Looking for ideas on substrate ...

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Ketso

Cityfied Redneck
Jan 26, 2007
347
0
16
Peebles, Ohio
Hello again,

I am putting together my first tank, a FW with live plants. I plan to have Neon or Cardinal Tetras, Cherry Barbs, Leopard Cories, Dwarf Rainbows, and a pair of Bolivian or German Blue Rams. I have a Rena Xp3 filter and am purchasing a Visi-Therm Deluxe 300w heater today. My lighting is a DIY 96w unit.

I am looking for ideas on substrate with the following characteristics.
  • Natural looking.
  • Not too difficult to find.
  • Beneficial, or atleast not harmful, to live plants.
  • Low cost.
I have tossed around the idea of using local creek gravel. However, the creeks around here have several inches of ice covering them and will for some time. I live in a large metropolitan area, Columbus, OH., and have a Home Depot and Lowes nearby along with just about any other type of supplier.

I would also like to know how much I would need to purchase for a 55g tank where the substrate will average about 3 inches deep. If I am thinking on this correctly, I need approximately 1 cubic foot.

.25'(3" depth) x 1'(width of tank) x 4'(length of tank) = 1 cu. ft.

Any help is much appreciated.
 

echoofformless

Peat Advocate & Defender Of Snails
Oct 1, 2005
2,142
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Phil Uh Del Feeya
www.myspace.com
Are you looking to be with gravel or sand?

With sand you can try Quikrete Medium Sand from Home Depot. Usually found in the cement/masonry area. It's a very natural looking sand, with a consistent grain structure that is somewhat larger than play sands and the like. This means that plant roots will get circulation, there will be no compacting and clumping, and it will ber very dirt resistant and easy to clean. Not to mention it's already prerinsed and kiln-sterilized so you don't even have to rinse it. (Though I give it a quick once-over.) About five dollars for fifty pounds.

If you're thinking gravel, I have heard good things about this stuff called Soilmaster Select; which actually made for landscaping ballfields. It comes in a red and in a charcoal color. The only bad reports I have heard are that it slightly fades. I think it's like fifteen dollars for fifty pounds of the stuff and it's available at a store called Lesco's.

Other than that, you pretty much have to pay the LFS prices...though you might be able to take advantage of the PetsMart price matching. I did that with some flourite and some onyx sand a year or so ago.
 

aardvark1

Too many tanks are almost enough...
Sep 27, 2005
740
0
0
71
Warner Robins, Georgia, USA
I use the Pea Gravel from Lowes at $4 for 50 pounds in all my tanks.

Needs rinsed to get rid of the "fines", but other than that it's good stuff.

Plants growing good, have to trim every week to keep them from growing out of the top of the tank!

Having said that, I'm thinking of changing over to pool filter sand; just for something different!
 

Rbishop

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 30, 2005
40,727
452
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Real Name
Mr. Normal
My favorite is black sand or gravel.
 

NeonJulie

Worlds' Worst Mafia Voter
Nov 13, 2006
626
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41
Everett, WA
Black or as dark as you can get it - I went from "natural" gravel, to white gravel, to stark black (with a few light brown mixed in.) Unfortunately I still had about 1,000 + white rocks on the bottom layer, that I left in there trying to keep my bacteria and I hate EVERY light rock that pops up every time I do a water change. (I remove as many as I can every time, and still there's always more.)

Do yourself the favor, and cut to the chase with the darkest you can find - neons colors absolutely pop in the dark. After enough of my lighter rocks come to the top, my fish looked totally washed out.
 

Mgamer20o0

BobsTropicalPlants.com
Staff member
Jun 4, 2003
31,221
19
89
www.bobstropicalplants.com
I use the Pea Gravel from Lowes at $4 for 50 pounds in all my tanks.

Needs rinsed to get rid of the "fines", but other than that it's good stuff.

Plants growing good, have to trim every week to keep them from growing out of the top of the tank!

Having said that, I'm thinking of changing over to pool filter sand; just for something different!
thats what i have also. i have also had sand.

here is a link of what mine looks like.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k225/mgamer20o0/riccia3.jpg
 
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