Coral Chips for Planted Tank ?

[Ipit]

Hi guys,

Well this question struck me yesterday when i was done cleaning up the canister filter for the first time after it was commissioned 3 months ago . The exisiting 5ft Planted tank is a conversion from a predatory tank to a planted, so most of the medias were reused.

WHen i started removing bags of media from my 2260, i relised there were 2 bags of Coral Chips in it. The Coral Chips were already brittle thus i discarded them. So i added some new media which was the remainder that i had.

After i assembled the canister back and connected it to the tank, i sat down had coffee and then wondered, do i need to have Coral Chips in a planted tank ?

i do have discus about 14pcs. Largest being 4"
Water change is 50% every Saturday
I feed my fishes with only Hikari Discus granule and Frozen Blood Worm once in a while.

Whats your views if i continue not to use Coral Chips ?

appreciate your views and experiences if any.

Thank you

[Urban Aquaria]

It'll depend on whether you are using active soil (ie. ADA Amazonia aquasoil) or just inert substrates (ie. gravel or sand), and also the type of tank/livestock setup.

If you are using inert substrates like gravel or sand, then coral chips can help maintain KH levels to stabilize the pH (helps prevent pH swings). Coral chips will also tend to raise pH higher to neutral-alkaline conditions too, good if the livestock require those conditions.

On the otherhand, if you are using active soil substrates, then the soil itself will be pulling kH down to 0 and then taking up the role of maintaining lower pH conditions, so in this case coral chips are usually not recommended to be used, as it will be "fighting" against the active soil ability which is rather counter productive.

[Filet-O-Fish]

On the otherhand, if you are using active soil substrates, then the soil itself will be pulling kH down to 0 and then taking up the role of maintaining lower pH conditions, so in this case coral chips are usually not recommended to be used, as it will be "fighting" against the active soil ability which is rather counter productive.

Hi UA
Interesting post. I was wondering the same too and a great answer from you as usual.

What I would like to know is, if aqua soil pulls down KH to O, how does this affect Co2 levels in a tank. I'm referring to the chart below by Tom Barr.
Thanks in advance for your input.

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi UA
Interesting post. I was wondering the same too and a great answer from you as usual.

What I would like to know is, if aqua soil pulls down KH to O, how does this affect Co2 levels in a tank. I'm referring to the chart below by Tom Barr.
Thanks in advance for your input.

The pH and kH is pulled down and controlled by the active soil, not by changes in Co2 concentration, so the actual Co2 levels are still the same in the water. This just means the aquarium water cannot be used to measure Co2 levels using the kH/pH chart anymore, so the Co2 levels have to be measured by other methods.

If you use a drop checker to measure Co2 levels, since the water parameters are affected by the active soil, you will need to use 4dkh reference solution mixed with distilled water of ph 7.0 (or just use pre-mixed indicator solution), then the color changes/readings in the drop checker will be measured based on a consistent and known kH 4.0/pH 7.0 water standard as reflected in the chart.

[Ipit]

i have read your post a few times but just to confirm if i got this right:

Active soil - don't need to use Coral Chips
Inert Substrate - need

am i right ?

[Urban Aquaria]

i have read your post a few times but just to confirm if i got this right:

Active soil - don't need to use Coral Chips
Inert Substrate - need

am i right ?

Yeah, thats the general consensus... though whether coral chips are beneficial in tanks with inert substrates also depends on the livestock being kept, if they are those type that require very soft water and low pH conditions, then it also may not be a good idea to add coral chips (which increase pH and release minerals that make the water harder).

[Filet-O-Fish]

The pH and kH is pulled down and controlled by the active soil, not by changes in Co2 concentration, so the actual Co2 levels are still the same in the water. This just means the aquarium water cannot be used to measure Co2 levels using the kH/pH chart anymore, so the Co2 levels have to be measured by other methods.
If you use a drop checker to measure Co2 levels, since the water parameters are affected by the active soil, you will need to use 4dkh reference solution mixed with distilled water of ph 7.0 (or just use pre-mixed indicator solution), then the color changes/readings in the drop checker will be measured based on a consistent and known kH 4.0/pH 7.0 water standard as reflected in the chart.

Roger that UA.

Yeah, thats the general consensus... though whether coral chips are beneficial in tanks with inert substrates also depends on the livestock being kept, if they are those type that require very soft water and low pH conditions, then it also may not be a good idea to add coral chips (which increase pH and release minerals that make the water harder).

Yeah, I removed all my coral chips from my ext canister last week. Maybe I'll the BorneoWilde minerocks from GC this week.

[Ipit]

Was happy I posted this. Learnt a very important aspect of planted tank. All alone in this hobby the emphasis of coral chips really made me think I still need them for my planted set up


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[Filet-O-Fish]

Was happy I posted this. Learnt a very important aspect of planted tank. All alone in this hobby the emphasis of coral chips really made me think I still need them for my planted set up

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Same here.
BTW thanks for raising this question.