The 150: a work in progress.
- Thread starter dvandevelde1
- Start date
Honestly, the gravel is going to save me a lot of money because I like deep substrate and 300lbs of sand is pretty expensive....
I am experimenting right now with Black Diamond Blasting Sand. so far, I have to say, I really like it. I am thinking of doing my 120 gallon in it. You can do a search and read all about it.
It's available at any Tractor Supply Co. It's $8.49 for a 50lb bag. 300 lbs will cost you about $50.00. I don't know if you can get much cheaper than that.
I have limited experience with it, as I just changed over a small section of my tank from pea gravel to Black Diamond. It seems heavier than plain sand, settled right away, and I had no cloudiness. I can tell you this, compared to gravel, it's a pleasure to plant in, and the plant colors really pop.
Do a google search, and you will find lots of threads on it. Many people swear by it, and it is cheap.
I did it in my 55. Didnt rinse it well, and it settled out in less than 24 hours. I think my major Diatom outbreak was from the excess silicates from not rinsing, but was easily controlled and didn't last too long. rinse the heck out of it and you will be just fine.
Excuse the poor quality, and the dire need of a vacuuming. It normally looks better than this.
Excuse the poor quality, and the dire need of a vacuuming. It normally looks better than this.
Not to hijack the thread, but how is it working out for you? You glad you used it? Plants doing well? You mentioned vacuuming, how do you vacuum it? Does it get sucked up into the vac?
I'm deciding on using this now, so any more information would be appreciated.
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
You can get and add some small black lava rocks to cover the bottom first. You can buy it at a Land Scape store very cheaply.
that's a start photo, just under 3 months old, I moved some things around. But a lot is growing. Had 2 Val's and now there are 8 with a new runner I saw this morning. Have trimmed the rotalla down 6" from the top, and its already folding over the top again. L. Aromatics and hygro compact both doubled in size. Just running a 4 lamp t5 ho with 3 different lamps (need to resolve that). And dosing flourish comprehensive. It is innert, so any nutrients need to be added. Looking into the EI kit from nilocg, and am working on getting co2 setup.
As far as vacing, I just hover over it. Most of the crap on the bottom is from the angelfish picking at the java moss, and the hygro compact looses a leaf or two a day. I hear that's common. The lower leaves get starved for light and die off, but it keeps getting bigger every day too.
So since I'm only 16 I won't be able to do much till after Christmas. Will be getting the black diamond sand as soon as I can. I'm going to see if my local masonry center carries lava rock. That would be really cool to use under the sand if I dont just go all sand.... It's also a good bio media so I could maybe use it in the diy canister project... On a completely different topic, does anyone know of any low light background plants that get tall that I could keep in this tank eventually?
