What Substrate?

[Amy'smum]

We are setting up a Marine tank and was wondering what is the best substrate to use?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[gigmeyer]

Welcome! You may get several different opinions here, but the safest approach from everything I've read is about an inch of fine (non-coarse that is) aragonite substrate. The fine sand prevents detritus from getting into your substrate and aragonite provides a buffering capability to help prevent PH swings. I used CaribeSea Aragamax. You can also use a live aragonite sand if you don't want to cycle with live rock alone.

There are many products out there in different colors and coarseness. Many (if not most) of them are more elegant than basic reef sand and will probably work if they provide a buffering capability and you want to take the time to keep them clean. After looking at several products, I chose what I thought was the simplest and safest solution to keeping a stable environment for fish and corals.

If you haven't read the pinned topics in ths forum, please review them as they are an excellent source of information.

 

[andywg]

All depends on what you want to do. Bare bottom is gaining in popularity due to the ease of keeping it detritus free. You can go right from bare bottom, through 6-10" sand beds to an inch of crushed coral depending on the inhabitants and your stocking plans.

 

[sianeds]

I currently use crushed aragonite. I have quite a coarse type and it is a real pain to maintain. In my new tank I will definately use a finer grade which is much easier to keep clean.