Bruno Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I'll check out Walmart and Canadian Tire on the way home tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Any updates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted April 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Drilled the holes, painted all the pvc (found the paint at Canadian Tire). It is a slow moving project though, just as I have free time. I'll post an update in the next couple of days after I put it all back in the tank - then I will be back with questions on substrate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Drilled the holes, painted all the pvc (found the paint at Canadian Tire). It is a slow moving project though, just as I have free time. I'll post an update in the next couple of days after I put it all back in the tank - then I will be back with questions on substrate Decide on what you'd like to keep and it'll be easy to figure out a substrate to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted April 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 I am going to go with neocaridinas for now, get some experience and then I'll think about another tank to try some caridina. So I know I don't need active soil for neos - I would like to have a dark/black substrate. Would the black sandblasting sand be ok, or is there something else I might want to consider? Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpsmasher Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) Sand will not work with the UGF - it will just get sucked into your canister filter. One of my first mistake when setting up my tiger shrimp tank many years ago..lol Regular inert gravel will work. If you want something dark Carbisea makes something called VooDoo river which looks like crushed black lava rocks. You want the gravel to be at least 3mm to avoid issues with with your uGF. Edited April 28, 2015 by jumpsmasher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Since you are going ugf, I would avoid sand because it tends to work it's way down through your coarse first layer and starts to clog things up. I'd pick something with a larger grain size. I have been playing around with using black lava gravel recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Darn you Hung. Why you so fast on the replies?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) Is there an inert pea gravel about the right size, that is smooth and uniformish? I like the look of aqua soils, but not the price, and I don't care for their 'activeness'. If there were could get some cheap, inert alternative version, that would be neat. Edited April 28, 2015 by Iceturf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpsmasher Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Is there an inert pea gravel about the right size, that is smooth and uniformish? I like the look of aqua soils, but not the price, and I don't care for their 'activeness'. If there were could get some cheap, inert alternative version, that would be neat. You might try local landscaping and gardening centres. Crushed lave rocks works well but I haven't seen too many places carry the fine stuff in bulk. Just remember that in an ideal setup, the active substrate main job is not lowering the PH but to keep parameters stable. Using RODI water will give you fairly low PH values already. Since the water will have a low kH value, it should subject to pH swings if keep in an inert setup. Unless you are using tapwater, keeping things stable with a low KH is actually quite tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted April 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 What would you suggest then for soil for neos to add some buffering? I will be using RODI.... or is that a bad idea for neos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpsmasher Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 There are several ways of doing it; you can use inert substrate with tap water or RODI with a remineralizer that has a bit of kH (Shrimp Mineral GH/KH+, sulawesi mineral 7.5, seachem Equilibrium, etc;) If you are going to use a buffering substrate you want one that is not too aggressive when it come to buffering (i.e. not ADA aquasoil). I know some people have use Fluval Plant & Shrimp Statum for neos. Although my test of the new version so far indicate it is just as aggressive as Aqua soil. Others used baking soda to bring the pH up a bit. You don;t want it to go any lower then 6.6-6.8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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