Substrate

AndrewMack

AndrewMack

AC Members
Jan 17, 2006
462
0
0
Fleming Island FL
What kind of substrate for a tank with a senegal bichir, jack dempsey and texas cichlid? i wanted to use sand but was told they wreck filter impellers, so also thought of maybe 75%sand and 25%gravel.... also for my DIY plywood 325 instead of painting the tank can i use a pool line and seal it with steel trim around the glass so it wont leak... instead of the 2part epoxy?
 
If you get sand with a somewhat larger, uniform grain size you will have no problems.

Oh here it is, yet another plug for Quikrete Medium Sand!

But I adore this stuff. Five dollars for fifty pounds at Home Despot; already rinsed, screened and kiln-sterilized. (You don't even need to rinse it if you don't want to! Though I would still recommend you do.) It functions more like very tiny gravel - rounded, uniform grains, no dust, completely inert, natural looking, easy to keep clean, does not compact, allows for plant roots to spread, safe for sand sifters, and can even be vacuumed without any of it being sucked out. It also stays really clean even if you forget to vacuum for a few weeks.

As far as sands go, this one is just my absolute favorite.



Here, I took some pics:

img28891jo7.jpg


sand008pe4.jpg
 
Wow that looks good. Could i mix that 50/50 with playsand or something to give it a finer grain look. I want to make sure my Bichir can burrow if wanted/needed. Doy uo have any tank pics with that substrate?
 
I'm sure you could easily mix this with play sand. I've used it as a filler in my cichlid tank so I could save money not having to buy a lot of cichlid sand.

I have found that some of the decorative rocks commonly available at garden centers are pretty much the same selection of rock that this sand is made from, so I added some to the 5.5g betta house where I have this as the 100% substrate. They look so perfectly natural together.

Okay here I just took some pics. Here is my 5.5g with a betta, three juvie SAEs and a bamboo shrimp.

I'm letting water sprite grow out in here so it's not aquascaped at the moment. (Please excuse out appearance hehe)

55002ju0.jpg


55006bs5.jpg


551ru6.jpg
 
Man that looks really great.Thanks for taking the time to post those pics for me. I think im going to mix it either 50/50 or 60/40 I still like the look of fine grain substrate
 
I'm sold on that substrate! I'm setting up a 150 high and I've been trying to decide what I want to do. I was leaning toward the soilmaster select, but this is really nice looking!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom