So I went out and bought a bag of this from walmart for my 10 gallon, as I read an article telling about its uses in an aquarium. Well it seems the bag or certain company they stocked has bad rocks because the size is huge (or maybe its supposde to be that big?) around 2-3 centimeter nuggets AND tons of tiny shreds mixed in that are a good size. Problem is alot of these rocks seemed broken up and are not all that smooth. THe tank will have corydoras in it and they will have a hard time with these rocks. Has anyone gotten very nice smooth and small pea gravel? Or just recommend me a good aquarium gravel to use, Im aiming for natural colored.
Landscaping Pea Gravel
- Thread starter turtlefish
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I tried exactly the same rocks in my son's 10 gallon tank that had 6 cories in it. The sharp shards of gravel hurt their barbels and I had to change it out.
You mean the EXACT walmart kind of just pea gravel in general? Im thinking different landcaping companies stock differnet types?
Well perhaps Wal-Mart distributes rock from different quarries to different parts of the country, so I guess I can't say completely for sure...
But it was a bag of Wal-Mart pea gravel.
It is shown in these pictures, taken right after I put the fish in:
But it was a bag of Wal-Mart pea gravel.
It is shown in these pictures, taken right after I put the fish in:
I don't know if you can tell it from the pictures, but the tan colored rocks are rounded and smooth, but the mixture was cheapened with crushed white gravel pieces which are quite sharp!
so the pics showed the walmart gravel correct? Looks smoother than mine, the large nuggets in mine are broken up and stuff. In general, is that rock too large also? How much does size affect them and their barbels? And thats a 10 gallon? Looks huge, very pretty. BTW can you estimate how large those nuggets were? Mine are 2-3 centimeters. Any chance of pics of the current substrate?
Thanks a ton
Ok checked out your tank pics. So the couple pictures of the smooth looking river rock was bad with your cories? That looks alot smoother than mine, I wouldnt expect too many issues with it, is it just too big?
Thanks a ton
Ok checked out your tank pics. So the couple pictures of the smooth looking river rock was bad with your cories? That looks alot smoother than mine, I wouldnt expect too many issues with it, is it just too big?
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did you buy it in their aquarium section or the gardening section?
i wouldnt buy anything unless it clearly states on the bag for Aquarium use
10 gallons is pretty small you can easily have purchased aquarium gravel for like 5 bucks
i wouldnt buy anything unless it clearly states on the bag for Aquarium use
10 gallons is pretty small you can easily have purchased aquarium gravel for like 5 bucks
The landscaping rock was in garden. I didnt expect it to be so rough. I thought i would need up to 3 5 pound bags which would be around 10 dollars for the 10, and 20-30 for the 29 (soon to be set up). The landscaping bag was almost 50 pounds for 3 dollars, some people have had success with it so I thought id try.
Again, main issue with it is it seems to be really fragmented.
Again, main issue with it is it seems to be really fragmented.
thats why you shouldnt use anything thats not labeled for aquarium use.
people often use landscaping materials for fishtanks, im against it. to save a few bucks its just not worth it. no one knows whats in it, it could be sharp like you say, and it could leach out potential dangers. it could make the ph extremely high, contain silica etc.
ive heard so many people talk about using sand from home depot in their tanks, this just freaks me out lol. playsand can be really harmful. its labeled as cancerous on some bags but yet people put it in their fishtanks?? it doesnt make sense
id rather spend the extra money and be certain that whats in my tank is 100% safe...isnt that worth the extra money?
people often use landscaping materials for fishtanks, im against it. to save a few bucks its just not worth it. no one knows whats in it, it could be sharp like you say, and it could leach out potential dangers. it could make the ph extremely high, contain silica etc.
ive heard so many people talk about using sand from home depot in their tanks, this just freaks me out lol. playsand can be really harmful. its labeled as cancerous on some bags but yet people put it in their fishtanks?? it doesnt make sense
id rather spend the extra money and be certain that whats in my tank is 100% safe...isnt that worth the extra money?
The bag I bought definitely had a smaller overall average grain size than what you are describing. 3 centimeters is over an inch. My gravel averages large pea size and I do successfully use it in other tanks for guppies.
As requested, I do also have a picture online of what the tank looks like with sand. You can actually see 4 or 5 month old pictures of most of my tanks online by clicking on my signature.
As requested, I do also have a picture online of what the tank looks like with sand. You can actually see 4 or 5 month old pictures of most of my tanks online by clicking on my signature.