Crushed Coral

[celaeno]

i hear that crushed coral starts to dissolve if the ph falls below a certain level. is that true?

 

[dthoffsett]

Crushed coral will slowly dissolve (that's how is helps to buffer you water, by leaching minerals ), however it takes a long time. I've had crushed coral in 2 of my filters for over a year now without any noticeable difference in the amount.

 

[Musho3210]

depends on how acidic the water is.

 

[celaeno]

depends on how acidic the water is.

what if the water is neutral at a ph of 7?

 

[TylerFerretLord]

I would only think there would be a noticeable change if the ph was very low.

Also, since the ph rises as it dissolves, the rate at which it dissolves slows down.

 

[backtotropical]

Crushed coral is often used as a substrate, and i've never seen noticeable dissolution.

I think the answer to the question is that, unless under exceptional circumstances, it will dissolve so slowly that you will never notice, even over the period of several years, almost comparable to how quickly rocks dissolve in the sea.

 

[k.o.d]

I was led to believe that the coral starts to dissolve at pH 7.6 but it will take ages to dissolve completely as you only need a small amount to buffer the water.
If you put crushed coral in at a pH of 7.0 you will notice a rise in pH but that will increase the stability of your water parameters

Steve