Substrate in the reef aquarium!

I cannot convey this strong enough, these areas should not be where there is life!

I realise some hobbyists think it is doing a good job, but you will never realise your tanks true potential with this in the display tank.

Substrate houses silicon borers that make your tank leak after months or years, also the protists white spot and velvet and the worms called black ich.

These are just few of what lurks in a substrate.

When having a tank made if you can, get it made with a sloping floor down to the front of the tank to move rubbish that way to easily clean out.

This type of tank floor can be cleaned by the use of a power head pump with a slight pvc pipe extension on it once a fortnight for a few moments blown over the bottom of the tank and it will move rubbish into the water collum onto the pre filter.

A wave maker or two is good for this.

That’s the maintenance!

The ways to avoid these polluting things and still have a lovely looking aquarium base is so easy.

Place your base rock around to the type of scape that pleases you, add between them with small gaps between each of these, maybe something like pure white marble, shells that are broken up, coral rubble or even non-metallic (in any way) stones, any of these scattered here and there of 5 to 15 mill in size are all very good.

Its best to use lime or calcium based pieces of what ever you may put as a slight floor covering.

Over time you get any algae you want in the aquarium, soak it in tap water first for 30 minutes or so to kill off unwanted life and sit under a rock or calcium pieces and it will look dead for time and then grow and spread from there.

Seed your tank with several small pieces of safely checked live rock for crabs and mantis; this will add corallines from the rock to the tank and spread.

This can be done with small live rock pieces that have sponges on them as well.

Then place corals that suit that depth and flow or water here and there.

If you live near the ocean where the ocean gets above 25c in summer, you can find heaps of life in rock pools to add and fire up the colour in your aquarium, or order these from the lfs.

I have not used a non active substrate in many years and never will again!

The active aspect of a substrate works very well only as a reverse flow under gravel bed.

I always made mine with small micron Dacron over the pumps intake preventing any rubbish from getting into the substrate.

To put it all simply!!!
The substrate is a long term issue, more so around under and near the rock formations! If calcium based, as it should be, it will begin to house anaerobic bacteria with weeks of the cycle beginning just after aerobic microbes get going.
In the first few months you may experience an over abundance of calcium and mag affecting PH and KH from the anaerobes basic yellowish nitric acid they manufacture as part of the oxidation process.
This dissolves the make up of your substrate, ever so slightly, but you may see it in cal and mag and the resulting affects to PH and KH.

Nitrate reduction seems fine in the first 6 months to 2 years until calcium precipitation, calcium particles, silica particles from foods, plankton shedding and algae shedding permeates the substrate and organics follow later, these are all bound and harden by the bacterium’s blocking the substrate.
From here the polluting affects of the substrate begin, ever so slightly!!! and nitrate reduction is decreasing if still relying on that bed to do some nitrate reduction.
With in 1 to 3 years the bed is becoming anoxic meaning the obligate anaerobes are beginning to take over from your nitrate reducing anaerobes.
These guys waste product is hydrogen sulphide, at times a complete tank life killer as it hits the oxygenated waters turning to sulphur, an elemental gas that nearly wiped out all life on earth way back and is the smell of the ocean!

Substrates do a fantastic job on nitrate reduction and phos reduction via the PH down there converting it to calcium phosphate rendering phos enate, but not in the aquarium!!!!!!