Picking a good substrate

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auxout

CEO Nothing Inc.
Jan 16, 2003
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Hi, been lurking and learning for a few months now, finally decided to register and post :)

I am getting ready to setup a new tank with alot more knowledge of how to do it right this time, but i'm still a n00b of course. I am going to be getting a 20-29 gal tank, it's going to be freshwater no plants. I would go way bigger but avail. space is the constraint. Anyway what I'm mainly wondering is what is a good black substrate. In my old tanks I would get the colored gravel and no matter what brand the color seems to wear off and it just generally looks like crap. I would prefer a black type of rock instead of the sand or (clay?) stuff. I'm not sure what I should look for I mean I know just any rocks aren't gonna cut it for aquarium use. But i'm planning to get it at a pet store so i shouldn't have to worry about it being aquarium safe. Well any suggestions/ideas/insights I would appreciate and I'm sure you'll hear from me again and alot more once I get this tank going.
 
Onxy Sand by SeamChem is great. I have it in my tank and it's great. This is some info from Big Al's

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Onyx Sand™ is the ideal substrate for any type of aquarium environment; whether you have reef, planted marine, or freshwater planted aquaria, this naturally black sand will perfectly complement and enhance the appearance of your tank. Onyx Sand™ provides not only iron and other minerals but supports optimal KH levels for freshwater planted aquariums. Onyx Sand™ is most effective when used alone as an integral substrate bed, but it may be mixed with other gravels or sands. Gravel modifiers are not necessary. Onyx Sand™ is not chemically coated or treated but does have a slight buffering capacity. 1-4 mm average size.
 
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In general a good FW substrate will be fine enough that it can be vacuumed easily (larger grain sizes mean particles can slip beween and the larger sizes are difficult to vacuum). 1/16 - 1/8" is a good range IME.

For unplanted tanks, minimizing your substrate is helpful, as it is easier to keep clean. 1/2 -1" depth is plenty, but if you are going to use artificial plants, you may need to increase that to 1 - 1 1/2" to help hold the bases.

You generally do not want a substrate that affects your water parameters. Some materials will increase the GH (calcium and magnesium hardness) and or the KH (carbonate/bicarbonate hardness). The Onyx mentioned before will harden the water a bit - in very soft water, this may be good and desirable, or in planted tanks where pressurized CO2 is added it does not matter. Desirablity of such substrates will depend on what your source water is naturally and what you plan to keep.

Generally darker substrates are better than light IME, the fish look better and show richer colors against dark substrates and backgrounds - over light or bright colors they may fade a bit and be more nervous.

HTH
 
Nothing more to add to this post... I liked RTR's response. However, this isn't exactly a plant related post... moving to the proper section.

-Richer
 
I really wanted to get the onyx sand, but at $1.50/lb I just couldn't afford it. I decided red-flourite & small river-bed rock was ok (3:2 ratio). It was $30 less that way.
 
Yea, but it still doesn't mix well with river-rock which I got for $.25/lb. That's really what brought the cost down. The Flourite was $17.99/15.4lb bag so I got 2 of those and 20lbs of river-rock. Was like $50.

Besides, the LFS was really nice and I'd like to do more to support them. There's only 1 decent fish store in the greater Portland Metro area so I don't mind spending a little extra. I'd go nuts if I had to go through Petco or PetSmart for everything.

It won't look as good as onyx, but it'll look nice.
 
Thanks

Thanks for the insights. Thought I posted it in the Freshwater n00b forum to begin with, but then again it was late I was tired :confused: I can't really remember, sorry if I posted in plants.

Anyway today I went and got a tank(20g L) and hood, nobody had any onyx sand or even a good selection of other stuff just epoxy coated colored stuff bleh. But I did find a really awesome pet store I didn't know was there, the health and living conditions of the fish compared to the chain stores is just amazing. Hopefully I can get the store to order a bag or two of the onyx sand for me :)

The only thing that sucks is I have to exchange this tank tommorow. They used a ridiculous amount of glue on the label it's smeared all over and part of the label is stuck under the lip, yeah maybe i'm being a little picky but should I have to spend 30 minutes digging it out and cleaning up the glass, I think not. Don't want to break the lip off either.
 
Use warm water and viniger on it. I had a few tape marks on my tank at first that I was sure would never come off, but I used a rag with warm water and viniger, and after a few hard scrubs, everything came off. Also, don't forget to wash the tank out before setting everything up.(use viniger and water)

HTH
 
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