does crushed coral need to be changed?
- Thread starter batang_mcdo
- Start date
exactly. the point of my post wasn't that bicarbonate ions won't be released, but rather that they will keep dissociating in sufficient quantities if you use it as a substrate you will never need to replace it.
if it had a short lifespan of effectiveness as a buffer, the saltwater and reef folks (and some african cichlid folks who use aragonite etc) would need to change out their substrate periodically in order to keep the buffer system effective and the pH up. but they don't.
this is why.
if you use crushed coral as as substrate at say 1 or 1.5 pounds per gallon, it might take decades for it lose its effectiveness..
in other words, generally longer than most of us will have a single tank setup.
if it had a short lifespan of effectiveness as a buffer, the saltwater and reef folks (and some african cichlid folks who use aragonite etc) would need to change out their substrate periodically in order to keep the buffer system effective and the pH up. but they don't.
this is why.
if you use crushed coral as as substrate at say 1 or 1.5 pounds per gallon, it might take decades for it lose its effectiveness..
in other words, generally longer than most of us will have a single tank setup.
