What Kind of substrate do you use?

[Jods2518]

I have just bought a new 180gal tank and am trying to decide what kind of gravel and or sand to use, Im leaning towards sand as I have never used it before!

Please leave all comment you'd feel appropriate...

-ease of cleaning

-cost

-appereance

-where you bought it

and anything you feel I should know, or anyone else thinking substrate!

Thanks everyone

Jods

[rahim101]

Are you setting up a fresh water set up with cichlids???

I like using crushed coral in my african tanks, it serves many purposes.

It's not as fine as sand so I does not wreck the impellers and motors of my aqua clears. It buffers the ph of the water and keeps it nice and hard for africans. and it is a lot eaier to clean compared with gravel.

It's sort of right in the middle of sand and gravel.

I prefer using the finer crush coral

[African_Fever]

After having recently tried pool filter sand, I'm not sure I'm 100% sold on it. I have frac sand in most of my tanks, but recently tried PFS as it's a bit darker and that's what I was looking for. So far, I've honestly found it to be almost too light and a real pain to vacuum in the tank compared to frac sand (most of my frac sand has grains about 2-3mm). I've always loved the frac sand, and the only reason I went with PFS is that it's more easily available (if you work in the oilpatch or know someone who does, frac sand should be easy to find/come by, and I've never paid for it).

But either way, I still prefer sand over gravel. I find that it's more natural for my fish, and you get to see much more natural behaviour with it as well (at least with many of the Tangs).

The only gravel I've ever been able to find cheap is granite grit, bought from farm supply Co-ops (I would think that Peavey Mart may have it as well). Only problem is it's basically a white/black granite and I've never seen any other colours available. It's a pain to clean, but reasonably priced at around $8 for 50lbs.

[Majestic_Aquariums]

Congrats on the new tank!!! We have been looking for substrate as well, and just figured play sand. But yeah, it's a pain to vaccum. (we find alot of it gets sucked up) Not too sure how big pool filter sand is for size.

There was a kind of sand @ Home Depot called "Magic Sand" we thought of using (nice color) but it would suck up worse than playsand, it's even smaller. That and it is used for paver stones I guess, so it packs tight, and there was some kind of a reference to polymer grout on the bag which definately made up our minds.

Considering using cruashed slate/shale, but that may be too sharp.

Come to think of it, when you have the answers, let us know too! :eh:

[Rainmaker69]

I have the chicken grit in a couple of my FW tanks and like the salt/pepper look. I don't find it that hard to clean, maybe because it is only about an inch deep. My biggest concern with it is that it is rather rough so consider the bottom dwellers that you have before using it. My other tanks have regular aquarium gravel and my marine tank is a larger crushed coral that IS a royal pain to clean.

[Majestic_Aquariums]

I wonder does crushed coral cloud up the water when vaccuming? I like the color of it, would reflect the light well

[Jods2518]

It is going to be a FW African cichlid tank, I have crushed Coral in my 55 and I found that it really scratched up the sides of the glass from the friction that the vac would cause?

What about Pool fitler sand Vs Sand Blasting sand??

thanks everyone, still making up my mind!!

Jods

[rahim101]

Crushed coral does NOT cloud up the water.

The only downfall that I can think of is that it does seem to attract algae quite a bit and tends to turn a greeny brown color over time.

I have not found it to scratch my tanks at all as it is lighter then sand and gravel!!!

[Jods2518]

Well I've picked up 5 bags of silica sand from Princess auto...gonna take about 5 days to rinse it clean...but it was cheap enough (5.99 per bag) and is a nice light brown colour....is this the right stuff? Ya well anyways, If I hate it I can take it out and go gravel...but I really wanted to try sand!

I do like the look of the Crushed coral I have too, but you do have to rinse it really well and yes it did scratch my tank, its quiet sharp....and Im not one to be overly carefull when cleaning the tank....but I stir up the gravel really well and it doesn't cloud the water anymore (I didn't rinse mine well enough at the begining and it took about 3 weeks of regular cleanings before I could see the Danios, that where my starter fish, swimming around!....was pretty funny though...lets chalk it up to a lesson learnt!

But I should get the tank delivered next week, I'll take pics and post the details when its all set and ready to, gonna take awhile Im thinking, a big project that I've been thinking about for a year or so, so Im hoping its going to be as beautiful as I hope!!

Jods

[Go Big or Go Home!]

#1 thing!........stay away from play sand....ya i found out the hard way :cuss:

i just bought some sand called kleen blast....its a type of sandblasting material

nice thing is.....its BLACK....a nice shiny black almost like little jewels....and its

a uniform size.....cant wait to see what it looks like

[Jods2518]

Where'd you find the black stuff, how much did u pay??

[Go Big or Go Home!]

i picked it up at pieces.....got a deal because the bags were riped open $30 for one bag and $35 for the other ....80lb bags

they have one left....third fish isle on bottom

for those who want some if pieces is out i think you can get some at

Consolidated Compressor Co. Ltd.

9516-40 Street SE,

Foothills Industrial Park

Contact: Customer Service

Tel: (403) 279-5315

Fax (403) 236-3041

call and see if they have it in stock...they should but save a trip and call just in case

they sell all types of sandblasting material and all grit sizes :beer:

[African_Fever]

I think the 'black' sand you're talking about is actually a by-product of iron production, and is often called iron or coal slag. I have heard of others using it with success, but personally didn't trust it when looking for dark sand and ended up mixing some black sand (color quartz and the new hagen stuff) with my PFS to get the sand a bit darker (and it looks pretty good so far).

[RD.]

FYI - I picked this up off of another forum:

Yes, there is sand that is bad for fish! There is a "black sand" that isn't actually sand at all but the by-product iron slag. Iron slag can poison your fish so be very careful what you put in your tank. I suggest you only use what is proven aquarium-safe or you know an experienced aquarist has used in their tank without problems long-term. By that I mean the exact same product, same source, with same mineral content as the other person used and not just a common name. I purchased what was labeled "black silica sand" that poisoned my fish. There is a black sandblasting sand with an entirely different mineral content than the stuff I used that others on this forum have used without any problems. I believe the problematic black sand is the stuff that will stick to magnets, which mine did.

Also, PFS comes in various grades/sizes, and colors. I found Target brand PFS to be very close to the color of the sand in the Rift Lakes. (although it will brighten up under Fl. lighting)

An actual photo from Lake Tanganyika taken by Amateur Cichlids.

http://www.amateurcichlids.com/

A pic of Target pool filter sand.

Edited May 30, 2005 by RD.

[Go Big or Go Home!]

when i asked at pieces about the kleen blast i was told it was completly safe for aquarium use .... as well i talked to a guy there who has used it for the last year&1/2

but yes it is infact a slag but is made from copper not iron ( sorry for calling it a sand )

i looked up kleen blast on the net but found only the U.S. companies and yes thiers is made from iron....but..... the kleen blast we have here is made by sil silica of edmonton....thier KB is made from copper

this is what i was told made it safe for aquariums ...being made from copper

http://www.sil.ab.ca/Products/product/KleenBlastCopper.pdf

now if i am in anyway wrong PLEASE tell me as im about to fill a new tank and have the black stuff in there :boxed:

pieces is selling this as a substrate to be used in aquariums so if its no good i will be making a trip back there :chair: