I enjoy going through the posts and looking at the photos of others tanks. I have noticed that some use substrates and some do not. I personally like having some material on the bottom of my tanks. Was just wondering if this is a personal preference or those of you who do not use anything have found a specific advantage to not using it.
Substrates or Not
- Thread starter PlecoLuvr
- Start date
Many people will not use substrate in a QT tank or a fry/juvie tank. It makes clean-up easy. Young fish typically get fed often and get frequent water changes. Lots of Discus folk have bare bottom tanks. I did it for awhile with my discus but couldn't stand the look!
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
excellent idea SubRosa! i might try that in one of my tanks that currently has a bare bottom. what would the cure time be until the tank can be refilled and re-stocked?
the reason i keep my one tank bare bottom is due to its occupants - a growing oscar and a paratilapia polleni. both fish make some big poops and it's much easier to keep the tank clean without substrate. also, i feed sinking NLS pellets as their diet staple and it's easier for them to find all their food with a bare bottom tank. the oscar also has this habit of pushing all the substrate into big piles and clearing the middle of the tank bottom. i don't like that the piles of substrate are left deep enough to cause gas pockets if i don't stay on top of pushing it all back to a level surface every single day.
the reason i keep my one tank bare bottom is due to its occupants - a growing oscar and a paratilapia polleni. both fish make some big poops and it's much easier to keep the tank clean without substrate. also, i feed sinking NLS pellets as their diet staple and it's easier for them to find all their food with a bare bottom tank. the oscar also has this habit of pushing all the substrate into big piles and clearing the middle of the tank bottom. i don't like that the piles of substrate are left deep enough to cause gas pockets if i don't stay on top of pushing it all back to a level surface every single day.
The only time I have not used a substrate was when I had a holding tank setup between semesters. Made it a lot easier to clean plus didnt have to deal with trying to get it out when it came time to move.
that epoxy/sand thing sounds like a good alternative; maybe I'll try it in my new 30g if I decide to go goldfish- what's a good epoxy brand to use, do you know?
I also like the epoxy idea. Personally, all of my tank have substrates, and usually between 1-2 inches deep at that. Why? Because I need to hold down the fake plants with something, or because the real plants need some form of substrate to root in. I also like the look.
Epoxy and sand is too much work. And there are too many surfaces for bacteria to live on.
Rustoleum makes stone spray paint.
Mask off the glass with newspaper and masking tape. Paint the underside of the bottom with a thick coat of the stone spray paint. After that has dried, apply a coat of a complementary solid color. After that dries, pull the paper and tape off. Viola, the bottom looks like sand but it's a breeze to clean and sanitize.
Rustoleum makes stone spray paint.
Mask off the glass with newspaper and masking tape. Paint the underside of the bottom with a thick coat of the stone spray paint. After that has dried, apply a coat of a complementary solid color. After that dries, pull the paper and tape off. Viola, the bottom looks like sand but it's a breeze to clean and sanitize.