Favorite gravel?

often dignified

AC Members
Nov 11, 2003
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Conneaut Lake, PA
I set up my 10 gallon with a deep red gravel, it just doesn't look real or serious. I have a medium amazon sword, and I'm growing a few various plants from bulbs. I also have a tan lava rock (about 12" long, 6" high, with an archway)

Should I switch to a neutral color? Which do you prefer? :confused:
 
Well I prefer anything that is completely natural. For my 20 gallon I went to the extent of getting my substrate from a local river. I collected the smallest gravel that I could find (right behind big rocks where small pebbles deposit), with sizes that go up to about an inch in diameter. Once I get a picture I will post it, but it looks really good in the aquarium. I got about a standard bucket full.

To clean the gravel I rinsed it really really well by putting it in a long tub and spraying it with the hose just to get all the large debris out like leaves and twigs. Then I boiled all the gravel, about a cupfull at a time, using a metal strainer and submersing it in a large pot of boiling water.

The gravel went into the aquarium and I've never had any issues with it, no parasites or anything. It looks really natural (well, it is!) and all my plants do really well in it.

Or of course you could buy gravel. :D
 
I have a deep blue color in my 55g tank. I think it looks nice, I also had 3/4 black and 1/4 gold (steelers colors) with an actinic light which looked awesome.

Personally I wouldn't use the bright reds, whites, blues or orange carnival looking gravel, I think it looks horrible...

But if you like it, go for it... :cool:
 
I love the look of natural sand with bits and pieces of gravel and stone mixed with it..very natural looking. Though, in my tanks I normally use Natural gravel and/or flourite..the latter for plants. I'm not very fond of any of the colored substrates...especially the neon colors...but if I had to use a colored substrate I would use a dark blue like Prometheus does...or maybe even dark green...no bright, bold colors for me...they tend to out-shine the fish and you want your fish and plants to be the focus of the tank, not the gravel. Of course that doesn't mean use the tacky, bright, neon plastic plants either.;) ...Though, I have been tempted to set up such a tank just for kicks...with all the bells and whistles included. Sunken ships, no fishing signs, bright gravel, plastic plants, bubbling divers/clams, printed backgrounds(especially a saltwater scene in a freshwater tank), laser lights, and maybe even a remote controlled sub. This tank would provide me with hours of entertainment and laughs.
 
you know you can get spongebob decorations now? I might get one for my sister to put in my tank. (she really likes spongebob)
 
I have 2 favorite 'gravels'..
Onyx Sand and Flourite (not Red Flourite) are made by SeaChem and mainly used along with live plants. I like the small grains of the Onyx. Large gravel makes the aquarium appear smaller, where sand, or smaller gravel gives the tank a larger look. I think the darker gravels look better.

While on this subject, I think it looks much better to have sloping gravel rather than level. Having gravel deeper in the back of the tank gives a better depth of field --- it makes the aquarium appear larger, which is a good effect. In live planted tanks, having deep gravel in the back is good since the taller plants are generally placed in the back. The larger plants normally have more and longer roots and need deeper gravel/substrate.
 
i prefer black gravel about 2mm in diamiter for me it seems that the black brings out the color of the fish and since my new tank has fish with neon blue highlights its seemed a good choice but ill see if i was right here in the upcoming week finaly all cycled and ready to go

:OT: i know sorry
 
I like the medium sized natural looking gravel (whitish, tan colors) and I do have black gravel in some tanks but I find that it washes off after a while leaving you with black-n-white looking gravel! :eek:

With amazon swords, natural gravel would look nice as would that grey gravel you often see. But I definately wouldnt use colored gravel as it takes away from the color and definition of the plants... ;)
 
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