises the ph to high for tropical fish

also messes the hardness of the water so your water hardness is to high and will kill you rhom

crushed coral is a no-no to any piranhas


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

play it safe and use sand or gravel


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## thaijungle (Jan 14, 2004)

crushed coral is wonderful for saltwater tanks but isn't intended for a freshwater tanks. I really would just stick with sand or gravel.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2004)

As a substrate, crushed coral will raise your pH beyond the range that piranhas will thrive in.

Since crushed coral contains Calcium carbonate, if someone has water with too low of a carbonate hardness and their pH is always low, then a small amount of crushed coral in the filter may slowly increase the carbonate hardness (kh) of the water and help maintain a higher pH.


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## DanJ (Dec 23, 2003)

crushed coral is good for cichlids and thats that. piranhas dont like higher ph


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## Kain (Mar 13, 2003)

I agree with the others. Unless you're raising african cichlids, I would not use crushed corals cause it can raise your ph to about 8.2-8.4.


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## mr_meanor (Nov 5, 2003)

I would only use it for a predator saltwater tank, IMO


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## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

PastorAdam...do you know PastorJeff ? but anyways...yeah no crushed coral...i'd stick with medium sized black gravel


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## Slay (May 2, 2003)

i wouldn't use crushed coral for substrate, but i do put some in the filters of all my tanks (Ps too). i started doing this because my water has no buffering capacity and would crash all the time. it comes out of the faucet at like pH 8 and after a few days in the tank it is like 5.0!

the crushed coral has worked great at keeping pH steady.
it seems as if the coral wants to buffer the water at about 7.4-7.5.
that is a little high for Ps, but it is better than 5.0 or a pH that fluctuates.
also, i have started to decrease the amount of coral ind the pH is starting to lower.
we'll see if i can keep it steady at about 6.8.

sLaY


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## Poseidon X (Jan 31, 2003)

its not a good substrate for piranhas


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## PastorAdam (Dec 16, 2003)

No0dLeMicE said:


> PastorAdam...do you know PastorJeff ? but anyways...yeah no crushed coral...i'd stick with medium sized black gravel
> 
> Yes, I know PastorJeff, we have been firends for the last 10 years!! He is a good guy, a good friend, and after ten years I have as many funny stories about him as he has about me!!
> 
> Adam


 Yes, I know PastorJeff, we have been firends for the last 10 years!! He is a good guy, a good friend, and after ten years I have as many funny stories about him as he has about me!!

Jeff actually have a 55 gallon tank with 2 black Rhoms in it (I am getting one form him) and he is using crushed coral. He has had them in there for a while now and there are no problems. We tested his water and his Ph is right at 7.2!!

That is why I was asking. I ended up doing sand in my tank....it looks so sweet!

Adam


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## iNfecTion (Aug 18, 2003)

No way do not add ceushed coral!!!!! It rised the pH too high for ps and tropical fish. They require a pH of 7 give or take a few decimals. But seriously stick to sand or gravel


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## boxer (Sep 11, 2003)

I'm not too sure but I think the reason why you don't want crushed coral is salinity and pH spikes due to evaporation. I'm not too sure about salinity since it's a freshwater tank. The more water that evaporates, the less water the pH is concentrated to. You don't want a strong concentrate of pH!


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## Blacksheep (Dec 11, 2003)

Adam called me and told me about this thread and I find it all very interesting. I am not saying that crushed coral is the way to go for everyone, but I have had no problem with it what-so-ever.

Remember, when the fish is taken out of its natural environment, it is put into water from the river, then transfered into a different kind of water for shipping, then transfered into water here in the states which is very hard water for what they are used to, as well as having a higher Ph.

When you use crushed coral it acts as a buffer for your water. It keeps the Ph hovering around 7-8 which is a HUGE difference. For most instances (92% of the time) it is going to keep your water Ph slightly higher than 7. Mine is staying right at 7.2 (or 7.2 dependinig on how accurate your testing kit is). It has not moved from this number in the least.

This Ph level is not going to hurt your fish, no matter what type of fish you have. I keep 3 inches of crushed coral in my tank. Never had one ounce of a problem, nor have the fish.

Remember...7 is neutral Ph! So if you are running a 7.0 - 7.5 you do not have bad water. Most cichlids like the Ph hovering around 8.0 - 8.2 which makes for a very alkaline water...which piranha would not like at all. While they might adjust, more than likely they would be too stressed to survive.

However, if you are running a Ph of 7.0 - 7.5, these are water parameters that are fine for Piranha and the adjustment is slight and stress on them is next to none.

Just my thoughts...

Jeffrey


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## boxer (Sep 11, 2003)

Great input PastorJeff. I guess most hobbyists don't use crushed coral is because they don't want to risk the chances and people fear the unknown also. I would stick to what is been proven to work. If crushed coral is what you want and believe it may work like PastorJeff, I say go with it. His experience proves that it works for him.


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## You (Sep 22, 2003)

i do not think that crushed coral will be good i also heard that it raises your ph too high


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## andymel (Oct 27, 2003)

mr_meanor said:


> I would only use it for a predator saltwater tank, IMO


 Why a predator saltwater tank as opposed to community saltwater tank?


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